GODSPEED: Project Introduction

GODSPEED On the edge of insanity the real journey begins

TREATMENT Location: NYC/Detroit

Form: Screenplay Period: 2030 Writer/Director: Celia C. Peters Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At the pinnacle of her life, Brandy has a successful career, a handsome, loving boyfriend and a great life in America’s most promising city. Slowly, her world is transformed by bizarre hallucinations and high-pitched, piercing noises that haunt her existence. Unable to control her delirium and outbursts, Brandy’s boss demands she take a sabbatical to deal with her what she believes is stress. Thinking the love and support of her family will help get her back on track, her sabbatical takes her on a journey back to her family home in Detroit.

Brandy reacquaints herself with her widowed mother and younger brothers, only to have secrets revealed that complicate her life as well as those of her family. Still, Brandy grows closer to her brothers, Bryson and Buddy; in particular, her baby brother, Buddy, becomes her source of solace. Buddy is a gifted child with an old soul that is loving and full of light. And Buddy seems to know what’s going on inside Brandy’s head. In dealing with her delusions, the high-pitched noises keep getting louder and more frequent, and Brandy copes with alcohol and marijuana supplied by her brother Bryson, who has his own set of secrets.

Buddy’s friend invites him to a church that appears to be a typical on the outside, but when he convinces the family to go, they find that what takes place during the church service is anything but ordinary. Buddy is clearly at home amongst the strange rituals going on but Brandy is disturbed to find that something about the church is vaguely familiar to her too---but she has no idea why.

Brandy cannot control her anxiety and erratic, unpredictable behavior, which keeps getting worse. Mom, who owns an art gallery, tries her best to comfort and nurture Brandy; she invites Brandy to an exhibit by her star client, Eisa. Brandy finds that she and Eisa share an unsettling connection. Brandy’s boss makes it clear that she must complete therapy in order to return to work, so Brandy makes an appointment with the hotshot therapist, Dr. Cameron Parker. At his office, she sees a captivating glass sculpture by Eisa, Brandy touches it and collapses. She awakens at home dazed and in pain Buddy always there to console Brandy, lays his hands on body which takes her pain away. His touch also sends Brandy into a deep sleep.

In cryptic tones, Dr. Parker and Eisa argue about Brandy and how to ‘handle’ her. Parker is committed to helping Brandy but powerful Eisa has other ideas. Things get out of control fast and soon after, when Brandy awakens to Dr. Parker and Mom talking about hospitalizing her; she panics and scares Buddy, who is comforted by Dr. Parker. Brandy is now more determined than ever to leave Detroit to reclaim her life in New York. She calls her boss, insists she is better and convinces her boss to meet her at the train station.

When Brandy goes to the station, Buddy follows her and tries to stop her. He insists that she is sick and demands that she return home. Brandy refuses but he won’t back down, and before she knows it, she touches Buddy and his limp body falls to the floor. Brandy stands over Buddy in total shock, looking at her hand and Buddy’s motionless body. Not quite herself, Brandy leaves Buddy lying on the train station floor and rushes to meet her boss. Brandy wakes in the bathroom with no memory of what she has done and calls her mother in a panic. To Brandy’s horror Mom screams out the unimaginable: whatever Brandy did to Buddy at the train station has left him in a deep coma. Mom demands that she move out of the house. Brandy is shattered. Before Brandy leaves, Buddy comes home from the hospital and she is desperate to make peace. At Buddy’s insistence, Mom allows Brandy to talk to him alone. Mom is at her wit’s end and asks Dr. Parker to come see Buddy.

Brandy is emotionally drained, but in her gut she feels something major is coming. As she sits with Buddy and Dr. Parker in the sun-dappled bedroom, they slowly explain to Brandy why she has felt so confused, disconnected and schizophrenic: she is being called home, not to Heaven but back to her home planet…their home planet. She is a being of another species who came to Earth and lost her way. They tell Brandy that she must travel light years away to a world she can’t remember in order to save herself from the affliction that is clouding her mind and wreaking havoc on her life. Brandy cannot accept their revelation. Her initial reaction is disbelief and frantic denial. The only thing that’s clear to Brandy is that she must decide which version of reality is her truth. The right decision will give her back her life, but the wrong decision could mean her death.

MEET

THE PRODUCERS CELIA C. PETERS | writer + director website: www.artisticfreedomfilmart.com

Celia C. Peters is a filmmaker and artist of the new millennium exploring the horizons of character-driven work featuring compelling stories and authentically diverse characters. Inspired by influences that include John Cassavetes, Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, Wong Kar-Wai, Ingmar Bergman, Charles Burnett, Maya Deren, Kasi Lemmons, Spike Lee, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese, Gordon Parks, Michael Hanecke and Catherine Breillat, Peters explores narratives rooted in the emotional complexity of the human experience and strives to create film that challenges expectations while provoking thought and feeling.

Her character-driven science fiction script, Godspeed, was a selected entry in the 2008 Beverly Hills Film Festival in Los Angeles and the 2008 San Francisco Black Film Festival, in addition to being a quarterfinalist in the 2008 Bluecat Screenplay Competition. In 2003, she was selected for the IFP Project Involve Fellowship (Narrative Group). Her psychologically inspired, character-driven screenplays have been both prize-winning [Roxë15, SFBFF 2004] and recognized in competition otherwise [Ghost, Sundance Writers Lab Finalist, 2003; IFP-Gordon Parks Finalist, 2000].

As a filmmaker, her credits include the short documentary “Rethinking Beauty,” which explores non-traditional modeling as a vehicle for youth empowerment, and the special feature “Editing Uptown,” which Peters produced, directed, shot and wrote in 2010; “Editing Uptown,” is a special feature on the DVD of independent film “Uptown,” which is currently available at major big-box retailers. Her short film “Breakthrough,” which was broadcast on BET’s The Best Shorts series, has screened in film festivals nationally. “Breakthrough” and Peters’ experimental narrative video piece “F*cking Liar,” were featured at the “Patterns, Dreams and Withdrawals” show presented by Kinetic Exhibit in Dallas in 2010, as well as the Cultures Collide Film Festival at the American Theatre of Harlem in March 2009. Her experimental narrative video pieces “Commuters” and “F*cking Liar” were featured in the multimedia exhibit entitled “Flash” at The Prospect Range in Brooklyn in 2009. These two pieces were also shown at the Russell Gallery in Detroit that same year as a video installation. In early 2007, she produced a half-hour documentary, “The State of Hip-Hop” for WHUT/PBS in Washington, D.C. Peters’ repertoire also includes the conceptual video piece, “Emotional,” which she wrote, directed and produced in 2003. Her short films “319857” and “Commuters,” screened at the 2001 Lower East Side Film Festival in New York. As well, in 2001 she produced an industrial video for the Uniworld Group advertising agency for one of the agency’s premier clients, Burger King. Peters is creator and producer of the dramatic reading series “The Next 15 Minutes ™,” and has directed/produced staged readings at Tribeca Film Center, the National Black Theater of Harlem and South Oxford Space in Brooklyn. Peters is a member of the Writers Guild of America, New York Women in Film and Television and Women in Production.

Peters has a wealth of multimedia experience. A seasoned editorial writer, she has been published in print and online. In 2010, she was freelance writer of content for the Empowerment Series of panels at the 2010 Essence Music Festival. She has worked as an editor for America Online, and was a part of the editorial team which launched the BlackVoices web site on the AOL service. Her other editorial credits include The Baltimore Sun, Trace Magazine, Honey Magazine, D.C. Modern Luxury, BET.com, and RevolutionHealth.com among others. Her visual graphic art, photography and video work have shown at galleries in Detroit, New York, and Dallas. In April 2010, she received an Individual Artist Grant for a Harlem-based multimedia photography-based project.

Peters is an honors graduate of University Michigan with a B.A. in French and Political Science, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. As well, she has done graduate studies in clinical psychology at New York University. Currently, Peters is in pre-production with her first feature film, an exploratory sci-fi project entitled Godspeed, as well as writing/directing/producing the illustrated multi-media sci-fi/fantasy Web series Allevon and writing the live-action science fiction Web series Temporal.

GINA T. CHARBONNET | producer website: www.gechar.com

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Known for her visionary spirit and sophisticated eye, Gina Charbonnet, principal of GeChar is an industry veteran and nationally recognized leader in the area of development, production, and executive management. Growing up in New Orleans, inspired by its culture, music, and art she knew at an early age that she wanted to use her creative talent to tell stories that would raise consciousness and cultural awareness through the arts. With a keen eye to detail, and ingenuity as her guiding principal, Gina founded GeChar in 1999 and has led multi-faceted teams in the area of film, television and special event production.

As a Producer for the 3-day multi-platform Essence Music Festival, Ms. Charbonnet oversees the festival’s critically acclaimed ESSENCE Empowerment Experience and Youth Outreach Program, which features such wide-ranging speakers as Tyler Perry, Bill Cosby, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mo’Nique, Common, Marc Morial, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Angela Davis.

Film, television, and video credits include Associate Producer of the critically acclaimed Faubourg Treme Documentary: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, Supervising Producer of David Talbert’s Soul Theatre Series, film and video credits include Eve’s Bayou, War Zone II, Fait Accompli, television pilot Orleans, and music videos for Mystikal and John Boutte’.

She also served as Coordinating Producer of several entertainment events for such political powerhouses as the NAACP and the National Democratic Committee. Special event production experience includes ESSENCE Magazine’s Empowerment Conference, BET’s Fly Girl’s, ESSENCE Magazine’s Women Who Are Shaping The World Leadership Summit and the Converse Dwayne Wade Sneaker Launch Event in New York City among others.

She recently accepted an Associate Professor position at University of Southern Mississippi in the Communications Department’s Entertainment Industry Program. Her educational background includes an M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans, B.A. in Journalism from Southern University and a Minor in Communications and Film Studies from the University of New Orleans. She participated in Temple University’s Sponsorship Certification Program and New York University’s Producer’s Intensive. She co-founded the Beautiful Foundation, a not-for profit organization for teenage girls of color and recently incorporated the GeChar Foundation, a non-for-profit which, focuses on arts, education and entertainment. As a successful Arts Administrator, Ms. Charbonnet developed the Community Arts Management Program at Xavier University and created and implemented the university’s first arts/business minor.

FERNANDO RAMIREZ | attorney + producer website: www.entfrlaw.com

The Law Office of Fernando Ramirez provides transactional legal services for individual talent and business clients in the entertainment industry.

His office represents a range of industry professionals including film producers, writers, directors, media personalities, executive producers, composers, musicians, songwriters, managers, music producers, indie labels, and book authors, some of which have garnered Emmy, Oscar, Peabody, MacArthur, Sundance, and Grammy nominations and awards.

Film projects represented by Mr. Ramirez have been acquired by by Artisan (now Lions Gate), BET, California Newsreel, Columbia Pictures, Court TV (now TruTV), Docurama, ESPN, Filmmakers Library, HBO, Maverick, NBC Universal/MUN2, PBS (American Experience, American Masters, POV), the Sundance Channel, TLA Releasing.

His client roster includes representation of music industry professionals attached to Blue Jackal Entertainment, EMI, Esention Records, Luaka Bop, Maverick Records, Premium Latin Music, Shanachie Entertainment, Universal, Uprising Records, Warner Brothers.

Book authors represented by Mr. Ramirez have publishing deals with Alyson Books, Basic Books, Humming Bird Press, NYU Press, South End Press, St. Martin's Press, Grand Central Publishing/ Hachette Book Group USA (formerly Warner Books).

Mr. Ramirez has been a guest panelist or lecturer at universities, as well as industry festivals and conferences. His articles have been published in entertainment trade magazines, and he serves as an Adjunct Professor in The New School University's Department of Media Studies and Film.

ORPHEUS GROUP | producer website: http://orpheusgroupnyc.blogspot.com/

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