Introduce Yourself

That's fantastic Henry Hereford - Congratulations and wishing you all the best on your trip.

Henry, congratulations on the Deadline announcement for Found and on your newly appointed Thought Leader status — what an incredible way to arrive at Cannes! For anyone following along this weekend, make sure to keep up with all the behind-the-scenes action from the festival on Instagram and X at @Stage32 and @rbwalksintoabar.

Welcome to Stage 32 Thomas Bolema - such an honor to meet you! Is that the premise of the story you're working on or are you the prison teacher? Glad you're with us!

Here’s a great post that will help you navigate Stage 32: https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-p...

Be sure to stop by the screenwriting lounge and get to know some of your fellow scribes: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting

I am the prison teacher (retired) and the screenplay is racking up wins on the festival circuit. Thanks for the support!

Hi Thomas Bolema - welcome! and congrats on the journey of the script so far. If your script is finished, as I believe it is, feel free to reach out to Geoff and the Stage32 dev team at success@stage32.com for guidance on who may be good targets for your project.

Aside from my dear colleague's advice above, I would also recommend spending time sharing knowledge and experiences in the Producing Lounge especially. Stage32 is home to every level of the industry so being engaged and connecting can lead to projects getting made :) cheers

That's awesome Thomas Bolema - congratulations!

What a compelling true story, a prison teacher risking everything to give incarcerated voices a platform is exactly the kind of socially conscious material that deserves to be seen. Reaching out to the Stage 32 Success Team at Success@Stage32.com would be a strong next step, as they can help connect you with agents and producers who are specifically drawn to impact-driven storytelling.

Happy IYW, my friend! Always a treat to hear what you are working on with the passion and positivity you bring to everything you do! Lately, as the world has become one big instant distribution territory, I have been focusing on stories that are super specific to a region or a culture while cultivating universal themes or emotional beats that we can all relate to. A recent film that I adore is CODA - its so specific in its time, place and tone but we can all relate to finding our voice. MY BIG, FAT, GREEK WEDDING is another fav. I would always say just stay in your voice - stay in your zone - your are enough - and then don't be afraid to layer all of your onto rom-com emotional scaffolding that audiences tradiitonally relate to.

Hi Sandra Correia ! wise words from Sam Sokolow , I believe. The best of what we can put into our stories to share with others is to give them the experience of 'seeing with our eyes.' Authenticity will always have an edge in my view - the rest is just the structure and machinery through which to manifest it. And Happy IYW! :)

Hello, happy IYW to you!

I hope you enjoy your creative journey and keep discovering new things along the way.

For me, I’ve tried to step outside sci-fi, but I failed. I do have a few fantasy ideas, but most of them were developed when I was around 14. Now, I think I’m completely locked inside science fiction. hhh

There's my amazing and talented friend Sandra Correia! Definitely trying something new and I'm loving every minute of it. It's really helping me to bring more focus on character work and it's been wonderful so far. Happy IY Weekend!!!

Love that you went from sustainable fashion to writing and moderating here. English isn't your first language but love is. A dry, Sahara dry romcom with irony and awkward honesty sounds way more interesting than the usual stuff. I tend to lean into my natural voice but every now and then trying something new breaks something loose. What's the female driven romantic drama about?

Welcome! If you ever need any kind of support, feel free to email me and the team at success@stage32.com and we'll help you out with introductions, matchmaking, career guidance and more!

Thank you, Geoffroy. I truly appreciate you reaching out and acknowledging my vision. It is a breath of fresh air to finally meet someone who offers a hand instead of trying to lecture me in public. I will contact you privately in the near future to discuss the next steps. Respect, Renato.

Dear Geoffroy, since you previously indicated that I could reach out to you directly or use the email provided, I chose to trust your personal guidance. I have sent a very important, confidential message to your private inbox. When your time permits, I respectfully request that you look over it. Thank you for your leadership.

Hey Renato. That is one of the most powerful introductions I've read here. Your story carries real weight. The master tailor and the street wise gangster both shaping you is something only lived experience can give. I'm not a Lion or a producer, just a fellow creative. But I hope you find the right person here for Before Creation. What is the first image or moment from that vision that you saw?

It's an honor to meet you Carmen Molinar - so glad you're with us! Your reel is fantastic! Congratulations on your accomplishments and all the best in your journey!

Thank you so much Leonardo, I really appreciate

You are very welcome Carmen Molinar. Happy IY Weekend!

Welcome to Stage32 Carmen Molinar ! and great reel(s) - enjoyed them. where are you seeing more acting opportunities right now from among the places you worked? Germany? Spain? Others? cheers

Welcome, Carmen! A passion for Westerns and historical films is such a rich creative space, and with your acting background, you'd be a wonderful voice in the Acting Lounge at https://www.stage32.com/lounge/acting! If you're looking to connect with filmmakers and directors who are the right fit for your work, the Stage 32 Success Team at Success@Stage32.com is a great resource to reach out to directly.

Hi Mardonbek Rakhimov - It looks like not all of your post came through. Nonetheless, Happy IY Weekend! Be sure to stop by the screenwriting lounge and get to know some of your fellow scribes: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting

Also, our Next FREE Community Open House (June): https://www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-june-2026-community...

Glad you're with us. Be sure to post more about your work!

Hey. Dark Butterflies is a great title. It already sets a mood. What's the story behind it?

Ali Dilli Yes I do have ideas on filters, but it requires quite a bit of thought given the structure and details you provided above already. Do I think there is a place for a new market approach - definitely yes. Do I think existing processes are matching increasing demand - definitely no. If entry to that market were modest or preferably free, and returns came from shares/success fee, that could be a real winner. Quality and real collaboration within it are everything. The first big winner you get then thereafter the site will sell itself.

David Taylor You're absolutely right.

Entry to market will be free, and we will only get a flat fee from transactions, probably around 5-10%. To preserve the quality, I think the key will be the verification of users. After that, it's all about the process. As long as IP owners upload their IPs with as much details as possible, we can give the best filtering/searching engine possible.

Thanks again for your reply. Have a great rest of your day

Shadow Dragu-Mihai Thanks again for your details comment and giving the time to help me out. I appreciate all feedback and advices.

1.

I would love to know what is "our own custom media and pitch requirements" .

I did my best to prepare a "listing requirements" ,but of course, I'm not a professional on that aspect. So I would appreciate if professionals let me know where I can learn those requirements

2.

Actually, in legal disputes, etc., we are not the responsible party, but an intermediary. Since it's a marketplace, what we have to do is:

a. Deliver all the relevant data and documents we have to the relevant court/lawyer.

b. Deliver the entire audit log related to the subject (who accessed what at what time, etc.).

And that's all. In these types of marketplaces, there is a strategy called "safe harbor." These are measures taken to avoid taking overall responsibility and to remain only an intermediary.

On the discussing terms matter.

About discussing license terms:

Discussing licensing terms mutually would be better for the professionals. However, one of our goals is to speed up the process. Therefore, I think "terms and pricing will be specified in advance." would be great if we could achieve that.

I've heard some writers and IP owners in the industry complain about "unfair pricing." So, pricing that seems reasonable to the producer might be considered unfair by the other party. I think we can prevent that.

3.

When I say standard, I was thinking we will have standards for each pair for each deal type.

For example, "Game license deal" between Germany and Japan will have a different standard, and "Film license deal" between them will have a different standard. Probably it is a misunderstanding because of my poor english.

So it will be like, once you make a deal, all the deals you make in the same industry with the same country will have the same standards. But of course, I'll need at least 2-3 people (license lawyer etc.) to work on this topic in the future.

4.

We are not going to standardize the production process, but we can standardize how the industries connect one another. The differences between industries and legal systems are an actual problem to solve. But we can't solve it if all professionals say "no" rather than saying "if you did X, it would make a difference."

Searching can be standard, getting materials can be standard.

Which materials are required for which format? That absolutely needs some adjustments for each formats. And contracts will absolutely need to be configurable.

License terms, I was thinking we should let IP owners to add different license types and pricing. For example, "Game production rights for 8 years", and they choose the tier as "Major Tier" and just say "30k dollars" as the price. But also they add "Manga production rights for 5 years". For that, we might need different types of tiers, since the industry size is completely different.

Thanks again, I wish you a great rest of your day

Ali Dilli To answer your questions:

1. "our own custom media and pitch requirements" are different for every producer and studio. That's the point. Also, many, if not most, of them begin with a release in the form dictated by the producer. Most of us need only a logline. Then we'll decide what else we want to see. It's very different for different industries.

2. "Actually, in legal disputes, etc., we are not the responsible party..." If your platform is providing the agreements, or involved in setting, negotiating or even touching any of the terms, you are not an intermediary. You are principally liable for what is in the agreement and how it affects the parties.

If you are setting license terms or other terms, then by definition you are representing the parties.

As for pricing, I get it but it is an entrepreneurial business involved in a complex transaction that can require hundreds of people and their companies and IP to get to completion and market. It's not a retail business selling hamburgers. Actual costs of production and marketing are very different for each project.

3. Standard licenses - see my last answer and in my previous comment. Further, how do you intend to approach licensing when AAA gaming companies can spend $1B+ on one game and even a small independent company like Sandfall Interactive spends upwards of $30m? These companies dictate the licenses and standards in the market, because they own the market.

4. "We can standardize how the industries connect one another...." is presumptuous. The industries already connect to each other where they need to.

Are conflating studios and professional independents with amateur filmmakers? The former don't need this because there is no business or economic sense. They don't suffer for want of ideas. Amateur filmmakers want money to make their movies. They don't want other producers, they want funders.

Or are you conflating Producers with Distributors? Producers help create the movie, possibly help find funding, but only if it's a movie they know they can profit from. That's not 90% of amateur filmmakers and they are better advised to develop their own IP than someone else's. Distributors get the product to market and ostensibly make the money. These days they deal less and less with any kind of advance financing arrangements and when they do, they require a lot of specific things that you will not be able to anticipate or mediate. And every distributor and every streamer and theater wants different deliverables.

Hey Ali. That's a smart idea. A verified library where producers find IP instead of writers chasing sounds like a real time saver on both sides. The cross media rights piece for games is especially interesting. I'd be curious how you plan to verify producers to keep it legit. What made you decide to build this?

Ernest Sandefer , so glad you're here! Bold, character-driven stories rooted in identity and liberation are exactly what this industry needs more of — keep writing them.

One of the best things you can do right now is start building your network here on Stage 32. Connect with fellow writers in the Screenwriting Lounge, engage with posts, and get your work in front of the right people. The community here is genuinely one of the most supportive in the business — and the relationships you build often matter just as much as the scripts themselves.

You've already got the most important thing: a distinct voice and stories worth telling. Now let's get them seen. Looking forward to watching your journey here!

Hi Ernest! Happy IYW. What genres do you tend toward?

Hey Ernest. Identity, resilience, community, and liberation are powerful themes to build from. What's the story you've written that best captures all four at once?

Great to meet you Doug Kayne. Hmm.... These all seem to be film titles, though I admit I'm struggling to see a unifying thread across all of them. Maybe overcoming systemic barriers or pressure?

Not quite, Patrick Koepke. The theme is harder this time around. Try again.

Hi Linda Essam - it's so great to see you again! Happy IY weekend!! I love it that you write in Arabic as well and have zero doubt that your stories will resonate globally and bring a fresh perspective. Congratulations on all you've accomplished! Very proud of you!