The Coyote

To whom it may concern.

First, I would like to say that I admire your initiative to bring to life some screenplays that would not otherwise get directed.

I have written many short screenplays. But this one is close to my heart because it is based on a real life event. In 2012, I filmed a situation similar to the one in the screenplay, as I was filming for the TV show Border Wars, Season 7, on National Geographic.

On the show, as an Associate Producer, I would shadow Border Patrol and police officers, and too often, I saw young Mexican men who could have otherwise led normal lives, fall pray to the lure of easy money and a sense of power, which the cartel life provides.

I have chosen an angle that is important to me: the angle of "what could have been?" I want the audience to really say: "what if I had been Edgar?'

The style of filming is very naturalistic and very raw and I want to bring the audience to share a moment with the characters as they cross the border.

With this screenplay, I have applied to the very competitive Sundance Labs in 2014 and the AFI Women's directing workshop without success. I thought I would never get an opportunity to direct this movie, but platforms like yours give me hope that my voice may be heard, as a woman filmmaker and writer who has a lot to say. I have seen extraordinary things in my life and I would love to share them with the world. Thank you for making the world of filmmaking a less gender-biased place.

Thank you for your consideration.

Marianne Michallet Gordon