Interview with Winning Screenwriter Joanna Perry-Folino (MY MOTHER MURDERED MY FATHER)

 1. What is your screenplay about?

Decades after seeing her mother murder her father, a woman battles with her own self-destructive tendencies and obsessions when her mother is released on parole. (This Is Us meets Bloodline)

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Mystery/Suspense/Family Generational Drama

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

This is a pilot for a series that is a very strong female-driven drama that delves deep into the psychological effects parental damage can have long into one’s life. The pilot sets up a series that deals with the long term effects of generational secrets and dishonesty.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Starkly engrossing

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

The Wizard of Oz

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

About 6 months

7. How many stories have you written?

About a dozen or so including a novel, plays, shorts, full-length screenplays and tv pilots

8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)

Cole Porter’s Anything Goes

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

Since it is a pilot for a series, the biggest obstacle was creating a bible that looked forward several seasons. I am still fine-tuning it.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Multicultural and ethnic literature, film and theatre, travel, building community and breaking barriers to gain equal treatment for women in all professions

11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?

I enjoy it, rely on it. It is an easy way to keep track of my submissions.

12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

I am excited by the idea of folks reading my work and getting to know my artistic sensibility, particularly in a “female” festival where I know I have a good chance of readers becoming engaged in my female protagonists and antagonists. I feel supported by the festival and respected.

******

Genre: Drama, Crime

Follows the story of a 30-year-old middle school counselor desperate to uncover the truth of her mother’s conviction for her father’s murder 25 years in the past in order to come to terms with her demons.

CAST LIST:

Claudine: Georgia Grant
Dev: Rais Moui
Narrator: Hugh Ritchie
Francesca/Frankie: Alicia Payne
Carla: Lara Amersey