"Better late than never." That's my life's unfortunate descriptor at the moment. Ever since I've had memories, I've had an imagination. From telling my parents that there was somehow a gateway to another dimension in my closet, and it would never open as long as I could sleep with the lights on that night, to late-night scary stories in the backyard to see which of the neighborhood kids I could frighten the most. We'd all miss our curfews, walking home in groups to keep the other guy safe. "I'm not scared. You're scared." Better late than never.
My passion for telling stories got me a full portfolio scholarship to the Savannah College of Art & Design. A BA in Computer Art: Videogame Design. I was going interactive. People were going to be able to play the movies in my head with a joystick. The poor life decisions of a typical college student, his first time on his own and away from home, made that dream.. deferred. Better late than never.
Fast forward to boot camp in the United States Navy. A man now, I so strongly believed. My creativity morphed into following orders and passing inspections. If there was no SOP (Standard Operating Procedures), then it didn't involve me. Dreams and aspirations? Yes, Sir. Mission accomplished? No, Sir. Better late than never.
A divorce, a kid, another marriage, and two more kids later, I found myself staring at a computer screen while wasting away at a dead-end job. A reflection revealed a man I barely recognized. The creative spark was faint, but not quite extinguished. I wrote what was on my mind at the time, and then wrote some more; modifying the note daily. Then I created a new note with ideas for interesting stories. That note multiplied and became those interesting stories. Before I knew it, Final Draft was installed on my computer, and I had a screenplay. The creative spark became a flame. Another screenplay was created. One by one, the flame grew more intense. While typing this post, I'm beginning to recognize the man in my phone's reflection. This time, he's smiling and silently mouthing, "better late than never."
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Wonderful post, "better late than never," absolutely! Writing stories is the breath of life! I am glad you are smiling again! Nice to meet you, Khalil. :)
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Greetings, Khalil Hakeem can you tell us more about the screenplays please? Genre. Storyline.
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Welcome to the community, Khalil Hakeem. "We'd all miss our curfews, walking home in groups to keep the other guy safe. 'I'm not scared. You're scared.'" Those walks were scary! :D
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Sure, Geoff Hall. I started out just writing treatments for film ideas once the ideas made it past the "note" phase. My first screenplay was a Crime/ Drama about human trafficking. I heard about a huge bust out here in L.A. that, I believe was just an apartment building or motel in a random neighborhood I used to drive through (obviously not for sex trafficking, lol). My wife is also obsessed with Law & Order: SVU, and it kinda flipped a switch. The film's logline was: A newly promoted L.A. detective's human trafficking case becomes personal once he discovers that one of the victims is a long-lost childhood friend.
After that screenplay underwent countless rewrites, I decided to take a step back and revisit it at a later date. A friend of mine in Fresno met a Sudanese writer/ director who was finalizing the editing of his short that was filmed on location in Sudan. I was then introduced to him; and after a few hours, we agreed to collaborate on a project together. Him being half-Sudanese and half-Mexican gave him an interesting perspective on life and his upbringing, so I decided to create the short based on him. Logline: After a lifetime of living in his late father's shadow, Tarek must now decide his own path. Return to his father's homeland of Sudan and work in the family's business, or remain with his Mexican mother in Fresno with an uncertain future.
The number one takeaway from working on this short was that if there are too many spoons in the pot, then nothing gets stirred. The screenplay was completed multiple times. Each time with a completely different plot, sometimes new characters, and at one point became a Period Piece (how that'd work.. it didn't).
I then decided to go solo and came up with multiple stories since. The one I'm most proud of is now a finalist in one of Coverfly's screenplay competitions. This one is a reimagining of Bonnie and Clyde. Instead of taking the usual approach that I've seen, which is focusing on their killer lifestyles, I saw their love story. I then took that love story and applied it to high schoolers, and made the screenplay family friendly. Logline: Two high schoolers from opposite sides of the tracks, Bonnie and Kyle, unexpectedly embark on a journey to find the father Bonnie never knew and soon discover that she and Kyle are more alike than they thought.
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So great to meet you here in the community, Khalil. I’m inspired by your story and excited to see your creativity thrive!
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Khalil Hakeem thank you Khalil for your most generous reply.
I loved this: “The number one takeaway from working on this short was that if there are too many spoons in the pot, then nothing gets stirred.” That is so true with short form films. For my short film, “My Name is Sorrow” which is a film about sex trafficking, from the point of view of the victim/survivor. I pared everything down. A small studio set. A cast of one. No ‘action’ sequences of abuse, simply the thoughts of a woman who has been ensnared in this insidious industry.
Here’s the trailer:
https://vimeo.com/41612398
I had done in-depth research into my theme and decided that the abuse would not be sensationalised, but that I would focus on the abused. I had looked at other films about trafficking and it seemed to me that the voice of the perpetrator seemed to have greater accent than those ensnared in the trafficking industry.
After the film was released, I felt I needed to do broaden the story and so I used that research to create a feature length script, Seeing Rachel, which shows the wider world of intrigue behind trafficking.
Thanks again for your generosity in the reply to my question. All the best, Geoff
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Well said! So excited that your decided to share you journey on here. I think that a lot of us can relate to your story. thanks for the reminder to keep reminding myself "Better late than never"
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Your stories sound gripping, Khalil Hakeem!