MAZ OJAL, a corrupt business tyrant, discovers large amounts of Kyber Crystal deposits and sets out to gather the find, using slaves in the process. A 90 year old YODA, his son DAGO, and other villagers are captured and enslaved to mine the Kyber. During a dispute, Dago is slain by one of the guards. During a prison riot, Yoda and ZEN KALDRONIUS steal a ship full of Kyber, escape the mines, and are chased by Maz’ Alpha Team. Yoda and Zen end up crashing on jungle planet but N’KATA DEL GORMO, a Hysalrian, saves them. N’kata sees that the force is strong in them and takes them in as Padawans.

Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Dago: Steve Rizzo
Yoda: Sean Ballantyne
Zen: Geoff Mays
Guard: Andy Camp

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

My screenplay is Yoda's origin story. It begins with Yoda and his son who are captured and enslaved to work the Kyber mines where they meet Zen Kaldronius. They manage to escape and in the process, are rescued by N'kata Del Gormo, who trains them in the ways of the Jedi. During their training, they discover dark secrets of the Sith.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Sci Fi, Adventure, Action

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

It brings the same theme and tones as the classics that we all grew up with and really love. Yoda is my personal favorite in terms of Star Wars characters and this movie would take the audience into an epic journey through the eyes of the legendary Yoda.

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

Captivating, Hope

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

This is a very hard question for me because there isn't a single movie I've seen most in my life. I'd have to break it down by genre because there are too many classics I love. As a start I'll throw in a few genres.
Sci Fi: Original Star wars. (too many in this category from Back to the Future, Terminator 1-2, Aliens, Predator, Matrix, original Robocop... etc)
Crime: Goodfellas, Casino, Scarface, Godfather 2
Drama: Shawshank, Good Will Hunting
Comedy: Dumb n Dumber, Zoolander, etc

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

I had written a full trilogy on Yoda with this being the first of the 3. I wrote this screenplay in 4 months.

7. How many stories have you written?

9 feature scripts and 2 shorts.

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

This is like the movie question so there's so many to list with so many genres of music that I love. Genre wise, I'm a huge 90's hip hop fan. But there is one song that gets me most emotionally. Not hip hop though. Matthew Good Band - Strange Days. It's kept me grounded in some of my most stressful times.

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

Personally, I wouldn't say I faced any obstacles writing this one. I loved every minute of it. Before writing this, all I knew was the movies. I had a passion about Yoda and his story and I really dove into the Star Wars Universe. I have become a real SW fan boy during the whole process.

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

Family, health and fitness, travelling and experiencing different cultures, digital assets.

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

I had a great experience with FilmFreeway. Their site is user friendly and there are so many affiliated competitions to choose from. I love how their platform can give opportunities for inspiring creatives like myself a chance at getting our work out there and possibly provide connections with industry professionals.

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

There really aren't any Fan Fiction Comps out there and I'm super glad that this competition exists. I love the fact that there's a table read with great actors to bring a portion of your script to life as well. To my knowledge, unless I'm shooting a portion of my script, it's really challenging for a fan fiction to gain any traction since we have no rights to the franchise. Thus, the fact that the festival helps promote this, really means a lot as well.

Initial Feedback? I believe that my scripts are ever complete so if there's any chance that I can improve in my craft, I definitely welcome all notes so long as I believe is best for the overall story. Also, the notes given to me are very similar to the way I provide notes to my writing friends, so I totally understand the feedback received.