Fabrice spent two weeks in April completing the first draft of I the
Experiment, but to say that the first draft brings you anywhere close
to the final product is sadly not true. But, many elements of both the
story and the screenwriting process are now sharper, clearer, more
defined, and certainly the boys are great steps ahead in the journey
towards shooting.
Certain aspects of the screenwriting process have had a profound
effect and influence on Fabrice. He was shocked to find how deeply
immersed in writing one must go to achieve results. He claims that the
weeks in Spain were a sort of religious experience, locking oneself
away from humanity and mankind, an experiement in cloistered living in
order to get in touch with the voices, stories and ideas swimming
around in his head. Early mornings and evenings were the aim of the
game, along with solitude, locking himself away for hours at a time in
darkened rooms for maximum concentration.
On the other hand, Radek was outside, getting in touch with the
natural world. Long afternoons were spent trying to fine environments
that best reflected moments in the screenplay, as well as literal
attempts to walk in the various characters’ shoes. This is his way to
best in touch with these characters’ emotions and motivations. The
rolling hills, stark landscapes and beating sun all helped to evoke
these feelings.
While their methods may differ, both agree on one thing: the
importance of self-introspection. Tom Tykwer perhaps says it best when
talking about his first successful film. He was given the advice that
there is no point in trying to write stories about things one doesn’t
know about: simply put, write about things that happen in your life,
that you have experienced, that you can relate to. Events or feelings
that you have a strong visceral relationship to. In order to get in
touch with this space, it requires one to “re-imagine” the events of
one’s life, something both Fabrice and Radek are now doing to inform
their screenplay.
Check back next week for the materials, influences, and inspiration
the two co-writers are surrounding themselves with to take them to the
next step!
April 12th, 2010 - Screenwriting - Fabrice Renucci
Fabrice is heading south for a two-week intense writing lock-in, hoping to find the answers to complete the first draft of the screenplay in the solitude of the Spanish countryside.
This led the team here at I the Experiment to start questioning ideas about isolation and the creative process. Writing, by its very nature, is often an insular, closed process, a relationship between the mind, body and self expression. Will this journey away from the hustle and bustle of Berlin allow Fabrice to get in touch with the voices emerging in his screenplay?
In order to help facilitate this, Fabrice is also taking Radek with him. Radek comes from a psychology background, and the two of them hope to unlock a creative process necessary to enable shooting to begin this summer.
Will the seclusion lead to a first draft? Can these boys resist afternoon siestas, red wine, and other earthly temptations in favor of hard work? Only time shall tell. Check back over the next two weeks for updates on I the Experiment’s development…
On a side note: Fabrice will also be attending the Cannes International Film Festival, from May 12-19. If you are also attending and interested in discussing the project, please send us an email.
Renucci Productions is looking for a production assistant to work on the preproduction of ITheExperiment, a feature film project (www.iTheExperiment.com).
You will be working with us in Berlin 3 mornings per week (9-12) alongside the producer/ director, writer and cinematographer.
The job involves:
. Management of the website (Wordpress) and Facebook Group.
. H.R. management.
. Email communication
. General and camera assisting for interviews conducted at the film studio we are working with.
Send us an email with your resume attached : renucci.fabrice@gmail.com
We look forward to speaking with you.
Please take 2 minutes of your time and tell us why and how meditation has transformed you in the comment box below.
Your contribution might inspire the script we are currently writing…
We will credit your contribution in the end credits.
We thank you very much for your time.
An overcrowded maximum-security prison is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who may never again know life in the outside world. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding program of silent meditation lasting ten days.
Palden Gyatso is a Tibetan monk who has spent 33 years of his life in Chinese prisons and labor camps and survived thanks to his mind training. When the Dalai Lama asked him if he had been ever scared, his replied: “I have often been scared to hate my executioners, because by doing so, I would have destroyed myself”.
Read the NyTimes Article
February 19th, 2010 - Screenwriting - Fabrice Renucci
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When a heartbroken, egocentric young man driven by attachment discovers the journals of a man who experienced a lifechanging experience practicing mind training in a temple, he relies on the virtues of a similar journey to overcome his suffering and reach a piece of mind.
Winner of the Golden Spire Award at the 1998 San Francisco International Film Festival, this extraordinary documentary takes viewers into India’s largest prison – known as one of the toughest in the world – and shows the dramatic change brought about by the introduction of Vipassana meditation…
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