Script File

A Boy Called Freddie

An untold story of love, friendship and betrayal inspired by Freddie Mercury’s escape from the Zanzibar revolution of 1964.

Expelled from boarding school in India, 17 year-old Freddie returns to the tropical island of Zanzibar to find American satellites being launched from Mercury stations. Songs of the early 1960s flow over balmy days of music and laughter until a convicted rapist overthrows the Sultan and begins slaughtering anyone of Asian or Persian descent. Freddie escapes being rounded up for slave labour as he is under eighteen, but the rebels soon come for his father.

  • Sophie Neville
    Writer
    Writing for BBC Television: Inset x 3 episodes, Crazes, The Way People Talk, Just Mum My Sister and Me, Girls About Boys Boys About Girls, Out of Europe Into Africa, Russell Harty Christmas Party
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Genres:
    true life, coming of age, road to fame, 1960s biopic, multi-cultural, faith-friendly, historical, tropical, rock and roll legend, 1960s, musical
  • Number of Pages:
    110
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Winner of the Book Award for an unpublished historical novel
    Athens - Greece
    December 30, 2022
    Eyelands International Book Award for an unpublished historical novel
  • Winner of the Anthantos Novel Writing Contest
    USA
    August 4, 2019
    Novel Writing
  • Winner of A Woman's Write novel writing contes
    USA
    November 30, 2019
    A Woman's Write
  • Winner of the Book Award for an unpublished historical novel
    Athens - Greece
    December 30, 2022
    Eyelands International Book Award for an unpublished historical novel
  • Winner of Create! prize for stills photography
    London, UK
    September 20, 2021
    Create!
  • Winner - Oxford Script Award
    Oxford - UK
    January 15, 2024
    First Time Writer - short screenplay
  • Winner – London Director Awards
    London
    April 10, 2024
    Grand Prix: First Time Screenwriter
  • Winner – Chicago Script Awards
    Chicago, USA
    February 2, 2024
    Best Foreign Screenplay
  • Winner – Miami Women Film Festival
    Miami - USA
    March 18, 2024
    Best Feature Screenplay
  • Winner – Cambridge Script Festival, 2024
    Cambridge, UK
    January 20, 2024
    Best UK Screenplay
Writer Biography - Sophie Neville

An award winning British author, Sophie became well known after starring as ‘Titty’ in the 1974 movie 'Swallows and Amazons'. She has a degree in Anthropology and a background in TV production, directing her first documentary for Channel 4 while driving from London to Johannesburg. After producing an 'Inset' series, she directed a number of comedy dramas and set up wildlife films in Botswana and Namibia and South Africa. She is currently in the UK writing true life stories.

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Writer Statement

I want to inspire audiences with true life, diverse, multi-cultural stories from Africa