In a near-future world ravaged by the memory-wiping virus X9, brilliant young scientist Andrea Santiago discovers a suppressed cure hidden by the powerful Biotech Pharmaceuticals. Having once been recruited into the system she now seeks to dismantle, Andrea grapples with betrayal, moral compromise, and the overwhelming cost of truth.

https://www.instagram.com/sarantosmelogia

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Shawn Devlin
Andrea: Hannah Ehman
Dr. Brown: Val Cole

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?
X9 explores what happens when the boundaries between human emotion and artificial intelligence blur. It's a sci-fi thriller wrapped around a deeply human question: what defines love, loyalty, and consciousness when technology begins to feel? Beneath the futuristic setting lies a story about redemption, sacrifice, and the fragile line between creator and creation.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
It's primarily a sci-fi thriller with strong psychological and emotional drama elements. Think Ex Machina meets Blade Runner 2049, but with the emotional core of Her.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because X9 reflects where we are right now — standing at the crossroads of ethics, emotion, and evolution. It's a visual and emotional experience that invites audiences to question their relationship with technology and each other. It's thrilling, thought-provoking, and cinematic in a way that blends spectacle with soul.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Hauntingly human.

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Good Will Hunting. Every time I watch it, I'm reminded that truth and vulnerability are the most powerful special effects in storytelling.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
The concept first came to me years ago, but I began shaping X9 seriously about two years ago. It's gone through multiple rewrites — each draft peeling back another layer of its emotional and moral complexity.

7. How many stories have you written?
Over 60 screenplays, plus novels, poems, and hundreds of songs. Writing is simply how I process the world. Whether it's a lyric or a scene, I'm always chasing emotional truth.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?
As a board-certified plastic surgeon, I've spent my life studying both the beauty and imperfection of humanity. Given the recent pandemic, paranoia and the fear about big Pharma and corporate greed, this idea was born from that paradox — how we create, repair, and sometimes destroy in pursuit of perfection. I wanted to explore what happens when our desire to improve humanity leads us to challenge what humanity even means.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Time. Between music, medicine, and storytelling, every day demands balance. But I've learned that creativity isn't about waiting for the right moment — it's about making one. The emotional depth of X9 also challenged me; it pushed me to confront parts of myself I didn't expect to find on the page.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Music is my heartbeat. I've released a new song, poem, and chapter every month since 2014. I'm also passionate about empathy — whether through surgery, songwriting, or screenwriting, I try to heal in my own way.

11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I entered because Fantasy Sci-Fi Thriller Festival celebrates the kind of storytelling that blends imagination with emotion. The feedback was incredible - insightful, validating, and energizing. To have X9 recognized for its depth and cinematic potential means the world to me. It reminds me why I keep creating: to move people, to connect, and to remind us all that even in the future, the heart still matters most.