1. What is your screenplay about?
My show is about a cantankerous investigator living in a fantasy city who must not only solve crimes but judge them too.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Fantasy, Drama & Mystery/Procedural
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I think this brings together two very solid markets: those of Fantasy and Mystery, and the show is unlike anything I’ve ever seen (which is why I wrote it).
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Fantasy procedural.
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Probably “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
About six months.
7. How many stories have you written?
I’ve published a collection of short prose pieces and a novella, and have written several plays and film screenplays. My play “The Anorak” (about a gunman who killed fourteen women here at the University of Montreal in 1989) is being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.
8. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
Bo Hansson’s album “Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings”—which I hope to make use of should “Vike” get picked up.
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
The biggest obstacle is always just sitting down to write; once I’ve done that, it doesn’t matter how much or how little I do—the project is moving forward.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
My family (wife and four kids aged 4, 5, 7, 9), playing Dungeons & Dragons (for over 30 years now), British TV, coffee, food, teaching.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
It’s expensive, but it works fine. I wish I’d taken a Gold membership a long time ago.
12. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I liked the theme of the festival, and was encouraged by what other screenwriters/filmmakers had to say about it. Feedback has been excellent, and the reading by professional Toronto voice actors was a real thrill.
Watch Screenplay Reading:
Where fantasy meets procedural mystery, a cantankerous Chief Constable must solve crimes AND judge them in a dark and dangerous metropolis. Vike struggles with his own addictions and fears while up against the Arklanen: an underground guild of dark magic, responsible for the death of Vike’s wife.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Samra: Kyana Teresa
Proprietor: Hannah Ehman
Vike: Sean Ballantyne
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 