BANAFSHEH ESMAILZADEH
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 PictureBANAFSHEH ESMAILZADEH
​Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I live in Vancouver, BC.

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
Glass Waltz initially started off as an idea for a social satire novel sometime before COVID, about a guy who refused to get over his deceased girlfriend meanwhile her sister silently loved him. I just knew that the guys name was Richard and he was a dancer, and the love triangle was doomed no matter what. I got into screenwriting back in 2022 and realized it might even work better as a short script. Discovering Dmitri Shostakovich “Waltz No. 2” sealed it for me, even more so when I found an orgel (music box) cover of it, which birthed the opening scene inside the snowglobe. As well, about a year prior, my uncle passed away, and as I wrote it, the social satire aspects washed away and it became much more serious/earnest.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
I think it took me about a week, likely less, to write Glass Waltz. The idea was strong enough to not require very much planning. Like I mentioned before, I knew the male leads name was Richard. Now, when I was in high school I had two twin sister characters who were going to bet he main characters of a totally different story that I ultimately didn't end up writing. I didn't want to let either of them go, so the natural solution was to transplant them into Glass Waltz, and their dynamic is largely unchanged except for the fact that Rachel had to be dead. My writing process usually involves me dedicating a late night or two brainstorming story and character details into my phone, doing a kind of haphazard mind map where I throw all my ideas together and remove what I don't need. Before I start any project, I come up with the title, protagonist(s), and a general storyline for direction. If even one of those components is missing, I can't start the project.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My ultimate ambition is to amass a creative empire, since I've long been a novelist but I also draw my own comics and now am into screenwriting. I have lots of story ideas across all of those mediums (and genres) and eventually I want to get all of them out there.

Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?
My entry was a short script (12 pages not including title page) so technically it's a full script submission. As for why it's not a feature script, I wanted the story to be short and contained, in part to challenge myself and get better at writing shorter stuff.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?
The answer to both of those is Revolutionary Girl Utena (the movie is called Adolescence of Utena). It's a somewhat obscure anime and it's heavily surreal, and both the show and movie are loaded with symbolism and you discover something new with every rewatch. I only hope I can write half as well as Kunihiko Ikuhara does. On the non-anime side... my favourite TV show is Mad Men and favourite movie is The Fountain. I love Mad Men for its drama and nostalgia, and The Fountain for how deep it is.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have? Write what you care about, and be earnest. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I'm working on several things right now, though my novels and comics are currently on hiatus. Right now, my main focus is my sci-fi adventure series Finding Elpis which wants very badly to become a feature hexalogy but I'm considering turning into a TV series when it wraps up because it keeps expanding. I've also started a somewhat more conventional feature Lunar Window, a romantic comedy about a beautiful goth with impossible standards and an ordinary man determined to meet them. In time I'm going to edit/rewrite my first-ever feature script (which also happens to be my first all ages piece), the surreal slice-of-life Marisol and Mezzaluna.