Script Reading: The Giant, the Witches, and the Red Turban Bandits, by Gawaine Caldwater Ross

In the 22nd century, a military squad searching for a lost officer vanishes through the same wormhole he did—into a parallel world orbiting a binary star system. Though the laws of physics remain familiar, this world’s society is not: technology is stalled at a medieval level, and four rival hominid species dominate the landscape—the bear-descended Kulagti, feline Stregha, primate Allings, and serpentine Nagas.

As the squad struggles to adapt, they find sanctuary in the temples of the world’s dominant religion: a matriarchal sex and love cult, eerily structured like the Catholic Church and led by women called Dakinis—mystics who wield uncanny, witch-like powers. But friction grows within the group. Discipline erodes. Beliefs diverge. The squad splinters, and a rogue faction aligns with the infamous Red Turban Bandits, tipping the region’s fragile balance into chaos.

What unfolds is a collision of worlds—technological, biological, theological—as the squad confronts their lost officer in a climactic showdown that will decide not only their fate, but the future of this alien society itself.

CAST LIST:

Narration: Sean Ballantyne
Rosita: Val Cole
Venerandum: Julie Sheppard

femalefilmfestival's avatar

By femalefilmfestival

The irony of this festival is that its goal is to not be around in 5 years time. To eventually not be relevant because there is zero need to have a festival geared for female talent and female stories because the stories presented in Hollywood and around the world are a balanced showcase of the human experience from both sexes. Our goal is to achieve a lot of success and then fold into oblivion simply because there is no need for this festival. This festival was created by the FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival as a simple reaction to a strong need to showcase female talent from around the world in a more profound way. When putting together the weekly festival, the administration noticed a lack of a female presence in the stories being shown at the festival. A classic example and analogy to the frustration is how the festival noticed that even the smaller roles in a screenplay were written for a man to play. There was zero reason for this in many stories. How a police officer, or a political campaign manager, for example with 3-4 lines in a screenplay was a "HE" character. Why? And these are the screenplays written by the winners! The talented one who have obtained agents and have began/beginning their careers as a writer.

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