Three individuals go on a self-seeking journey to find out a way to get to a better version of themselves, seeking out a powerful Shaman who plays tricks on them mentally.

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

Self discovery, healing from trauma and beating the ubiquitous "imposter syndrome". It is a comedic and sometimes horrific, plant medicine fueled, spiritual journey of self awareness for 3 diverse yet troubled Americans where they emerge victorious and more god-like.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Dramedy, Horror, Fantasy, Magical Realism, SciFi, Travel Adventure, Self-Discovery, Transformational

2. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

It is a prescient story that reminds viewers of the importance and power of Mexican culture. It also represents a very different story for gay and trans people. One is battling depression and PTSD due to police abuse, and the other, impostor syndrome. Conditions that are the most prevalent mental health challenges today. They are both battling for self-love instead of societal abuse (which does happen). It also reinforces the importance of plant medicines for healing our minds and spirits, which is experiencing more mainstream acceptance. Many cities in America and across the globe are realizing the life-changing healing properties of Psilocybin and Ayahuasca and are legalizing them for use in healing depression and PTSD.

3. How would you describe this script in two words?

Self Love

4. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

The Wizard of Oz because it's about an individual's spiritual journey towards enlightenment. I read a book that covered the back story on L. Frank Baum's inspirations for the Wizard of OZ and how the author created the story as an allegory for Buddhism. The yellow brick road was written as a metaphor for an individual's "golden path" to enlightenment. I love the character development and the world-building. Also love how the story totally immerses you and takes you on an unexpected journey. I feel Pueblo is similar in structure. Basically, the hero's journey.

5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

So the seed of the story happened about 10 years ago. I had written many notes over that period. The time to write the actual screenplay took about 3 months. It was after a day trip to the ruins of Ek Balam near Cancun Mexico. My best friend and I planned to go visit the ruins but after many unexpected events getting there we felt like we went through some kind of 5th dimensional portal where time and space didn't exist. Weed aka "The Devil's Lettuce" was involved so that helped but going through the jungle was many levels of surreal, kind of like Dorothy when she goes into that nightmare forest. We saw so many strange things and once we got to the ruins it had just closed so we never got to see them but the small town adjacent to the ruins was also creepy and a bit of a time portal and we couldn't find a way out for a bit. Add to this while on the way driving through the jungle on a one lane highway, my best friend shared a story of a past-life regression he had where he saw that he was a Mexican peasant that died a miserable death as an alcoholic. Needless to say, my creative juices started imagining a story that incorporated this wild experience and my favorite ancient culture - the Mayans with their rich mythologies.

6. How many stories have you written?

I have 4 features. 1 is titled The Cuban American Dream, which coincidentally just placed as a top 10 finalist in Screencraft family Contest on the same day I received the email for this win.
I also have 2 short film screenplays and 4 TV pilots with 2 pilots having 2 episodes completed.
2 published children's books (Harper Collins) for ages 3-8 about nutrition and coping with fear.
Finally, I am currently pitching a fictional spiritual adventure manuscript that explores benevolent beings from across the galaxy and the Universe written for Middle Grade to Young Adults. It's kind of like a prequel to The Little Prince.

7. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

So I have a list of stories that I am constantly developing, and I factor in current events and the zeitgeist of our time on whether I complete one screenplay over another. With the current trend of authoritarian governments using LGBT+ individuals and immigrants as scapegoats to gain support, I felt this specific story needed to be born now. It is a story of two LGBT individuals who are successful financially and not battling any of the issues we see in most LGBT+ films (coming out, abuse, etc). They are battling for a full and absolute, unconditional self-love. The other main character, Jahari, who is a heterosexual male, is best friends with Wallace, a gay man, which mirrors a normal situation where many heterosexual males have at least one gay friendship. Jahari is trying to achieve the "American Dream", battling his materialistic, money-hungry ego that mirrors the psyche of most Americans today. Most films show a female with a gay best friend. I wanted to break stereotypes across the board, especially with Odys, who is a gorgeous, dynamic Trans woman who passes for a biological woman. She owns her own business and is thriving, but her only demon is herself.

The other social issue I wanted to shine a spotlight on was Mexican culture and its many contributions to society today. It seems to be a focus point for our current President Trump to attack and characterize them as rapists and evil people as well as going after trans individuals. I wanted to honor the Mexican culture. To remind Americans that the Mayan civilization was highly sophisticated, making advances in mathematics, agriculture, astronomy and architecture that lasted for over 3000 years and left many contributions to our society today. They invented the number zero, cultivated cacao (chocolate) as a food source, and their calendar was more accurate than the European one at the time. Their cities were more populous and sophisticated than Europe's largest capital cities. The only thing they didn't have were guns. That and immunity to foreign diseases ultimately led to their downfall. Being an archaeologist who has studied their rich culture for decades, I used the Mayan Hero Twin Myth as a structure for Pueblo. Our main characters are led down the same path as the Hero Twins in the Mayan underworld (Xibalba) where they are tested in underground houses inside a subterranean cavern system and eventually come out more god-like. Pueblo is essentially like Disney's Coco, a homage to Aztec and Mayan culture and how their lessons can be applied to modern people of today. I wanted people to remember the importance of Mexico and its fallen empire as a mirror to the United States, which seems to be an empire in decline.

8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

Not many. Like I said, I have a lifetime of research on the subject of the Maya so that really helped make sure I was getting their story right. I also hired Rhys Ernst, a trans producer of HBO's Transparent, for a sensitivity read to make sure the trans character was correct in every way, and he added a few notes that improved Odys overall. Being a gay man myself, I didn't need help getting Wallace right.

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Anthropology and Archaeology. I've done a few digs in Egypt and Bosnia and am a freelance journalist for Popular Archaeology magazine. History overall fascinates me because as they say the past is prologue and we are destined to repeat the same mistakes until we learn the lessons of our past. History is a rich repository for fascinating myths and stories.

10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

To be honest, there aren't many LGBT focused screenplay festivals out there, so you came up in my Coverfly feed, and I really love Toronto, so an alarm bell went off to enter.

11. What movie have you watched the most times in your life?

Come to think of it, it's a tie between The Fifth Element and The Wizard of OZ.
CAST LIST:

Narrator: Shawn Devlin
Wallace: Geoff Mays
Odys: Elizabeth Rose Morris