After being abducted by a suburban couple running an underground trafficking ring, a determined young woman discovers her missing best friend among the captives and rallies a group of women to fight back, outsmart their captors, and take their freedom by force.

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

My screenplay is about a young woman who is abducted into an underground, suburban, sex trafficking ring, who bands together with her best friend and a small group of other captive women to attempt an escape before they are all sold off to the highest bidder.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Thriller/Action

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

We already have Taken with Liam Neeson. But what if there was no Liam Neeson character?

What if the girl had to save herself and her best friend? That’s the story I wanted to tell. It’s about strength in unity, and how a group of women can band together and fight back.

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

Unyielding Survival

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

Clue (1985)! It’s one of my favorites. I watched it all the time with my friends growing up and I still watch it when I’m happy, sad, sick, healthy, I love it.

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

I came up with the initial concept for this screenplay back in 2020, but I really dove into the writing process earlier this year at the beginning of June and finished the submitted screenplay the first week of July.

7. How many stories have you written?

There was a time earlier this year when I had 27 unfinished scripts in my screenwriting software. Now, I have 22. I’ve written 5 stories from start to finish.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

At the height of Covid in 2020, I was unfortunately laid off from my job, as was most of the country. I was thinking of another source of income when I thought of applying to be a DoorDash or Uber Eats driver. But, my next immediate thought was, “No, it’s too dangerous. With my luck, I’d end up getting lured and abducted by some psychopath.” I guess that’s the anxiety in me, but that feeling definitely stuck with me. And thus, You Have Arrived was born.

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

This was my first feature length screenplay that I have written, so I think that alone was a challenge. I’m more comfortable with writing out short concepts. But, the more I fleshed this concept out, the more I felt like this had to be a feature. This process definitely taught me so much about pacing and structure. I loved every minute of working on this screenplay and allowing it to consume my brain was so much fun.

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

I absolutely love the whole filmmaking process! Everything from pre to post production. Casting, location scouting, filming, and editing I would say are some of my favorite aspects of the overall process. I’ve loved movies since I was a baby and I never stopped.

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

The promised feedback and having my best scene read was very enticing. I’ve listened to the auction scene at least a dozen times since it was sent to me! It’s so surreal. The feedback I received was spot-on and so appreciated. It gave me great notes to push my script further!