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REFLECTIONS OF
P R AC T I C A L APPLICATION OF LEARNING
a complete screenplay
by Issa Sabah
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 1
Dealing with issues and exploring them has always been central to my creative work. Approaching
them on the other hand, proves to be the most challenging aspect to my creativity. It is to this extent that I
am going to use an experimental short film’s screenplay, targeted at conventional adolescents between
the ages of 13–19, individuals who will be able to relate to a film exploring the teenage zeitgeist of this
decade drawing from their own experiences. The screenplay is bound to be interesting to receptive adults
The experimental short is meant to be slightly challenging to watch due to a nonlinear narrative but
should be simple enough to grasp and enjoy due to its music video nature – I plan on using independent
music to complement the varying scenes – which can elevate the diegetic action portrayed. I expect the
screenplay to be sparse in dialogue, specifically in the four basic micro-elements of filmmaking mise-en-
As the screenplay has to be vivid and memorable yet marketable I plan on having three characters
between the ages of 13–21 of both genders – a boy and two girls, representing the anima & animus of the
script’s main character Kiran (who in term is a massive generalization of suburban western-influenced
youth of this decade), and since I eventually plan on making this film using drama students, I’m going to
spare no expense on detailing the shooting script with exhaustive camera directions to maximize my
cinematographic vision. Furthermore, I plan on using realistically feasible shooting locations that would
Developing the screenplay from a shooting-based critical approach is mandatory for the film to
reach fruition and knowledge from FS1 and FS2 studies is going to be useful in drafting the screenplay to
cater to my needs. The main narrative theme is inspired by my FS6 studies in experimental cinema which
I did further reading on. Jørgen Leth’s The Perfect Human fueled Lars Von Trier’s The Five Obstructions
which in turn fueled my desire to create a film that can be both relevant and timeless.
Having watched some recent feature-length films using certain aspects of my potential screenplay,
notably Cam Archer’s Wild Tigers I Have Known, I noticed a certain trend with coming-of--age films
both experimental and commercial – they tend to develop style over substance, rarely lending themselves
to the actors’ vital performance. It is my underlying aim to break-free from this constriction and depict a
Screenplay
OPENING INTERTITLE
Reflections of Nowhere
KIRAN: her + him + her
1
EXT.
SUBURBAN
PROJECTS
- ORANGE
BRICK
WALL
- DAY
1
The screen fades into life with a long shot of an orange brick
wall that has seen years of neglect. KIRAN, a teenage girl,
wearing a blue loose-fitting summer dress of a bohemian nature
and calf-length flat boots walks into the shot from the left,
standing in front of the wall facing us, looking at us uninter-
ested and bored. KIRAN, a young boy walks into the shot from
the camera wearing a striped hooded sweater holding his skate-
board by his side – he stands next to the girl and is in the
center of the shot but doesn’t acknowledge anyone, his hood
slightly obscuring his eyes. KIRAN, a young adult then walks
into the shot from the right with an obscenely large smile, her
white sundress flowing in a nonexistent breeze. The scene looks
like a surreal photo. They all begin to wave in manners respec-
tive to their attitudes – the teenage girl waving as if it was
a burden, the boy shyly and the young adult with all her heart
as we crossfade to the next intertitle.
FADE TO:
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 3
INTERTITLE
Question 1
How she slowly nosedives
2
EXT.
PUBLIC
BEACH
- SHORELINE
-
DAY
2
She was sleeping. As she wakes up, she wipes at her face drying
the sweat with the back of her hand. She begins standing up,
the camera doesn’t follow her movement, revealing the beach. We
see Kiran slowly walking into the distance, shaking her hair
loose sprinkling sweat and sand as she walks into the water.
FADE TO:
3
INT.
APARTMENT,
HIGH-RISE
BUILDING
-
OPEN
BALCONY
-
NIGHT 3
The music repeats two beats and we fade into KIRAN’s complacent
face with her hair filling either side of the shot, flowing
slowly in the cool air. Moving backwards we see she’s dancing
slowly, rhythmically to the music, in her own little world.
With a cigarette in one hand and a plastic cup in the other,
she unawarely fends off the SITTING BOYS slowly undressing her
with their eyes.
ZOOM TO:
CROSSFADE TO:
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 4
4
INT.
WHITE
ROOM,
IN KIRAN’S
SUBCONSCIOUS
4
FADE TO:
INTERTITLE
Question 2
How he openly obfuscates
5
EXT.
HIGH-RISE
ROOFTOP
- NIGHT
5
KIRAN (O.S.)
(out of breath)
I know I’m nothing. Quit pointing it
out,
CUT TO:
CUT TO:
We see as the boy reaches a dead end on the rooftop, his back
to us, the night sky in front of us. He finally decides to look
at his pursuer, his neck twisting quickly, making his whole
body turn around, looking back at us in pure emotional anguish
for his pursuer has always been chasing him, judging him.
KIRAN’s gaze is right at us.
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 5
KIRAN (CONT’D)
(pleading)
Won’t ya?
The camera zooms quickly to his face, zooming out slowly yet
jerkily, revealing the same boy standing on a skateboard with a
smirk on his face. We lose balance and fall, looking into the
sky. We fade to white.
FADE TO:
6
INT.
HIGH-SCHOOL
LOCKER
HALLWAY
- DAY
6
CUT TO:
FADE TO:
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 6
INTERTITLE
Question 3
How she supinely wonders
7
EXT.
GRASSLANDS
- DAY
7
CUT TO:
KIRAN (V.O.)
I am KIRAN. When I am not walking
through the motions of life mundanely
or worrying myself to death, I. AM.
KIRAN. I dream, I wonder, I forsake
my existence right until the next
worthwhile moment. Why?
FADE TO:
She reaches us, and begins eating us. We are covered in pitch-
black darkness as the sounds of the music is drowned by the
crunching of bones, gunshots and varying sounds of laughter of
KIRAN.
CUT TO:
8
INT.
WHITE
ROOM,
KIRAN’S
SUBCONSCIOUS
8
FADE TO:
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 8
CLOSING INTERTITLE
Reflections of Nowhere
KIRAN: her = him = her
9
EXT.
SUBURBAN
PROJECTS,
PRESENT
DAY
- ORANGE
BRICK
WALL - DAY 9
Evaluation
today’s youth was perfected with the work and time I’ve
well, the little of the script that we did film turned out just
right and working with the aim of shooting the film proved
Working on the screenplay for Reflections of Nowhere was a very eye-opening experience as it
helped me develop my screenwriting and directing capabilities. I learned how to compromise filming
faithfully concerning the script with minimum concessions and though it seemed at first to be a bane I
I started shooting the film with fellow film student Mansi who helped me with the only scene shot. I
realized that making a film could never be a one-man job and that camerawork can be quite difficult to
perfect. We still plan on shooting the principal footage of the film once weather conditions inconducive
to filming have subsided. The script proved to be an ideal resource once we finally were at the on-
location set of filming the beach scene and the only change we had to make at the spot was to change the
sandy shore to a rocky outcrop by the beach. This helped me understand that including cumbersome
camera directions in the script is useful if one is shooting as they provide a guide to an otherwise fallible
creative memory.
Practical Application of Learning – Reflections of Nowhere 10
The script was reviewed by many people composed of cine-literate and mainstream audiences. The
general consensus was that the screenplay excellently portrayed the visual and aural intricacies of the
script. According to some people, the screenplay represented a sort of ‘polaroid-feel’ which I consider to
be an accomplishment. They appreciated the ‘vivid and artistic imagery’ and enjoyed the nonlinear narra-
tive commenting that though the film might make one think, it’s bound to confuse many mainstream
audiences.
My choice of using music as a pivotal theme to each of the different aspects of Kiran’s personality
was well received although I think the screenplay was a bit too subtle in indicating that all the teenagers
The symbolism of the script in short was a personalization of various problems of most of today’s
urban youth – complacent children bored with life, insecure of themselves and their surrounds whose
mood swings affect their quotidian lives. I found that my readers were able to notice these aspects in the
screenplay and notably link similarities between my style to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Trois Couleurs tril-
P.S.The screenshots above were taken directly from the footage of the film with a slight colour-cast representing what practically the final product will look like.