Entre chien et loup [Twilight] by Patricia Estévez

After studying French Cinema my semester abroad at the Université Stendhal in Grenoble, France, I became interested in undertaking the writing of a screenplay in French. I knew that the writing of a screenplay, with its inherent language dynamics, would be challenging, particularly in French. Nevertheless, my interest was piqued, particularly upon reflection on the fundamental characteristics of French cinema and how the creation of action blockbusters remains strictly a Hollywood phenomenon.  While in France I was able to view the films “The Brotherhood of the Wolf” and “Vidocq”. These movies were in stark contrast to the French films that I had seen, and the experience motivated me to want to write a Hollywood-style action film in French. I presented my idea to Professor Lee, who encouraged me to make this the topic of my senior project for the French major.  

The screenplay tells the story of a happily normal life turned upside down after a chance series of events unravel. Unbeknownst to the main character, he's just been burdened with a videotape of an assassination. Hot on the tail of this tape is a ruthless group of FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents commanded by a belligerently ambitious man. Using surveillance from satellites, bugs, and other sophisticated snooping devices, the FBI infiltrates every facet of the main character’s existence, tracing each physical and digital footprint he leaves behind. As the plot thickens, the main character is taken out of his everyday existence and submerged in a completely foreign world. In the end his only saving grace is an ex girlfriend and her contact into this world that is alien to him.  The scenario is intended to be a Hollywood style action thriller that explores some current issues- the limits of governmental agencies’ knowledge and power and the extent to which this power is used for dual purposes, for security and then for the infiltration of personal privacy.

The undertaking of this project required a blend of real life experience, lots of research and some creativity in order to come up with a quality plot for the scenario. There appeared to be an endless number of possibilities for placing different characters in different settings, epic, internal relationship, careers, conflict with environment, etc. Throughout the writing process I learned that structure in screenplay writing is about event choices and the sequences you use to arouse emotions and communicate the controlling idea of the film.