Congratulations, Minhal Baig!

Her debut feature film Hala to world premiere in dramatic competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival!

I met Minhal Baig when I was a mentor and workshop leader at the 1st Black List Feature Writers Lab in 2013. I was struck by her obvious writing talent, but also her sense of her creative self and what she wanted to do — and NOT do — as a storyteller.

When Minnie reached out to me in August, 2015 to see if I would help promote a Kickstarter campaign for a short movie project (Hala), I was happy to provide my support. I interviewed her and featured it as a three-part conversation which you can read here. An excerpt from the interview:

“My hope for Hala is simple. I want to tell a personal story as authentically as possible. I want to take emotional risks and dig deeply. I want Hala to be a visually aggressive experience: a burst of feeling, full of rich color and texture. This film is a subjective, intimate portrait of a girl becoming a woman.”

In May, 2016, Minnie contacted me to say she’d finished her short film Hala. I asked if I could feature it on Go Into The Story to help promote the project. Minnie said ‘yes’ and so I included it as part of the blog’s Movies You Made series. Here is the short film Hala:

And then on Wednesday this:

Park City, UT — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the showcase of new independent feature films selected across all categories for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 24 — February 3, 2019.

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U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Wildlife, Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Swiss Army Man . 53% of the directors in this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition are women; 41% are people of color; 18% identify as LGBTQIA+.

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Hala / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Minhal Baig, Producers: Clarence Hammond, Jamal Watson, Minhal Baig) — Muslim teenager Hala copes with the unraveling of her family as she comes into her own. Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Purbi Joshi, Azad Khan, Anna Chlumsky. World Premiere

That news generated some wonderful buzz including this:

I emailed Minnie and told her I’ll be at Sundance this year and look forward to applauding her success at the screening of her movie.

As a teacher, I revel in the success, big or small, of any of my students. Whether I taught them at the university level, mentored them in a workshop, or worked with them through Screenwriting Master Class, it inspires me to give even more as a writer, educator, and host of this humble blog.

Takeaway: If you have a story you are passionate to tell… TELL IT! Whether you’re a writer or a director, the world needs great stories. Take what Minhal Baig has done and use that to inspire you.

Here’s to Minnie… and to each of you and your creative aspirations.

Onward!