Short Film Development

Award-Winning Writer-Director Alia Azamat will mentor you through the experience of developing your greatest Screenplay in the Workshop that has an extremely practical, hands-on approach to learning. Alia will teach your how to make your idea blossom into a professional screenplay Treatment that you can pitch, sell and produce.

Under Alia’s careful guidance and with strict adherence to the screenwriting rituals she developed through years of successfully writing and selling her stories, students will finish the Development phase of completing a short length screenplay.

Students will learn how to apply the techniques of Sequencing and Beat Sheet to their scripts to build a structure for their Hero’s journey and naturally develop each Act and Turning Point.

Students will workshop their assignments through in-class table reads and “brainstorm-breaks,” and get an in-depth feedback from classmates and Alia.

From classmates to #SquadGoals

Alia’s inventive approach to heading a writers group fosters a close-knit community of storytellers that stick together for life. In a group of only four, students learn how to give notes professionally and, more importantly, how to receive notes the right way so they can have a faux pas-free career in one of the most harsh industries on earth.

Forever Skill

Upon finishing this Workshop students won’t ever need to worry about the writer’s block or never-ending first drafts as they will learn a skill even some of professional Screenwriters lack: developing a mere idea into something solid and sellable.

Requirements: Students do not need any previous screenwriting experience to sign up for this course. However, they must come to the first session with three (3) ideas for a short screenplay that they will pitch to Alia and their classmates. After in-class discussion each student will choose one idea that will serve as a starting point for subsequent work in the Workshop.

Must have:

• Gmail account
• Laptop/Tablet
• Note taking software (Notes, Goodle Docs, Word, MindNode etc.)
• FinalDraft software preferable, but Celtx will suffice

Location: The Workshops will be held at Alia's home office in Downtown Jersey City, NJ. The exact address will be sent to the student once they've booked the class.