NOVA Screenwriting Prof. Semi-Finalist in Big Apple Film Fest

Woodbridge (WO) Assistant Professor of English and current graduate student in Emerson College’s MFA in Writing for Film and Television, Kelly Cochran-Yzquierdo, was selected as a semi-finalist in The Big Apple Film Fest for her short script, Grief.

Grief synopsis: When depression drives Sam to commit suicide by driving head-on into a tree, Clare, the grieving wife, blames Sam’s meddling overtly Evangelical Christian mother and her disapproval of their relationship and marriage for Sam’s death, but Clare must come to terms with the fact that she might have been just as much to blame.

Also, Professor Cochran-Yzquierdo’s original TV Pilot, Club Drama, was selected as a semi-finalist in the Chicago Screenplay Awards.

Club Drama synopsis: Imagine if CHEERS and THE L WORD had a kooky dysfunctional baby. Set in the Bible Belt of America after the start of the AIDS epidemic, CLUB DRAMA follows MINA STAR, a washed-up country music performer, as she struggles to keep her lesbian bar afloat. With the help of a cadre of colorful characters, they fight against injustice and hate.

Professor Cochran-Yzquierdo teaches screenwriting in the Associate in Fine Arts, Cinema degree program. She feels strongly about the Cinema program and states:

“As a lesbian, coming of age in the 80s and 90s, I have always been part of the “other.” Once I realized that my life experiences and opinions mattered, I gained a voice. A voice once silenced by ideology, discrimination and hate has become a weapon against a lifetime of inequality. My stories, both lived and imagined, are the narratives that no other can fully capture or duplicate. 

“Film exposes the plight of desperate lives, astounding victories and heroic journeys, which creates the foundation for untold narratives. A narrative should not be held hostage by the mere cover of a book. It should leap from the screen (both big and small) and should teach the audience about the human experience. Through embracing my role as writer and instructor, I give birth to the realm of possibilities for creating compelling narratives missing in Hollywood.”

To read either of her screenplays, please reach out to her directly.

Submitted by:
Kelly Cochran-Yzquierdo, English-Woodbridge, kcochran@nvcc.edu