I believe the proper term for what I am trying here is “reinvention.” The thing about reinvention that I am learning is that it is never a wholesale change but rather a tweaking if you will. I’m learning it has to be incremental because what you’re really trying to do is change the way you think and that, as this whole nation is probably realizing now, is a very difficult thing to do. Change is scary, yes we all know (hopefully) that by now but change also reveals our stubbornness. Why do I have to change? Things are working fine the way they are! It’s what’s comfortable for me! I think it’s fair to say that we all feel like that. We’re creatures of habit, and learning new habits sounds like a lot of work.

In late 2019, I learned of the inaugural Killer Shorts Screenplay Competition. The moment I read Alison Parker’s (@thealisonparker) tweet announcing it, I immediately knew I wanted to submit to this competition. My favorite genre in a format I do regularly for practice? Yes, please! I only had a little over a month to submit before the early-bird deadline (i.e. lowest submission fee offered. Hey, I’m broke) so naturally I panicked. Funny thing happened as I was hyperventilating though. In deciding what story to write, I turned to an old “friend.” My Bluecat quarterfinalist script THAT NIGHT AT THE BAR. That script had become my forever work-in-progress. It has haunted me for over ten years, never feeling like I nailed the story that I wanted to tell no matter how much I rewrote it (and to be honest that title now sounds like a comedy than a horror story). So I asked the question, could this story work as a short? A month later I submitted MICHELLE’S GRIFFIN to Killer Shorts. A short that placed in the quarterfinals. Placing in that competition changed something in me.

After that accomplishment, I wanted to seize the momentum by diving back into my feature screenwriting. I created a schedule for myself to submit to noted screenplay competitions that I have longed admired and wish to do well in. I broke it down so that I have time between submissions to work on a new feature. 2020 was going to be my next stepping stone in realizing my dream career. But then 2020 happened. Pushing through my feature WIPs became strenuous amidst one apocalypse after another. People were getting sick. People were losing their jobs, People were being brutalized and all of these terrible things were being used as political footballs to move agendas. As a husband and a father, my job is to worry about the dangers that may affect my family. And the dangers were everywhere.

So I missed my first deadline in June. I know that sounds trivial but for me that hurt. Doubt and anxiety sets in as many of us creatives know occurs when things like this happen. Then I saw a new Alison Parker’s tweet announcing the second annual Killer Shorts Competition. I felt another panic attack coming on. Of course I wanted to submit to them again but I didn’t have anything prepared yet. Or did I? I had a horror story I’ve been trying to tell for two years now. It was the script I was planning to submit to the June feature competition I missed. Could this story be told as a short? I dove into the story to find out and the answer I came away with was…. sort of?

I think what is happening now in this country falls under reinvention. Storms like this happen because of an accumulation of routines and methods that simply do not work anymore and they have finally broken down. Between the horribleness that is reported, you find small changes, some seemingly negligible, that will lead to a new way of doing things. Symbols of the old broken ways are coming down. People, now understanding the hurt that has been inflicted on others for years, are fighting to end that pain. We are turning to new leaders to help us through a pandemic. All incremental steps towards a change we need but have not realized yet because we insist on being stubborn to said change. I have been stubborn. I’m realizing now that the change I want to see won’t come by the old paths of broken methods. I truly believe we all are realizing this truth. This won’t be easy, this anxiety-inducing environment promises as much. But if I can still create, even if it’s at a short clip at a time, I will be that much closer to where I want to be.

Okay 2020, you are one scary son of a gun but know this! The world is changing for the better. I pledge to help make it so. For my family. One way to do that is by creating and sharing with the world. It does sound like a lot of work and it’ll be uncomfortable but in the end, it will all have been worth it. So now if you would excuse me, I have a killer short to submit.

The post The Killer Short appeared first on Roberto Alvarenga.

A few Fridays ago, I was in the midst of my morning routine of dropping off my baby daughter and making my way to work when I received a call from one of my favorite people to hear from, Veronica Dang. Veronica (www.iveronicadang.com) is a busy actress, producer, director, and improv performer.  I have known my friend since I cast her in one of my first short films way back in 2005. And though our treks in life have gone in different ways (she’s the more successful one in my view) she has always reached out to me to keep me in the game.  She invited me to help her in last year’s weekend challenge and I was able to help as a PA.  (By the way, that film is called Extinct and it won the competition!  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8531598/)

“Hey V! What’s going on?”

“Hey Rob, I’m doing the 72-hour challenge again this year.  Can you help?”

“Of course.  Tell me how I can help.”

I always tried to find a way to say yes to her when she asks me for help or support in any of her projects. I knew this would interesting now that I have an 11-month-old and a set working/ daddy/ hubby schedule, so I was already spinning how I would be able to go down to the city after work (I live about an hour from New York City) and help with whatever I could on a set for an undetermined amount of time.

“No, we need help writing the story.  The competition started last night. We got the theme and the premise.  We just need a script and we need to get it done by noon the latest.  Are you in?”

I checked my watch and it was 8:15.  I was just about to enter the building to start my day and win commission sales.  I had been writing but nothing really since I finished my master’s program a few months ago.  And I had not written anything for film in a long time.  I quickly said yes to her. 

I was probably not prepared. My bread-winning job now was an obstacle.   I had no idea how I was going to pull this off but I knew I was not going to miss this opportunity.   I immediately remembered something very good friend of mine once said to me in passing: “Sometimes, you just have to be ready.” 

I went into work and before I could lie to my boss about leaving early, he gave me the morning off because I could not have overtime that week.  I quickly told him I understood, ran out to my car, and drove to a local supermarket parking lot.  Pulled out my laptop that I always carry with me (I carry my laptop with me every day no matter what as a reminder to always write)  and immediately started working on the script with Veronica on speakerphone to guide me through what she is looking for.  By noon, I gave her what I had.  I met my surprise deadline. And now, the rest was up to the production crew to get this film done.  I wish I could have helped with the actual production but like I said I was on a strict work/daddy/hubby schedule and I couldn’t make it there.  I did get a copy of the final script and to my surprise, they used almost everything I wrote for them.  For me, it validatedthat I am built for this.  No matter where this project went from this point, it was a win in my eyes.

Tomorrow at the Asian American Film Festival, The 15th Annual 72-hour Film Shootout will present THE A+ TEAM, a spoof on the superhero genre pitting two rival super teams fighting each other’s level of stereotypes of what it means to be Asian in America (I’m the superhero genre expert, hence my role in writing the story) and it will be screened in front of a live audience. This will mark the first time something I wrote is on a theater screen.  What’s more exciting is that this will also be the first time I see the film.  I have no idea if this film will share the same success the previous film Veronica directed that has won so many accolades but even if it doesn’t, I am ecstatic.   This opportunity jumped me out of nowhere and I did not flinch.  I cannot thank Veronica enough for thinking of me to help her with this.  I guess if this film places in the top ten that can be a start.   

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