This eight-episode limited series is about the turbulent life, death, and afterlife of Henry "Stormy" O'Dell, a biracial escaped slave with paranormal abilities. Set in Gold Rush California, Henry's mission is to stop a serial killer as he struggles to avoid forfeiting his soul to a demon who has wanted him since the day he was born.

Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Fred: Steve Rizzo
Henry: Sean Ballantyne
Neveah: Kyana Teresa

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?
Here are two of my loglines put together:
Drawing on films like The Others and The Sixth Sense, "Thunderstorm" tells the story of the life, death, and afterlife of Henry O'Dell, an escaped slave with paranormal abilities. Set in Gold Rush California, Henry fights to free the ghosts of murder victims from a soul-collecting demon who considers the future acquisition of Henry's soul to be the greatest prize of all.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Horror, drama, and the paranormal.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
The main character is unique, and the episodes draw you along with their cliff-hanger endings. Henry not only has paranormal abilities, but he's just an interesting person, an escaped slave who could pass for white (but doesn't). The demon who wants possession of Henry's soul is around him from the day he's born, until after he dies, urging him to commit murder and forfeit his soul. Henry tries hard to resist him, but doesn't always succeed.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Spooky and addictive.

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Francis Ford Coppala's "The Black Stallion." True, I love horses, but the music and cinematography are what bring me back to it time and again.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Not quite two years for the entire nine episodes.

7. How many stories have you written?
Complete stories, screenplays and novels, about nine.

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the
most times in your life?)
I can't remember over my whole life, but I've been listening to YelaWolf a lot in the last couple of years. "You and Me" is my favorite.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Confidence. When I first started this series, I wondered if I could tackle that many episodes, especially since I wrote the whole thing backwards, starting from Episodes 7,8, and 9 and going back to Episode 1.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Horses. I love everything about them, which is why Henry's occupation is a horse dealer.

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your
experiences working with the submission platform site?
FilmFreeway has been good. I've been on a couple of other platforms that were harder for me to navigate. Each site seems to have their own special jargon you have to learn, but FilmFreeway was pretty straight-forward and easy to understand.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings
on the initial feedback you received?
I was entering contests looking for "diverse" writers (I'm biracial and over 60) and I think I chose this one because it was affordable. I was glad I did! I really enjoyed the table read! The feedback was constructive.