A Headington woman has reached the final of a national film competition and could take home £30,000 to finance her own short movie.
Susan Stead, 49, a writer from Quarry Road, submitted a two-minute clip in October to The Pitch, which required budding filmmakers to come up with an idea for a film inspired by a verse, character or story from the Bible.
“The competition is about finding a way of making Bible stories accessible to the public rather than just showing something that happened 2,000 years ago and seems boring. It’s about bringing those stories to life,” Susan said.
Having made it onto a shortlist of 10, Susan’s pitch will be judged at the world famous Pinewood Studios on January 14 and 15 by a panel of judges including Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park. The winner will receive £30,000 to develop their pitch into a 10-minute film and will get to travel to Hollywood to meet the producer of the X-Men and Fantastic Four movies, Ralph Winter.
Susan's pitch, which is titled The Miracle, is a contemporary drama based on the Bible story of the prophet Elisha and the Shunamite woman. The Schummanite woman in the story provides a room for Elisha and God rewards her kindness by giving her a son, who later dies.
Susan’s version sees an emotionally cut-off lawyer, Michelle, who cannot have children. Michelle invites a mystic to stay with her. After he offers to pray for her, Michelle kicks him out yet later discovers that she is pregnant and gives birth to a boy. The boy dies suddenly after complaining of a headache and in her state of grief, Michelle goes on a search to find the mystic to ask him to perform another miracle for her.
“I feel that a miracle is what many people really hope for. Some people have a miracle in their lives and others might not be lucky enough to have that experience,” Susan said. “I feel that the story taps into a very deep thing about finding a way of embracing life even if things are not how you want them to be.”
Susan will find out on Sunday whether or not she is the winner. She said: “It is slightly terrifying but it would be fantastic to win and put the film together. I have never had that kind of money. To have a decent amount of money to make the film would be absolutely fantastic.”
For more information, visit www.enterthepitch.com
