Who: Born in Mumbai and raised in California, Revati Dhomse is a writer and director who lives in Los Angeles. Revati was one of the eight women selected to be part of the AFI’s Directing Women Workshop. Hector Lowe is a British-American screenwriter, originally from London. In 2013 he settled in L.A., where he met his partner Revati Dhomse. Together they have collaborated on a number of projects, winning acclaim from the A-List, Austin Film Festival, The Barry Josephson Fellowship and American Film Institute.
Hardest Scene to Write: “Perhaps the hardest project that my partner and I have had to write was our original TV pilot “The Truth;” a mini-series based on the real life of gonzo journalist Barry Jenkings and his interactions with a young Rupert Murdoch. Because it was our first experience with adapting a biography to the screen, we were faced with certain new challenges. Namely: how do we bend the real facts to fit an engaging narrative?” — Hector Lowe
Revati Dhomse (L) and Hector Lowe (R)
Who: L.A.-based writer and animator. Born in Panama, he graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in film. Winner of the Best Scripted Digital Series award at AFF 2018 for his animated pilot Song in the Sky.
Biggest Lesson Learned: “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It’s easy to feel like you’re one step behind in this industry—like you’re in over your head and no one will take you seriously. But if you make something worthwhile, people will care. You just have to make them aware of you first.”
Sam Frederich
Who: Tate Hanyok is a writer and moviemaker. She received a BFA from VCU School of the Arts, became a company member at the B Street Theatre, and has since appeared in dozens of television shows and films.
How She Got Her Start: “Coming up in Hollywood as an actress, the only roles I read for were one-dimensional girlfriends, logical thinking wives, and exposition pushing receptionists. I felt phony, and always wished I could audition for the male roles that got to make the sharp points and land the jokes. So I started writing for myself. I wrote complex, layered characters that made me laugh and cringe and cry. Characters I hadn’t seen before. Characters I would be thrilled to play.”
Tate Elizabeth Hanyok
Who: Paul Harrill is a writer-director based in Knoxville, Tennessee. His latest film, Light from Light premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. His first feature, Something, Anything was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. His short films include “Quick Feet, Soft Hands” starring Greta Gerwig and the Sundance Jury award-winner, “Gina, An Actress, Age 29.”
Biggest Lesson Learned: “It’s not important to write what you know. That’s what research is for. But it’s essential to write what you know emotionally.”
Career Turning Point: “Learning how to define success on my terms, and not anyone else’s.”
Paul Harrill
Who: Writer-director who hails from Jamaica. A 2017 Film Independent Project Involve Screenwriting Fellow and 2018 Humanitas Prize Semi-Finalist. Sold a feature pitch to Lionsgate, and her award-winning short “Suitable” has screened at festivals worldwide.
Biggest Lesson Learned: “The key to success as a screenwriter is to lean into your truth. Once I started to write projects that reflected who I am and what I’m interested in, I began to experience more success and the work felt more rewarding.”
Rochée Jeffrey
Continue for more of MovieMaker‘s 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2019
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