Nicholl Semi-Finalist Randi Barros Debuts Her New Film "YES," Written with SoCreate

I first discovered screenwriting as an undergraduate student at Ithaca College. At the time I was a Photography major with minors in English and Political Science, and when I stumbled upon a required film class, I realized filmmaking, though visual and artistic, was all about story and character. At the same time, it could incorporate ideas around social justice, so it merged many things I was passionate about. After college I began working in the industry, primarily as a film editor on documentary and educational projects, but I was anxious to get back to narrative filmmaking, so I applied to graduate film programs, and was lucky enough to be accepted at Columbia University’s MFA Film program. I made a short film while there, Goodnight Elizabeth, that did well in festivals, and my first feature script was optioned by Dustin Hoffman’s production company, Punch Productions. Of course, the film industry is a challenging one and never a clear path, so none of this paid the bills! I went to work full time as an editor, working on a lot of programs for PBS, CNN, and independent producers. I was still writing every chance I could get, winning screenwriting festival awards and having another script optioned, but not made. In 2008 when my daughter was five, my husband and I decided to leave New York City and move to San Luis Obispo. I began teaching film and screenwriting courses, first at Allan Hancock College, then at Cal Poly. One of my favorite sayings is the Orson Welles quote, “the enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” I had never finished my Columbia MFA, so Cal Poly required that I go back to school and complete it. I found a low residency Screenwriting MFA program through Stephens College, which I loved. I met wonderful mentors and screenwriters, and completed two feature screenplays and two TV pilots, all of which began winning awards. One of my scripts, The Chicken Festival, was an Academy Nicholl semifinalist, and is now in development. So, it’s been a long but incredible road!

The screenplay for YES actually came to me almost like a dream one night when I couldn’t sleep. My family and I had recently spent Thanksgiving with a large group of friends outside of Tucson, Arizona, in an outdoor park that bordered the Arizona/Mexico border. As we ate, ICE helicopters buzzed overhead searching for migrants, and the juxtaposition of our casual holiday meal with the desperate attempt for survival happening just steps away, stuck with me. I’ve always been interested in stories of outsiders and refugees, and the conflict between what they hope to gain and all that they leave behind. So, on that sleepless night, I envisioned the idea for YES and then scratched a few notes into a journal next to my bed, but then didn’t get back to it. Then last summer, when SoCreate was almost ready to launch, Justin asked if I could be one of the beta testers. I decided it was time to write YES, and I’m so glad that I did. The script has won several awards, is now in the top 1% of Discoverable Scripts on Coverfly, and I just completed the film.

It made the process more playful and allowed me to live in the “world” of the characters as I was writing. Being able to picture the characters as they spoke helped me know their voices more, so perhaps made their dialogue more authentic to them rather than to me.

I think it makes screenwriting less intimidating for some new writers. In my class, students are assigned two short screenplays, and typically, the first screenplay is about experimenting with screenplay language and formatting. Some students dive right in while others struggle with understanding format. Last quarter my students participated in a SoCreate trial, and I found that using the software alleviated some of the formatting anxiety and allowed students to focus more on the characters and story. The overall quality of their work improved, as did their level of enjoyment with the process.

SoCreate helped me think of YES as a film, not just a screenplay. When I wrote it, I wasn’t necessarily planning to make it, but the visual aspects of the software allowed me to let the images speak along with the characters, and I think made the script more powerful. When I shared the script with my writing group, one of the members who is also a producer told me that the film had to be made, and she offered me $1,000 to get started. That set the film into motion, but the journey really started with SoCreate.

I think for writers, the most important thing is to write. SoCreate makes it easy to explore screenwriting, and with some of the new features, to share your work on their platform. Features are definitely hard to get off the ground, but writing and producing short films is doable, especially if you find a group of people that you like working with. I also used GoFundMe and Seed & Spark to help raise funds. My advice is to think about locations that you have access to and write with those in mind, not letting the budget necessarily control the film, but instead let it inspire your choices. What limitations can you use to help spark ideas?

The film is going to play out of competition at the LaFemme Film Festival in L.A. on Friday, October 25. I’ve just sent it to a bunch of festivals, so fingers crossed, it will officially premiere at one of them. I’ll keep you posted!

As I mentioned, my feature script, The Chicken Festival, is in development, so I’m working hard on that. I have a fantastic producer, Jennie Lew Tugend, who has produced several well-known films including Free Willy. We just put together a budget and are hoping to get the production off the ground in 2025. I’m also working on two new projects. One of them is actually a rewrite of a buddy heist script my husband wrote 25 years ago. ... The other one is completely new, a romantic comedy inspired by a Dear Abby column (great place to find story ideas!), so I’m planning to begin that script on SoCreate to see where the creativity of the platform takes me.