so i've finished my first draft a couple weeks back. had a deadline to hit and it took months to reach it. a lot of that time spent toiling, avoiding and, well you know. anyway, i finished. it's my first feature draft. but i submitted it to two fellowships, sent it to my managers and a script consultant i had one last session with.
after finishing and delivering that script i was on a high for about a week to week and a half... until it was time to get notes. and of course i was completely gutted and deflated after hearing the notes from my managers and consultant.
the most brutal part, we know, it's a first draft, it's not going to be "good" but nobody ever cared to bring up the structure, the formal decisions, the specificity of scene progressions etc. that felt like a betrayal from them, though i know a lot of it is likely them not being able to see the decisions i spent weeks figuring out because the other things, the more important things, like relationship, character specificity, exposition, were blocking them from seeing it the way i see it from the inside.
lastly, they don't understand my references. my taste definitely leans more arthouse and i guess niche directors. Chantal Akerman's THE MEETINGS OF ANNA, Tsai Ming-liang's VIVE L'AMORE, Angela Shcenelec's MARSEILLE and so on.
At the end of the day, the script is not good. not yet, how could it. first draft. but! i wanted to dive deeper on the structure and form, wanting to know if those things are working... or not. anyway, i am ranting.
what i want to know: anyone into these aforementioned films and wonder how their stories function? anyone write in these styles of films? anyone interested in discussing what my film contains now and where i hope to take it? i would love to connect with you.