SERGIO COLASTRA

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?

New York, NY, USA


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? 
My inspiration for crafting this story comes from the convergence between my personal experience and the real-life circumstances faced by the historical figure who stars in my TV series: In 1575, the writer Miguel de Cervantes spent five years captive in Algiers, long before writing "Don Quixote" and thus entering the annals of literary history, and I spent three months kidnapped by guerrillas in the jungle between Panama and Colombia in 2006, after which I began to seriously write fiction scripts.

I write scripts instead of novels because I started writing when literary scripts were needed to make short films at the film school I attended in Spain.
 

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?

It has been about 8 years since I found the story of Cervantes' captivity, felt  the connection I have explained, and wondered about the personal approach I could give to that story.
The answer was obvious, if I wanted to tell a story of captivity and writing and the protagonist was Miguel de Cervantes, I would not only address issues of creativity but would end up speculating on the genesis of one of the pinnacles of world literature.
Once I accepted the challenge, there was a long process of documentation - we are talking about the 16th century around the Mediterranean and the biography of a very elusive real character - and when I had enough historical, philosophical, and philological basis, I began to outline a sequence of sequences from where to articulate the main plot, based on a concrete idea about the artistic creative process.
Letting the characters "run" and grow and outlining the themes that could not be missing in a historical fiction with literary, military, political components, etc., was also part of the work at that stage.
To be able to shape and close the story I wanted to tell, I needed a "bird's eye view," and the decision to relate the plots based on a non-linear structure was taken quite intuitively, based on a functional issue, as it allowed many adjustments.
Once everything was sufficiently confirmed, I was able to start to strengthen the tone and content of the dialogues and with it, review the interior of the story, with greater objectivity, until completing my first version of the script.
Once I had the first version of my feature film ready, it took me a while to realize that what seemed to me to be ready to be shot was not at all: I showed it in a “professional script platform” back in Spain, and someone wrote me that "the text was strange and abrupt" and that it was "a missed opportunity" as a feedback from my work.
This opinion initially did not help me and seemed cryptic, but I was fortunate enough  to analyze it coldly and with humility; that's how I interpreted that what was really being said to me was that "I wanted to tell too many things in very little space."
From assuming  that interpretation, I began a long process of rewriting; I had to break down and expand the script, and what was initially a movie has finally become a miniseries of six one-hour episodes each.
Having the final format fixed and having written all the chapters of the series has allowed me to start another very detailed revision stage, in which I am now involved, after showing the pilot episode to professional script writers,.
 

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?

It is to inspire a positive impact from the artistic field. Sometimes I remember the impact that watching "The Godfather" at 12 years old alone and depressed had on me and feeling renewed by the power of cinema.

 
Was your entry at The Wiki Screenplay Contest a full script or “the first ten pages”? Why did you make that choice?

I sent the complete script of the first chapter. The reason is that it is a pilot for television and not a feature, and if we put this in perspective, the pilot of the series can be to the entire series, what the first ten pages are to the feature movie.

 
What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show...and why?

I would say that Twin Peaks and The Wire are my favorite series of all times. Both are capable of overwhelming and moving me by showing complex and close worlds. If you think about it, they are both very ambitious artistic products, fresh in their approach, and have managed to connect with a wide audience.

 
What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?

I think appropriate advice from me, based on my experience, would be to put all your effort, illusion, knowledge, and talent into it, and even more importantly, you have to try not to rush the process, learn while you work,  and above all, you have to live life to find something remarkable to invest your time on it..
 

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?​

I have several film projects in the drawer, but there are first drafts or less. Although I do have to say that I have written a fiction script about my kidnapping in the jungles of Colombia, which I hope will come to fruition someday, even though it is written in Spanish. Thanks for asking!

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