The Lucas A. Ferrara Film Fund, in partnership with Broken Flames Productions, helps emerging scriptwriters get a break in a competitive industry. In this, its second year, entrants will get the opportunity to have their scripts read by a panel of industry professionals, with the winner having their project financed and produced. The deadline for script submission is 15 June 2022, and scripts can be of any genre, from drama and comedy to sci-fi and horror. The Fund was first launched at the Cannes Film Festival 2021.
Writers may submit original, previously unproduced scripts of up to 15 pages, and the winner will have their film made by the team at Broken Flames Productions. The Fund encourages those with no previous professional experience to apply, in the hope of finding talented new voices.
Lucas A. Ferrara is a New York-based attorney who has produced over 100 features and shorts, and who currently has a 2023 Oscar-eligible short – ‘Frank and Emmet’ – on his slate of projects. He is a huge supporter of creatives, and started the Fund when he saw how badly the arts had been impacted by the pandemic. He saw an opportunity to help upcoming filmmakers continue their careers in such difficult circumstances, and joined forces with Broken Flames Productions.
Last year’s winner was Daniel Kaszas, whose film ‘Bibimbap for One’, a compelling story about the loss of a loved one, is now showing on the festival circuit. Lucas said: “’Bibimbap’ stood out from all the other submissions we received because the script effectively utilised two universal constants – eating and food prep – to help tell a compelling story about loss, grief, and new beginnings.”
Lucas continued: “The pandemic has adversely impacted the arts in unprecedented ways, with many creatives denied meaningful opportunities to have their voices heard, and constructive messages realised. I am honored to be partnering with the team at Broken Flames Productions to help correct that imbalance.
“The fund had an amazing response last year. So many talented writers submitted their scripts, and it was a very difficult process to choose the winning project, as the shortlist was extremely competitive. Writers from all over the UK shared their stories, and it was a mixture of those who already had a large background of work behind them, to those who submitted a script after starting writing for the first time!”
Those who apply this year will have the chance of having their script read by a panel of industry members, including the first announced panelist, actor Carla Woodcock, who made her debut in Netflix’s ‘Free Rein’ and will soon be seen in the ITV series ‘Tell Me Everything’ and the Hulu Pilot ‘History of a Pleasure Seeker’.
Ella Greenwood and Maya Bartley O’Dea from Broken Flames are Co-Directors of the Fund, and their advice for those who want to submit their scripts is to just go ahead and do it – there’s no fee involved, as the team want to find new and exciting voices. So many other similar funds require writers to have a background of work to submit, but everyone has to start somewhere, and that’s what this Fund encourages. Saying that, make sure you apply with your best original script, as writers can only submit one project. “A pitch deck isn’t required but is highly recommended, and formatting the script correctly is important – there’s plenty of information available online on how to do this!”
The shortlist of scripts will be shared in July, and later that month the winner will be announced across Broken Flames’ and Lucas A. Ferrara’s platforms.
Writers should submit their scripts at brokenflamesproductions.com/film-fund by 15 June.