Ernestia Fraser ’07 takes top honors at Hollywood Black Film Festival
Ernestia Fraser ’07 won first place in the International Storytelling Competition at the 2011 Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) for her full-length screenplay “Inside the Fallen Moon.” The competition averages 500 script submissions annually.
Fraser chose to get involved with HBFF because of its attention to storytelling. “Every year, I look for competitions to enter my work in,” said Fraser. “HBFF showed a huge interest in the basis of storytelling, so I knew I wanted to get involved.”
Attending festivals is important to Fraser, because it gives her an opportunity to network and view the work of filmmakers. “It was an amazing experience being in Hollywood, and it was even better experience having my hard work recognized,” says Fraser. “It was a meeting place of industry intelligence and opportunity. They hosted informative panels and workshops, and festival goers had the opportunity to meet and speak with Hollywood professionals.”
During the festival, professional actors performed 10 minutes of the finalists’ scripts. Fraser’s script was read by Jackée Harry, an actress from the sitcoms “Sister, Sister” and “Everybody Hates Chris.” “I felt like a mini-celebrity when I witnessed the actors bringing my story to life,” said Fraser. “It was one of the best 10 minutes of my life.”
Synopsis: “Inside the Fallen Moon”
During America’s era of Reconstruction, a confident African-American teenager, Samuel Johnson, desires to obtain a formal education. In reality, there are no black schools nearby and his chances of becoming a lawyer seem very bleak. Samuel soon learns about a new boarding school called Winshier Academy, but he again experiences more disappointment when he realizes that the academy does not admit blacks. In a world where anything is possible, however, Samuel is magically transformed into a white boy by Dinah Fossil, a local spiritist. A deadly plot is set in motion and Samuel, wavering between two black and white worlds, must decide which path will lead him to his own inner truth.
Written by Abigail Long ’12. Printed originally in the Winter 2012 Bridge magazine.
