PAMELA WEST
 PAMELA WEST
Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
I currently live in Trussville, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. How did you discover The Palm Springs International Screenplay Awards, and how did you decide to enter this contest among all the others? I entered the WIKI contest in November and heard of the contest through Ink Tip. I finished in the semis in November, and with feedback, made changes and decided to submit to Palm Springs. Your script or media entry stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your project? Write what you know: I am an addict in recovery. I do not have a relationship with my daughter. In everything I write, you’ll find a mother searching to reconcile with her daughter until I reconcile with my daughter. How long did it take you to write your script or produce your pitch deck/sizzle reel/trailer...and what was your development process? I began this script in March of 2025, and it’s been through nine revisions. What is your ultimate ambition as a writer or filmmaker? I want my scripts to be turned into films, and one day I’d love to be behind a camera, not as a director, but as a cinematographer. I’d taken pictures my whole life, and I’d love to learn this process for film. Which film directors or screenwriters inspire you? Why? Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Copala, Paul Thomas Anderson, The Coen Brothers, and Billy Wilder. Eastwood, to my mind, is the most important director of the last forty years. His films well document how post-structuralism has destroyed Western Civilization and its culture. Scorsese’s films are bold visions, but he is more important for preserving film. For me, the last twenty minutes of The Godfather are the best put on screen. The fact that he was able to write and bring his vision to the screen in The Godfather I and II is inspirational. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia and There Will Be Blood are screenplays written and directed by Anderson. Both are fundamental films for a screenwriter to watch if they want to know how to write a great film. For the same reason, I recommend the Coen Brothers: Fargo and No Country for Old Men. The first is a great absurdist comedy, and the second is a soul-crushing postmodern examination of evil. Finally, I’m a huge fan of Billy Wilder. From Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment, to Ace in the Hole, Wilder directed his screenplays to award-winning, thought-provoking masterpieces. What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show? Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood Barney Miller, 1975-1982 How do you approach competition entries, and what have you learned from participating in these contests? I’ve written short stories, but never screenplays. Though I’ve watched thousands of movies, it doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing. Therefore, after I edited my final draft several times, I submitted it to contests asking for feedback. It is important to receive feedback and not to take it personally. Enter more than one contest and request feedback. Compare what they say, and if you’re getting the same feedback from the different readers, then keep that in mind and work on that in your script. If you’re getting different feedback from different readers, put your screenplay down for a bit, walk away, come back later, and see which fits your screenplay best. Believe me, the feedback always helps point you in the right direction. What advice do you have for others hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist, as you have? Keep writing and never take feedback personally. Trust your vision and write what you know. Only you know what you’ve been through, and never think your experience is too small. If it rings true, there will be an audience for it. What else are you working on that the world needs to know about? I have finished two-thirds of my “A Good Mom is Hard to Find” trilogy. I’m nearly finished with the first draft of the last episode, In the Blood. Each part is a different genre, but it fits into the overall narrative of a dark indie character drive story about a mother seeking reconciliation with her daughter. I’m retiring on September 1st after 34 years of teaching history and American government in Alabama. I’ve spent the last twenty-six years at Jefferson State Community College. I have two children, and my first grandchild, Maggie, will be one on July 1st . I love writing, traveling, and taking pictures. Where can the world find you? (Website, IMDB, etc.) I am listed on Ink Tip, FilmFreeway, and ISA. |
