Go Into The Story Interview: Renee Pillai

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Renee Pillai wrote the original screenplay “Boy With Kite” which won a 2019 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Renee about her background as a screenwriter, her award-winning script, the craft of screenwriting, and what winning the Nicholl has meant to her.

Part 1: “So I wrote to the Academy, and I said, ‘This is the situation. I’m not sure what can be done. Yours in distress, Renee.’”

Part 2: “I actually found it easier to try and break into Hollywood… not that I’ve exactly broken in yet… but the Nicholl does open up a lot of opportunities, and doors, and everything. So it almost seemed like it was easier for me to do that than to break into the Malaysian film industry.”

Part 3: “Actually, that might have been in from the beginning because I knew how it was going to end, but my main reason for having these two characters was because I wanted to show the juxtaposition between what is expected in the world of art and in a way how different the people of that world could be from Stella.”

Part 4: “Because when you’re handling a subject matter like this and you’re handling a story like this, that is very much driven by the characters, and the story itself is a drama, it can go down a path you don’t want it to.”

Part 5: “Basically, when I look at all my stories, they start from the characters. In fact, when I first started learning to write, I realized I’m that kind of a writer. I start with characters, and there’s a bit of a story attached, and then I have to concentrate on the story.”

Part 6: “When I started writing, I realized, exactly as you said, it has to come from a feeling place. It’s not just writing dialogue. It’s not just writing the action lines. It’s everything, the whole story. I mean, what is connection? Connection between the movie and the audience has to come from feeling. The creation of it should come from feeling as well.”

For my interviews with every Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner since 2012, go here.

For my interviews with 53 Black List writers, go here.