Faisal Lutchmedial - writer
culture, diversity, family, My Cultural Divide, Ransom, Useless Things, writing

Being a Rookie TV Writer at 44

Here’s a twitter thread about what it’s been like becoming a television writer in my forties. It’s an emotional moment for other reasons and it makes me really feel the time it’s taken to get here even more.

May 2, 2019by admin
diversity, Ransom, writing

Ransom Season 3

This last year I’ve been working on the third season of the CBS / Global series RANSOM. This is the thread that I put up on twitter about the show and why it’s awesome.

March 16, 2019by admin
diversity, film, garment workers, globalization, producing, short film, writing

Beneath Us

Beneath Us is a cautionary tale of what can happen when migrants looking for a better life are vilified and forced to live in an “underground” economy. People need to feel what it’s like working in a factory, lost in a life of debt and poverty, making the things we touch and wear everyday. This is the disconnect I’ve been trying to bridge with my films, first by being the second generation immigrant bringing viewers to back to my mother’s home country as I did in My Cultural Divide (2006), and now bringing the factory literally into our backyard. Do we choose to treat factory workers differently because they live a world away? Or is it that we don’t care where things come from at all, as long as they are cheap and plentiful?

I want to bring this dystopian but all too real world to screen, and fill it with believable characters with relatable human dreams and faults. Sometimes a fiction film is capable of allowing an audience to experience the reality of something better than a documentary, and this is what I hope to do with Beneath Us. The factory in the short may not exist within the borders of the United States or Canada, but the result is the same – workers are exploited and then ignored by the people who gladly buy the things they make.

OAC is only supplying some of the funding so our team will be reaching out to the community to try to finance the rest of the budget. Contact us through this website, and we’ll definitely keep you up to date when we start our crowdfunding campaign.

May 15, 2017by admin
writing

Fake Name Generator

When trying to get some words down it’s really easy to get stuck doing things that are not productive, like trying to imagine a name for a character. The truth is someone’s name is not that important, especially in a first draft, so don’t let it slow you down! And from experience, if a script gets into production it is very common that the amazing name that you took hours to figure out for your protagonist is the same name as a real person who happens to do a similar job in Texas or New Brunswick or something, and you have to change it. I’ve used a few different sites, but this one is bookmarked because it’s fast and easy and gives a bunch of other data that might be useful. I usually press the generate button a few times and then mix and match.

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com

Fake Name Generator

June 30, 2016by admin
In Real Life, webseries, writing

IRL: In Real Life

One of my more recent jobs has been working on this short form series which will be on Bell Media Fibe One On Demand, created by Bobby Del Rio. It’s been very much a collaborative project, with a big group of like minded actors getting together to get it started. The very successful Indiegogo campaign described the concept like this before we went ahead and started writing:

“Through a collective improvisation process, our dynamic ensemble of performers examine the social media phenomenon and its effect on contemporary life. Each episode will be a stand alone short story, however when watched together these episodes will create a larger narrative.  Alienation, fidelity and online bullying are some of the stories you’ll see.”

Bobby assembled the mini writing room really well, and I am happy to have gotten the opportunity to map out this anthology series with these talented writers:  Ana Sani, R.J. Lackie, Aisha Porter Christie, Natalia Guled, and of course Bobby.  I wrote two episodes and I’ll post them here when they are released to the wider web after the Bell exclusive window expires.

In Real Life

In Real Life

June 22, 2016by admin
culture, diversity, writing

My Racist Neighbour and the Barbarian Invasion
This was a note I wrote on Facebook before the Canadian national election in 2015. I am personally relieved that I was wrong about how the anti-muslim rhetoric would give the Conservative Party of Canada an edge, but the subject is as important as ever. Here is the link to the original posting: https://www.facebook.com/notes/faisal-lutchmedial/my-racist-neighbour-and-the-barbarian-invasion/10153674299869108
And below is a copy of the note.
—
My neighbour went to the police to inform on the Muslim woman who lives in our building, accusing her of hating Canadians, and that a relative of hers who worked in construction was potentially building a bomb. I am unsure about what he thinks about the headscarf she wears.
Yes, she is a hijab wearing Muslim student, and lives with her sister. My neighbour told me that she said something to the effect that she sometimes thought Canadians were stupid, which, let’s be honest, is a thought that goes through most Canadian’s heads from time to time. But my neighbour became deeply suspicious of these sisters, and the man who “they say” was a family member. Why did they come to this country if they thought Canadians were stupid? Who was this man? Why were they so secretive? Were they here to do no good? “Those Islamics”, he said, were invading his precious country and trying to change it into something unrecognizable.
All this would have been easier for him, and people like him, with the new handy “tip line” Conservative government is setting up. Now anyone can hate monger from the privacy of their own home.
I should say that my neighbour is an old bigot who is losing his grip on reality, which is why, after calming down, I concluded nothing would come of this. In all probability the police officer he talked to either ignored him or dropped it quickly after. But I must confess when he first told me what he had done, I lost it. He shuffled away on his walker as I yelled, in no uncertain terms, that people only come here to look for a better life, just like my family. I knew that it was very unlikely that the police would listen to this crazy old man, but it’s exactly this kind of thing that can get on somebody’s record and make life difficult for them. It can affect citizenship, it can affect job opportunities, and it can affect travel / visa approvals. With our country becoming more and more a police state with laws like C-51, a small blemish on your file can destroy your future.
I write fiction, and work in the film and television industry, so this is a subject I think about a lot. I often find myself internet searching things that could raise red flags if anyone was monitoring me. And since Edward Snowden tells us that “they” are monitoring everyone all of the time, I assume a lot of red flags have been raised next to my Muslim name over the years. Imagine trying to write an action script and every time you wanted to know more about guns, or explosives, you hesitated typing in the search because it might make someone think you are a terrorist. It sounds ridiculous but this is a worry I have every single time. I’ve actually taken pretty elaborate steps to keep myself as anonymous as possible on the net because of this. Though, even the fact that I’ve done things like use a VPN or insist on using DuckDuckGo instead of Google probably raised some of those red flags somewhere – if he doesn’t have anything to hide, why is he hiding?
A lot has already been written about how redundant the “tip line” is considering people have so many avenues to report crime. Targeting Muslims as potential “barbarians”, and then saying that it is their best interests you have at heart, is disingenuous to say the least. It’s obviously racist, and incites racism and racist violence.
The idea that this election is making an already bad situation worse makes me sick to the stomach. Like anyone of colour, I’ve felt racism in my life, but what I am seeing here in my own country is truly making me scared. It’s not that the police are going to round us all up and throw us in a camp – but that more and more incidents of violence will occur against the group the Prime Minister and my racist neighbour believe to be “barbarians”. The kids in Quebec that tried to pull of a hijab off a pregnant woman and knocked her down probably got their heads full of hate through these kind of politics, and then took it out on this poor person.
As a young man I was once cornered in a phone booth and two men kicked the hell out of me, yelling that I should “get the hell out of their country, you stupid fucking Paki.” I was sent to the hospital with many scrapes and bruises but it was more my psyche that was damaged that night. My parents raised me, like all immigrant families, to love the country that had adopted them. I do. But I realized then that despite being born in Canada, I would never be seen as Canadian to some. This is a horrible thing for a person to feel, especially when their sense of home and citizenship was already complicated by being a child of immigrants.
I wish I could tell that Quebec woman that the assault against her was an isolated incident. That there are lots and lots of wonderful people in Canada who don’t hate her for the clothes that she chooses to wear. But she’s apparently too afraid to leave her home now. This is exactly what happens when the self-righteous try to “save” people from themselves. And besides, I don’t believe this was an isolated incident. It’s a thing that is going to happen more and more if we don’t put a stop to it.
I feel like someone has invaded my country and is making it unrecognizable, and that person is the Prime Minister. He famously said that “You won’t recognize Canada when I get through with it” and I think he’s delivering on the promise. We’ve all seen the memes of black and white babies holding hands that declare racism is learned – well, the Conservatives are serving up a masterclass right now. It’s a disgusting display of pandering to the lowest common denominator to win an election, and it looks like it is working.
November 15, 2015by admin
Trinidad, writing

Surrounded by the Ocean immersion TTFF

I recently spent a week in Trinidad & Tobago at the film festival as part of their immersion program, designed to help develop new projects from Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora filmmakers. The project I brought to the group was “Surrounded by the Ocean”, a detective thriller about a commercial diver who is brought into the investigation of a suspicious sea disaster – and ends up having to turn to his resourceful mother to help save him from growing conspiracy that threatens to drown him.

The writing group was filled with wonderful, highly creative people from or with roots from all over the islands. Our mentor Julia Solomonoff helped us craft these stories and I am looking forward to seeing them all brought to screen. There was a lot of talk of a “New Caribbean Cinema”, and the festival brought a real sense that this movement was coming to form. Now that I am back in chilly Canada (sadly the stereotype is true right now as fall is here in full force), I long for the energy and warmth of the TTFF.

Surrounded by the Ocean is just one of many scripts I am developing now, but it might be getting closer to the top of the pile for me to work on. I think it’ll be a nice treat to work on something a little lighter after I finish the current script I am working on – a yet untitled espionage drama set in New York during WWII.

Left to Right: Ryan C. Khan, Damian Marcano, Fréro Pierre, Faisal Lutchmedial, Karen Martinez, Storm Saulter, Ivette Davila, Ivan Herrera, Gabrielle Blackwood and Shakirah M Bourne at Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

Left to Right: Ryan C. Khan, Damian Marcano, Fréro Pierre, Faisal Lutchmedial, Karen Martinez, Storm Saulter, Ivette Davila, Ivan Herrera, Gabrielle Blackwood and Shakirah M Bourne at Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

 

 

November 17, 2013by admin
film festival, writing

Screenwriters Panel at Reelworld

I’ll be speaking at the Reelworld Film Festival on a panel about screenwriting, put together by the WGC. The focus on the panel will be television writing, and working in the story department of a show. I haven’t written a post about it yet, but I spent a number of months working in the writing room of “The Listener” a CTV show about a crime fighter who can read minds. The experience was my first in a room, and I was given the opportunity by winning the latest round of the Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program. Some great and more experienced writers are also on the panel, including moderator Sugith Varughese, who was our instructor for the program, and Sudz Sutherland, who was my mentor when I was writing my spec and original. Sudz’s feature film Home Again is in cinemas now and doing really well – and if you haven’t yet, you should really go see it!

As an aside, the ReelWorld Film Festival has a special place in my heart as they programmed my two short films Useless Things, and Mr. Crab. Useless Things is free to watch (link here) and Mr. Crab is available on demand (link here).

The panel takes place Saturday April 13th, 2013 at the Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas 4
2190 Yonge Street. 12:30 PM. Click here for Tickets and info.

RW_FF_program

April 10, 2013by admin
Mr. Crab, short film, Trinidad, Welcome to Trinidad, writing

Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program

I was recently accepted into this program, run by the Writer’s Guild of Canada. The program will be guided by mentors that will help me develop the script and bible to my television drama series “Welcome to Trinidad” for the week I am there, and then for the following three months. The series has been in development over the last  year, and actually was what brought me to Barbados in March 2011 for the Caribbean Tales Symposium and Film Festival. The seminars in Bridgetown helped me develop the base idea, which is I am sure a reason why I was able to get noticed by the Bell Media program. Big thanks to Caribbean Tales and the  workshop leaders for that!

A great deal of the work I have been writing lately has had a Trinidadian or Caribbean connection, including my short film Mr. Crab, which will be playing in a film festival in Toronto just before I participate in the Screenwriters Program (more information on that in the next posting).  The rich culture of the region is unfortunately unrepresented on our screens, and I hope to be part of a wave that changes that.

For more info on my short Mr. Crab, including screening times,  “like” the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MrCrabMovie

And here’s a synopsis my  series in development:

Welcome to Trinidad is a 1-hour television drama-thriller series following a family at war with itself, as the secrets a father left behind in the old country are uncovered by his two sons. Long forgotten horrors return to terrorize the brothers and before long threaten the entire family.

For more information on the Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program:

http://www.wgc.ca/action/bellmediadiverse.html

March 6, 2012by admin
film festival, short film, Useless Things, writing

NSI Online Debut of Useless Things

Useless Things makes its internet debut today after a successful festival run. The script, directed by Green Dragon’s Faisal Lutchmedial, won the Writer’s Guild of Canada English Prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal when it was competing in SODEC’s Cours Ecrire Ton Court.  The film is playing in the National Screen Institute’s Online Film Festival (click for link).

Lutchmedial is currently developing the feature “Path of Light”, which follows some of themes explored in his award winning short.

From the director: “Useless Things, my first professional short fiction, follows themes I began with my feature documentary, My Cultural Divide (2006). You could say I am seeking a better sense of place, of where I am as a Canadian and where my family finds its roots. When does our family’s expectations and history fade and become fused with us? What part of their culture do we take when they are gone and all we’ve known is the new world?

Useless Things is not an autobiography. The character Shashin is not me, although physically I inhabit his space. I think in some ways the Hindu subtext is more real, the larger than life gods and demons that I identified with in some way and wrote about.

Throughout the film there are visual references to Rahu, the serpent demon attempting to swallow Soma (the moon), the elixir of eternal life. Shashin finds himself in shadow, as the moon does during the eclipse, and is always trying to move toward the light of both his mother (Savita – or Surya) or his girlfriend Agnis (Agni).

To enrich the film beyond the surface story, my team and I attempted to use these and other metaphors throughout all of our planning of lighting, art design, and shot composition.

Now that I look back after having recently completed my second short film Mr. Crab (2011), I am very proud of the work we did here. Our goal was to create something intimate, dreamlike, and touching, and I think we succeeded.”

Watch the film here:

August 15, 2011by admin
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