Screenwriting : Letter to Jason Mirsch from Jeffrey van Davis - A stage 32 success story by Jeffrey Van Davis

Hi Jason,

A while back you wrote me introducing yourself and apologizing for not having contacted me earlier. I was a bit perplexed by your quite nice letter because I was surprised that anyone as busy as you must be would take the time to write me personally. You also requested that if I had any positive experience with Stage 32 to let you know. Alas I never got around to writing you, in part because I live in Germany and am active in the German film scene as a paid screenwriter.

I've been wanting to write this letter for sometime. Yes, Stage 32 has been a very positive factor in my professional life. I sent my screenplay THE HOTEL ROOM to Sarah Cornelius via Stage 32. She was highly critical and honest in her appraisal. Half way through reading her comments, I was not at all happy, but I continued reading and soon realized how professional she is and how much she cares for good writing. She told me that I was not aware of the gem I had and that with a rewrite it could have a real chance to be produced. I rewrote it and sent it back and received even better feedback. Long story short, I sent the screenplay to several script competitions and received the following awards:

The Hotel Room, feature length drama

New York Screenplay contest, finalist 2014

Beverly Hills Film Festival, Official Selection/Finalist 2015

Austin Film Festival, Second Rounder 2016

Table Read, Semifinalist 2016

Write Movies, Finalist 2017

Because of my rewrite and the success The Hotel Room screenplay had in the contest circuit, I decided to make a sizzle reel to use as a promotion tool to find investors to make the feature. My lead actors came from New York (where I held auditions) and Buenos Aires. At the last minute I rewrote the script and decided to skip the sizzle and shoot as much of the film as possible.

I sold my car, my new DW drum set, my rare book collection, borrowed money from family and friends and shot the film,

ALL MY TOMORROWS, the name changed from The Hotel Room. It is a SAG shoot because I wanted to get the best actors I could and with a small crew and small budget, I directed the film. We had only a nine day window to shoot and it was wild shooting at the pace we were working. It was the French writer, Paul Valery, who said that a film is never completed, it is abandoned. That was certainly true of ALL MY TOMORROWS. Still I am proud of our success on the festival circuit:

2019 All My Tomorrows, fictional narrative feature

2018 Silver Remi award (work in progress), World Fest Houston International Film Festival

2019 Best Director, AOF MegaFest Film Festival Las Vegas

2019 Best Actress AOF MegaFest Film Festival Las Vegas

2019 Best Director Hollywood Dreams Film Festival

2019 Bronze Remi, World Fest Houston International Film Festival

2020 Best Feature Narrative, American Golden Picture Film Festival, Florida

2020 Best Screenplay, American Golden Picture Film Festival

2020 Audience Award, South East Regional Film Festival, Florida

2020 Best Indie Feature, LAFA (Los Angeles Film Award)

2020 Bronze Best Duo Actors, Actor Awards New York City

2020 Best Drama Film, Augsburg film festival, Germany

(vimeo code word: AMT51:06) https://vimeo.com/343910553

All of the above has happened because of Stage 32 and Sarah Cornelius.

Thank you Stage 32,

Jeffrey van Davis