After the death of her father and the loss of her racing partner, a veteran off-road driver enters an all-women desert rally with an unlikely teammate.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Shawn Devlin
Otto: Sean Ballantyne
Geri: Hannah Ehman

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

DESERT BELLES is about a mature woman pushing herself to win an off-road desert auto race to save the family business and in doing so rediscovering her passion for the sport.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Action adventure.

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

DESERT BELLES is based on a real women-only off road competition, The Rebelle Rally. The world is exciting, dangerous, physically and mentally challenging and shows that women are strong and resourceful competitors. We've had 100 plus years of men in movies having grand adventures. Now it's time for women, and women of an age, to be the lead.

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

Exhilirating competition.

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

The Princess Bride

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

Active writing was about 2 years.

7. How many stories have you written?

Five screenplays completed, seven more in various stages of development, including one award-winner that I've gone back for one more rewrite that is nearly complete.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I stumbled across The Rebelle Rally while researching women offroaders and was captivated.

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

I don't feel like I faced any obstacles beyond the reality that it takes many rewrites to get a screenplay to a solid place. Instead a new obstacle has arisen recently with Jeep dropping their electric vehicle line potentially requiring me to rewrite the film with a different manufacturer.

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

I am passionate about tennis and play on multiple United States Tennis Association adult teams.

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

I wanted to hear my character's words performed by actors and was drawn to a contest with a female focus.