FIN Makers: An Interview with Shelley Thompson

Every great feature film begins with a well-written and dynamic screenplay, original ideas and highly developed scripts being the key elements to the success of the screen industry. The RBC Script Development Program is part of our FIN Makers initiative to aid our local pool of talent in their quest from Script to Screen.

Our Volunteer & External Relations Manager Nadine d’Entremont sat down to chat with Director Shelley Thompson, a participant from our 2016 Script Development Program. This accomplished ‘FIN Maker’ had some wisdom to share about her journey that aspiring screenwriters can take to heart.

Shelley Thompson participating in the 2016 Script Development Program

Nadine: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Shelley Thompson: Started as an actor working across disciplines. Trained in the UK, worked in theatre, film and TV, including  time at the National Theatre, the west end and the regions as well as a long-running family hit in the UK for six seasons. Came back to Canada and started working in the same areas, but also began to write: arts journalism, stories, poems, stage scripts. Decided after I turned 50, mmm, that it was now or never, so applied to the Canadian Film Centre, got accepted and after that applied and was accepted to Women In the Director’s Chair, The New York Writers Lab (Meryl Streep/Nicole Kidman/Oprah), and Breaking Through The Lens (UK and Cannes).

N: How did you get started writing and making films?

ST: Reaching my late 40’s, I really felt the absence of female opportunities in all areas of the screen industry. As an actor I’d graduated to grannies and felt keenly the lack of creative input.

N: What kinds of films do you write/make?

ST: Films with women at the heart of them. Dramas to date, though I am interested in comedy and have some TV projects that skew to the comic….Very interested in the environment I live in: so rural, Atlantic. Small town stories with worldwide resonances, I hope tapping into and reflecting the zeitgeist.

N: Which films and filmmakers have had the biggest impact on your work, and how?

ST: I love European—mainly British—film and TV. Sally Wainwright is a huge hero to me. Andrew Haigh (45 YEARS, WEEKEND), Mike Leigh (SECRETS & LIES, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY), Ken Loach (I, DANIEL BLAKE).

All of these writers are ‘problem’ writers, which I admire. They address social issues, head on or obliquely, and though they don’t provide solutions, they do get one thinking about and sometime committing to action.

N: What project(s) are you currently working on?

ST: Working on a short which is a combination of live action and animation, about a man meeting his very young self a final time, and on a feature about a woman going home to Cape Breton from Toronto,  after years of estrangement from her mother, now suffering from dementia. The story addresses the impact of abortion, and the complex and fraught idea of mothering, and is called BOUQUET. That project has been supported by the Canada Council and NS Arts, to get it to first draft stage, working in a hybrid Mike Leigh style: casting actors before the script is finished, working together once the detailed outline is complete, to build an experience that gives the actors maximum comfort, and maximum ownership of their characters and the project.

ND: How did you find the Script Development Program experience useful?

ST: Met some lovely talented pals. Gained a massive sense of confidence from being chosen, and then finding my way through learning how to make structure my friend. Really helpful—and discovered tools I use all the time now.

ND: What advice would you give an aspiring screenwriter?

ST: Write write write. Try and connect with other writers: it’s hard, we’re (writers) all a bit socially inept I think and, despite appearances, socialising and reaching out is very, very hard. But push past those discomforts if you can. Offer to read other peoples work—not as a critic but to learn what worked for them, what moves you….

Apply for everything. You just don’t know where your project will land—what desk, at what time, under what circumstances. Be brave. They can only say NO.

ND: What’s your best piece of advice related to pitching a project?

ST: Remember your passion—where did it come from? People are moved and excited by passion and by detail! Be sure you understand the detail of your piece, even though in a pitch you don’t share it all. A pitch is like an iceberg—90% is underwater, keeping the top 10% seen, and afloat. That 10% relies on the submerged portion, so know it inside and out, but keep the top of your iceberg fresh, clear, simple, refractive of light—all the light and ice metaphors you want to employ.

Don’t despair. It is horribly hard and often success is practically invisible. Facebook is your enemy as you watch everyone celebrating their amazing successes. Make something up, or get off Facebook.

I’m serious.

And P.S.: Not saying I’m great at any of this yet!!!! But it’s what I aspire to.

To this year’s Script Development Program participants: Have a great time this summer. You’ll learn so much and leapfrog forward!

The RBC Script Development Program is presented by RBC with support from Nova Scotia Communities Culture and Heritage & Telefilm Canada. Stay tuned for more updates on our 2021 participants as they continue developing their scripts throughout the summer, culminating in the Script Pitch event during FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, September 16-23, 2021.