BATAVIA - A Human Story

"In 1629, Batavia, the nautical pride of the wealthiest Dutch Company, is loaded with weapons, unique gems, and a dangerous mix of passengers from different social strata. After Batavia shipwrecks on an unknown island, mutiny, murder, treason, and passion expose human traits."
Project:

This unique story is based on the true story of a shipwreck in 1629 where mutiny, murder, treason, and passion exalt human traits. Knowing that “we are sons of history,” we understand it is impossible to evolve if we do not know the journey our ancestors made. "Batavia" depicts several traits of human nature and teaches us about acceptance, redemption, and hope. All three are cornerstones in our view, and we are willing to represent them through this thrilling story. We think that it is important to be faithful to the real history at the time to make the adaptation. That is the reason that in the first season of this long-run show, very few elements are added to the real story; which is chilling by itself. There are several REAL-LIFE elements and subplots in this story; a story that has NEVER been made on a TV show yet.
The richest Dutch Company (VOC) sends its nautical pride (The Batavia) towards the East Indian. The ship is loaded with weapons and unique gems. Travel conditions are inhumane, and more than 300 people travel in Batavia in a dangerous mix of social disparity. Novelty, children, thieves, soldiers, and pirates travel together. After the shipwreck, a sociopath emerges as the leader of the survivors on the small islet known as "Batavia Graveyard". Sooner than later, Jeronimus Cornelisz, helped with a gang he creates, begins killing as many people as he can —pregnant women, children, babies, and men. Nobody is safe, and neither is Cornelisz.

  • Halasius Bradford
    Writer
    EDGES - the borders that define us. The Last Nap. The Last Book of Sand.
  • Project Type:
    Television Script
  • Genres:
    historical, action, drama, adventure
  • Number of Pages:
    71
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Writer Biography - Halasius Bradford

Halasius is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. He comes from a marginal low-income background in South America. Being the first of his family to obtain a higher education, Halasius is a "Summa Cum Laude" screenwriting graduate and a member of the prestigious "Phi Kappa Phi" society. He achieved the "President's Distinguished Honors Award" (presented to the most prestigious students in the United States.)

In addition to his degree in "Spanish Literature" obtained in Argentina, Halasius has obtained the following degrees in Los Angeles, California:

CSUN: BA in Screenwriting.
LAVC: AA in Film, TV, and Broadcasting, AA in Directing, AA in Screenwriting, AA in Postproduction, and an AS in Political Science.

In addition to being a prolific writer, Halasius is an actor with over two decades of experience, a poet/philosopher with published books, a musician/songwriter with seven published albums (multi-instrumentalist), and a video editor.

He has written screenplays for television and film in genres such as drama, historical, comedy, horror, family, sci-fi, fantasy, and thriller.

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Writer Statement

As a non-binary artist who came from an underrepresented sector, I'm adamant about my commitment to creating meaningful and educational audiovisual arts entertainment from an inclusive perspective.

My films/scripts highlight the importance of science, art, education, and history. Whenever I kick off a new project, I remember I am the result of a large chain of ancestors. We are the daughters and sons of history.

I define myself as:

Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Chordata/Vertebrate
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primate
Family: Hominid
Genre: Homo
Species: Sapiens
Humanity: Artist