I’ve been wanting to make another feature film since my debut (Beautiful Things), which I produced 5 years ago – an intentionally gritty, realist relationship drama. It feels like it’s been even longer than 5 years! I’ve matured and grown over that time period, and in a lot of ways, I’m a very different person than I was then.

I watched the film recently, for the first time in a long time, and, thankfully, I didn’t cringe! It still holds up. It’s by no means a masterpiece, but it’s a decent first effort, especially considering that I made it on a $2,000 budget – a fact that I was very proud of.

I screened it in a theatre here in New York over a weekend in 2006, and the response was tremendous! Most who saw it were impressed. And soon thereafter, I released it on DVD, where you can find it today via Amazon.com, Target and a few other retailers. Sadly, it’s not on Netflix. I gave up trying to get it on there several years ago, when they changed their policy to only accept films from established distribution companies that they already had agreements with. I had to go through another company to get it on Netflix, but I didn’t want to be bothered with the hassle. So, if you want to see it, you’d have to buy it for $15. Although, I have 3 or 4 copies sitting in my apartment that I can give away for FREE, to anyone interested. If you are, send me an email (my email address is in the “About” section of this site). And if it’s of any encouragement, check out the overwhelmingly positive reviews from those who have seen it, on the film’s Amazon page HERE.

I should also mention that the film became part of the curriculum of a college class at the prestigious Mount Holyoke College, where I was invited to give a talk to the students about the film and my process in general. The class was called Sex And Gender In Contemporary African American Cinema. Following that, the film was also added to the film library at Amherst College for students who requested it for use in researching their theses! Both were humbling moments because there aren’t many filmmakers who can claim that their films are being discussed in college classrooms, or used as research for dissertations

So… I’ve produced one feature, and done so with almost no money; I self-distributed it; and it’s gone on to appeal to many for one reason or another; and I’m more than ready to do it again!

Problem is… screenwriting isn’t one of my favorite activities. Not that I’m no good at it; I think I’m a decent writer; I just don’t care for that part of the process. I’ve begun many scripts, but never finished them, for one reason or another; maybe I will finish one eventually, but I’m impatient. It’s one of my “flaws” I guess you could say. I get excited about an idea, I start writing, but, eventually, I get over it, and move on to another idea that interests me even more than the previous one, and so on and so forth. I’m sure some of you out there can relate.

And so, as the title of this post suggests, I’m looking for completed feature-length screenplays that I can produce and direct – specifically scripts that tell stories primarily about people of African descent. Genre and story are irrelevant; however, you should consider the budget before sending.

I will fund the project mostly on my own; so, we’re talking a super low budget film here. And by low budget, I don’t mean by Hollywood’s standard, but by DIY standards. I’m looking for scripts that can be produced for no more than $25,000! Notice I said no more than – so it doesn’t mean it’ll cost $25,000; it could cost less; but upon reading the script, I have to believe that I can make it for no more than $25,000; that’s my max limit.

Can a good feature-length film be made for that amount of money, you ask? If you have to ask that question, then this isn’t an opportunity for you… no offense But, it’s worth noting that there have been quite a few films over the years that initially cost very little money, and went onto do well. For example, a film in theatres right now – Paranormal Activity was made on a $15,000 budget. Yes, some work was done on it, in order to get it prepped for nationwide release, but it still stands that the original $15,000 film was attractive enough to Paramount who purchased the domestic distribution rights to it for $300,000.

Other titles made for peanuts include Medicine For Melancholy, a Shadow And Act favorite, directed by Barry Jenkins, which was made for “less than the cost of the average car.” The film had a wonderful festival run, was picked up by IFC Films, and released in theatres across the country, and is now on DVD.

The 2004 brainy sci-fi film Primer, was made for a ridiculously low $7,000! It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that year, was picked up for distribution by the now defunct ThinkFilm, and went on to gross almost $600,000 in box office sales.

And there are others. It really is possible folks!

The writer of the script I choose will be paid, but obviously it’ll be within the budget of the film. So, expect anywhere from 3% to 5% of whatever the film’s budget ends up being, which, by most accounts, is about industry average. Thus, if the budget totals $25,000, you would be paid between $750 and $1250.

Naturally, we can discuss back-end participation; that is, if the film is produced, and gets purchased by a distribution company for a tidy sum, everyone gets a percentage of the loot, depending on agreements signed – after I recoup my initial investment of course!

So, if you have a completed feature-length screenplay just waiting to get made, and you’re interested in the opportunity, send me an email with a logline and synopsis of your script, and we’ll go from there. NOTE: PLEASE DON’T SEND ME A SCRIPT UNLESS I SPECIFICALLY ASK YOU TO!! If you do, it’ll instantaneously go into my deleted box, guaranteed! I’m not in the business of being sued. So, first send me a logline and brief synopsis, and then, if I’m interested in your idea, I will request a copy of the script, along with a release form, which I will make available to you.

You have until the end of this month, November 30 – just over a week – to email your logline and synopsis to me. Since your script should already be complete, that’s plenty of time, right?! Email me at obensont@gmail.com. I will respond to every email, to acknowledge receipt. So, if you don’t receive a confirmation email from me within 48 hours, it means I didn’t receive your submission, and you should probably send it again, or contact me on this blog.

I certainly hope I get some responses. If not… guess I’ll have to dust off one of my old scripts

Cheers mateys!