Vignettes from a Cold War Child

'Vignettes from a Cold War Child' is an autobiography told in a vignette-style through my own insightful eyes as a disabled child. It is told in the 3rd person, sometimes with voice over to reveal the inquisitive personality and gradual loss of innocence. All names have been changed to protect the living and the deceased. Other characters have been combined for the sake of brevity. The vast majority of known Cold War stories have been told through an adult's eyes from an American and European perspective in film, however this is a story told from a Canadian perspective that will bring to light the difficulties of Vicki, a Canadian child growing up in a family involved in espionage. There is a scenario when she discovers a pen is a listening device, another scenario in which a dispatch is murdered, and a horrifying scene behind the downing of the Korean 007 flight in September 1, 1983, and the detrimental revelation of family friends affected by the work. It is a reminder of unacknowledged human lives when superpowers play covert war games. Through it all we see Canada's oppressiveness of its own people with disabilities through Vicki's eyes as well as her personal struggle for independence. These incidents make her as a young woman question her path in life. It will invite the audience to question Canada's little known history and the horrific impact it had on the families and children of that era and in the present day. _______________________________ NOTE: I wrote the short/proof of concept first which was twice nominated and twice won awards out five film festivals before family and film critics suggested I write the full feature. So, I did. I did pitch a slightly different rendition of this full feature screenplay along with two other screenplays to an American gatekeeper and producer of a big production company in 2020 via Zoom. They asked to read all three scripts. When they got back to me, they said that the autobiographical screenplay was 'one of the most interesting and unique stories' they've ever read, but should I ever find another producer, I am to inform them immediately. I sent a copy of 'Vignettes from a Cold War Child' to the CBC in 2021. They expressed interest in it, but could not accept it unless I had a producer attached to it because they do not produce films in-house. To date, I have not yet found one. Pertaining to the full manuscript, some time ago, I sent out emails and letters to various people who are still living, and all responded except one - my former high school classmate Yann Martel, author of 'Life of Pi'. Because of this, I had to take out one of our conversations about his character's name 'Pi' and my advice to make his character Asian. It would have made it too obvious who I was referring to. He is the only one who never requested/offered to read the script and I have to respect this. This is the latest manuscript after the feedback from the recent 'Voices On Paper' table read by professional LA actors (Tuesday, May 23, 2023). Intrigued, the host Cris Felipe, requested that I write a one page pitch to pass on to producers when the strike is over. If you, dear reader, have any questions concerning any part of this script, do not hesitate to contact me and I shall do my best to answer them.