FILM SCRIPT
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Logline
In
1734, to escape what cannot be undone, Jean Luc de Montigny
sails from Bordeaux to Quebec, the gateway to France’s New World
colonies, only to become caught up in the inequities of a slave-based society,
embroiled in a fierce legal battle and involved in a love affair that forces
him into a head-on confrontation with his bloody past.
Synopsis
Based
on the novel by the same title, Winter
Passage opens in Indian summer, 1734. The Baron Jean Luc de Montigny, a doctor in his early thirties, has sailed from
Bordeaux to Quebec City in New France with his young son, Pierre, ostensibly to
settle his uncle’s estate. In reality, his decision to make the difficult
voyage is motivated by a personal tragedy that is hinted at through dreams and
visions.
Within
hours of his arrival, he is swept into an ethical and emotional maelstrom when
he witnesses the brutal punishment and execution of Black and Indian slaves in
the town square. It is there that Jean Luc sees Marie Claire, a laundress born
in the French settlement whose son and husband were ruthlessly slain four
months earlier by a Pawnee slave on the run. Soon after, a chance encounter
brings Jean Luc and Marie Claire together again and becomes the impetus for an
odyssey into the tormented landscapes of their memories.
Caught
between past and present, and amidst accusations of sorcery and infanticide,
Jean Luc and Marie Claire defy the social barriers that separate them. His is a
world of art, wealth, and luxury; hers, an existence of deprivation and
hardship. Each time they meet, flashbacks reveal a portion of Marie Claire’s
tale, bringing Jean Luc further into her inner world. Her tragic saga gradually
intertwines with his, forcing him finally to confront the rape and murder of
his wife, and murder of his daughter.
As
Jean Luc and Marie Claire struggle to break the emotional chains holding them
captive, Jean Luc must also contend with problems that surface regarding the
estate: unexpected conditions in the will that he must accept if he is to
inherit his uncle’s land and fortunes; the fact that his uncle had dozens
of slaves who are still living on the property; and a plot by an unscrupulous
relative to gain possession of the domain. How Jean Luc responds to these
conflicts is further impacted by his conversations with Desjardins, an old fur
trader, about native shaman traditions. The central dilemma focuses on whether
Jean Luc will let go of his former life in France, take over his uncle’s
estate and begin a new life with Marie Claire or return to Bordeaux and attempt
to bring the men who murdered his wife and daughter to justice.
“Winter
Passage” placed in the following competitions:
• Finalist. The 2001 ACES
Competition (Artistic and Creative Excellence in Screenwriting, Loch Ness
Productions)
• One of top ten
finalists in the 1st “Winner Take All Screenwriting Competition”
(2002)
• Quarter finalist. The 2002
“Hollywood’s Next Success Screenwriting Contest”
• Finalist. The 2002
“Practical Paradox” biannual screenwriting competition (competition
#3)
• Honourable mention. 9th annual
“Writer’s Network Screenplay & Fiction Competition”
• Finalist. New Century
Writer Awards 2002 screenplay competition. One of 66 scripts selected out of
650.
• Honourable mention, 3rd
annual FilmMakers Screenplay Competition 2002-2003. Number of
entries: 757.
• Finalist. Script
Magazine Open Door Contest 2004. Over 1000 entries.
Published Works We Have
Authored