Dive into the high-stakes world of beauty pageants where appearances are not just deceiving—they're deadly. In 'Crowned Lies,' a seemingly glamorous event spirals into a treacherous game when Emily Brooks and her fellow contestants uncover a corrupt scheme involving the pageant’s top officials. As they pull at the threads of deceit, they quickly find themselves entangled in a dangerous web that threatens not just their chances at the crown but their very lives. Faced with relentless threats and shadowy adversaries, Emily must decide how much she's willing to risk to expose the truth beneath the glittering facade.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Emily Brooks: Val Cole
Brooke Lee: Hannah Ehman

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?
Crowned Lies is a suspenseful Southern Gothic Noir thriller about three young women who unravel a corrupt and dangerous pageant empire from the inside out.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Psychological Thriller
Southern Gothic
Crime Drama
Mystery
Suspense
It uses the visual and emotional language of Southern Gothic storytelling (decay, moral corruption, grief, haunting pasts), while structurally delivering a character-driven psychological unraveling. At its climax, it leans into the thriller and mystery and suspense genre, with noir-like pacing and emotional intensity.

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

Because Crowned Lies brings a fresh, fearless voice to a genre that often forgets young women of color. It delivers:
A culturally nuanced protagonist rarely seen in psychological thrillers.
Complex female characters—flawed, sharp, ambitious, broken, and real.
A strong visual style and tone reminiscent of Sharp Objects, Gone Girl, and Promising Young Woman, but more grounded and regionally specific.
Timely themes: abuse of power, gaslighting, grief, survival, institutional silence, and female rage—all relevant in post-#MeToo cinema.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Elegantly Vicious.

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

The Book of Life

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

I started working on this screenplay in 2023

7. How many stories have you written?

A bunch, ranging from thrillers to emotional dramas.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

My sister, my mom, and all the pageant girls, including me, who have felt slighted by systems of deception that tolerate cheating, sexual misconduct, and unfair advantages.

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

I needed to make sure I addressed multiple points of controversy, real and fictionalized, so that it wasn't pinpointed to one specific incident in any pageant system.

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

Preserving our ocean and freshwater ecosystems. I love diving, and I even started my own community service initiative, Operation Clean Waters, to try and connect divers and dive shops and to promote and organize cleanup dives.

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

I was looking for feedback on how to make my script better. I found the initial feedback exceptionally thorough and helpful.