Meet Isabel.
Isabel Dréan is a produced screenwriter who specializes in romcoms, holiday, and high-concept stories.
In response to the inescapable pandemic gloom, Isabel has felt compelled to tell lighter-hearted, uplifting stories under romcom, holiday, and coming-of-age umbrellas.
With a placement in the Nicholl fellowship with her first screenplay, Isabel first started by exploring themes of women's survival and overcoming the impossible. But during the pandemic gloom, she felt inspired to venture out of the genre world of whimsical and inspiring stories such as holiday, romcom, and coming-of-age. In 2021, she saw two of her scripts go into production with Breakthrough Entertainment (Canada) & Vast Entertainment (USA). 2022 brought more success her way and saw three more of her holiday romcoms produced and scheduled to air this next holiday season for a total of five screenplays sold and produced over a fifteen-month period.
Her writing versatility and capacity to elevate notes make her an indispensable asset to any production.
Quarterfinalist, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship
Next 100 (Top 7%) - The Academy Nicholl Fellowship
Semifinalist, ScreenCraft Feature Competition Semifinalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab Fall Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab
Quarterfinalist, Emerging Screenwriters - Genre Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft True Story & Public Domain
Finalist, The WFF Screenwriters Lab
Walt Disney Television Creative Talent Development & Inclusion - CTDI
Cine Qua Non-Lab - Rewriting Lab 2021
LaNapoule Foundation - CANADIAN ARTIST RESIDENCY
The Good Word Retreat - Guest speaker/Mentee
PITCHES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
AVAILABLE FOR SCREENWRITING ASSIGNMENTS.
N E W S
WINTER 2022 - PREMIERES
Christmas movies on UPtv
From Breakthrough Entertainment & Vast Entertainment.
Written by Isabel Dréan.
Produced by Breakthrough Entertainment & Vast Entertainment
WRITING RETREAT - GUEST TEACHER
JUNE 4-9, 2023 The Good Word Writer's Retreat is thrilled to announce Guest Teacher Isabel Dréan joins the teams in Patmos, Greece!
Isabel will share her vast knowledge of writing Christmas movies that sell! In her honor, this week only when you sign up to attend the retreat you will receive pricing that's as good as Christmas! Jen Grisanti Tyler Thompson Marti King Young Julie Yonek
CASA CINE - JURY PANEL
APRIL 2023 [EN] We are pleased to present the jury panel responsible for selecting the screenwriting projects for the CASA CINE residency which will take place at the Château de La Napoule, from May 9th to May 30th 2023: Alexandre Perrier, Anna Glogowski, Aude Chevalier-Beaumel, Isabel Dréan and Marcelo Barbosa.
CASA CINE is a film and music residency organized by La Napoule Art Foundation and SERENA Productions. Find out more at https://casacine.org/news
PODCAST INTERVIEW
APRIL 6th, 2023, The Filmmaker's Life. LIVE INTERVIEW with Joanne Butler.
Filmmaker Success: Creating films that Change the World and Make Money
“Do you dream of making a living as a screenwriter? Do you dream of making a living as a screenwriter? The Filmmake'rs Life with Isabel Dréan. She is making her living as a screenwriter and will tell us how she did it!”
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/4BR26w_b14M
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 29, 2022
CANADIAN ARTISTS AT LA NAPOULE
La Napoule Art Foundation and Fondation David R. Graham are pleased to bring together Canadian artists of all genres to a new residency program in which artists will receive inspiration, support, and opportunities for career growth, while strengthening the intercultural connection between Canada and France.
LNAF will host Canadian artists including Ms. Isabel Dréan in a month-long residency.
Christmas Beneath the Stars (2021)
Logline: A photographer and anonymous blogger must write a secret review of Alaska’s ‘Christmas World’ but after seeing its run-down state she is inspired to help the owner’s ex-military son restore it to its former glory, before whoever is sabotaging their efforts succeeds.
Produced in 2021 - Breakthrough Entertainment & Vast Entertainment
SECRET SANTA (2021)
Logline: An Ad Exec is desperate for inspiration to create a heartfelt holiday ad for her biggest client, but when the widower owner of the charity she’s been helping at discovers her real motives, she risks losing him - the one person who finally taught her to love Christmas again.
Produced in 2021 - Breakthrough Entertainment.
Whistler Film Festival Reveals Screenwriters Lab and Producers Lab Shortlists Whistler, B.C. (April 27, 2022): The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is pleased to announce the 2022 shortlists for two of its highly competitive Talent Programs, the WFF Screenwriters Lab and Producers Lab. 22 projects are shortlisted with a total of 22 Canadian filmmakers, 11 writers and 11 producers, including several alumni from previous WFF Talent
Programs participating in the prestigious programs. READ MORE
Christmas Beneath the Stars is based on the book by Melissa Hill with a screenplay by Montreal’s Isabel Dréan. The story revolves around a nature photographer assigned to capture the beauty of the Northern Lights. However, when she arrives at her Alaskan destination the resort is nothing like she pictured. Secret Santa was also written and created by Dréan. Paul Lepore, Marian Lepore, and Andrew Bishop are additional executive producers on the project. <More> 22-07-2021
Cine Qua Non Lab
From August 20th-September 3rd, 2021
I am honored to have been selected as one of the participants of the Cine Qua Non Lab Rewrite Edition 2021 with my project "Love Letter to Laos."
Cine Qua Non Lab is a nonprofit organization based in Morelia, Mexico, and New York City, founded in 2010 with the mission of supporting independent cinema by providing a space for filmmakers to envision and develop their work.
https://www.cqnl.org/
SOME READERS' COMMENTS
I read the script. It definitely has awards potential, especially Oscars with the right actress attached to play your role. - PRODUCER on LOVE LETTER TO LAOS
"Meaning&Magic - There is much meaning and magic in this story -- it is truly special. The journey Isabella takes the audience on is full of emotion, meaning, heart, tears, and sweat." -Nicholl Fellowship Reader's 2022
"High demonstration of craft, structure, and storytelling. A simple yet powerful story. Wonderful use of flashbacks. Clear voice, beginning, middle, and end. Characters grow and develop. Well-crafted characters and a very polished script. Roles that serious actors would jump at the chance to play. You hurt with Marlene, you ache when she aches. It brings light to the terrible battered women's syndrome, which would spark discussion. Very well written." -Nicholl Fellowship Reader's
"This was an interesting idea for a story. The premise of the plot was unique enough to make us curious to see what would happen. There was a lot of mystery and suspense from one plot point to the next as the story unfolded. The approach to the genre was very good. We were riveted and weren't sure what was going to happen. There were some nice moments of magic. The meaning of the message at the end was cathartic." -Nicholl Fellowship Reader's
"Dialogue is nuanced and authentic. The writing voice is distinct, lush – exquisite – with something to say on self-acceptance and the joy of simplicity. The prose is infused with a rich vocabulary and colorful adjectives in order to paint a picture in our mind’s eye. With its cinema, excellent writing, charismatic characters, and uplifting catharsis, the script holds tremendous promise. This beautiful, emotionally-resonant film will appeal to many. And overall, it’s a superior script and a standout piece of writing for the author." -Nicholl Fellowship Reader's 2022
"This story has good structure. Structure in this story is very important because it allows the suspense to slowly build. The script also does a great job at introducing the characters and the world. All seems normal at first. The dialogue is solid, creating complex characters that hint at their darker side. This requires patience with the read, as the reveals are careful planned out, and perfectly executed. Once I got past the first half of the script, I felt rewarded for my patience. There’s a lot of stuff going on here, and you could miss out if you’re not paying attention.
The tone is pitch-perfect. The suspense and intrigue will have you turn the page with anticipation. The intensity has a constant build throughout. The moment when Marlene (…) was so emotionally satisfying and I pumped my fist." -Nicholl Fellowship Reader's
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