WO Cinema Prof’s TV Script Selected as Finalist in Portland Screenplay Awards

Woodbridge (WO) Assistant Professor of English and current graduate student in Emerson College’s MFA in Writing for Film and Television, Kelly Cochran-Yzquierdo, has done it again. Only this time, she was selected as a finalist in The Portland Screenplay Awards for her TV Pilot script, Club Drama. The competition drew over one thousand script entries with only twelve selected as a finalist. Earlier this year, Club Drama was selected as a second rounder in The Austin Film Festival, a semi-finalist in the Page Turner Screenplay Competition, and 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 as they fight against injustice and hate.

Professor Cochran-Yzquierdo teaches screenwriting in the AFA in Cinema degree program. She feels strongly about the Cinema program.

“As a lesbian coming of age in the 80s and 90s, I have always been part of the ‘other,'” she said. “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 the 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.”

If you would like to read either of her screenplays, please reach out to her directly.

Submitted by:
Kelly Cochran-Yzquierdo, WO-English, KCochran@nvcc.edu