By Editorial Co-Heads Rachel Lambert & Siena Richardson.
Many incredible artists will be featured in this year’s Fusion Film Festival screening and competition. We reached out to the finalists from all 12 categories to get to know more about who they are, what inspires them, and how they feel about being a part of Fusion.
UNDERGRADUATE HALF HOUR PILOT SCREENPLAY:
Lauren Nicole Flippo
Major in Dramatic Writing – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of Spring 2018
Hometown: Claremore, Oklahoma
Screenplay: House of Worship
Madelyn Miller
Double Major in Film & Television and Spanish, Minor in Dramatic Literature – New York University
Class of May 2016
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Screenplay: Right Wing Woman
Lyndsey Bourne
Double Major in Dramatic Writing and Drama – Tisch School of the Arts
Screenplay: Regrettable Behavior
How did you decide to become a writer/filmmaker/animator/etc.?
Lauren: When I was in kindergarten, my teacher showed my mom this weird little story I wrote about eagles having a race (or something like that) and said I had a talent. After that, writing was all I wanted to do, all the time. In elementary school, I would get in trouble for scribbling stories on loose leaf instead of paying attention in math class. But now I really do get to write all the time, so I would say things definitely worked out in my favor!
Madelyn: I became a writer because I want to make people laugh, cry, and think – bonus points if I can make them sneeze or get a jumpstart on their tax returns.
Lyndsey: I’m obsessed with trying to express the clumsy ways we try and fail to connect with one another. Writing has always been a way for me to try and understand the world – or at least my perception of it.
What inspires you?
Lauren: Nothing can get to me the way a really good story can. Whether it’s a book, TV show, movie, or play doesn’t matter – I’ve got favorites in every medium that have made me feel more than most things in “real” life. The thought that someday I might write a story that will have an equal emotional effect on even one person inspires me to try and write every day.
Madelyn: I feel most inspired watching other people perform improv or stand-up comedy, and watching comedy news shows like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
Lyndsey: Female writers whose work I admire, New York City, the many different forms of storytelling, and the feeling of thoughts passing between your face and mine.
Why did you submit to Fusion?
Lauren: It’s important for women to support each other, especially in an industry as male-dominated as film. That’s not to say incredible movies and television shows aren’t still being made. I simply believe women’s voices aren’t currently represented as well as they could be. And to some degree, isn’t everyone’s goal in the film industry to create work that has universal impact? The Fusion Film Festival offers women the opportunity to showcase their work and provides a community I’m excited to take part in.
Madelyn: I submitted to the Fusion Film Festival because I think it’s awesome that NYU has a festival dedicated to celebrating women in film and tv! I’ve really enjoyed Fusion both as an attendee of festival events and as a volunteer.
Lyndsey: This is an incredible festival with necessary opportunities for the still heavily underrepresented female voice.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
Lauren: I’m just very honored to be chosen as a Fusion finalist because there are a lot of amazing writers at NYU. Whenever I’m in my dramatic writing classes, I’m constantly blown away by how talented my peers are. It makes me feel ecstatic and anxious all at once to be learning alongside people destined to create the next generation’s storytelling lore – the stories that will be to our kids what films like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings were to our parents. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
Madelyn: Twitter – @TRuthBader.
The screening of Fusion Film Festival finalists and the awards ceremony will take place at 6:30pm at Cantor Film Center on Saturday, March 5th.