Script File

FLASHING BACK

When a grandfather and his young grandson are pulled half-dead from a North Dakota river, detectives unravel the horrifying events of a camping trip turned nightmare. Told through parallel timelines, the investigation reveals a chilling truth: nature can kill you, but human nature is worse.

  • JJ Brent
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Genres:
    Thriller
  • Number of Pages:
    111
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards

    June 15, 2025
    Quarterfinalist
  • Austin Film Festival
    Austin, Tx
    September 10, 2025
    Second Rounder
  • New York Tri State International Film Festival

    August 15, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Wiki Screenwriting Competition

    October 15, 2025
    Finalist
  • Singapore Film & Script Festival
    Singapore
    January 1, 2026
    Finalist
  • Outstanding Feature Screenplay Competition

    December 22, 2025
    Quarter-Finalist
  • Chicago Script Awards
    Chicago
    December 23, 2025
    Finalist
  • Open Gate International Film Festival

    December 1, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Cambridge Script Festival
    UK
    January 16, 2026
    Best First-Time Screenwriter
  • Singapore Film And Script Festival
    Singapore
    January 23, 2026
    Best Thriller Screenplay
  • Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Awards

    February 17, 2026
    Semifinalist
  • Table Read My Screenplay - Cannes
    Cannes
    March 11, 2026
    Quarter Finalist
Writer Biography - JJ Brent

JJ Brent is an award-winning screenwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in character-driven thrillers, crime dramas, and elevated horror. His work explores themes of trauma, justice, and survival through grounded, high-stakes narratives, with a strong emphasis on creating complex, compelling characters that actors are drawn to inhabit.
His feature screenplays have earned multiple accolades, including Best Feature Screenplay at the Open Gate International Film Festival (Checking Out), Best Horror Screenplay, and finalist placements in competitions such as the Chicago Script Awards and Wiki Screenplay Competition.
His completed scripts include Flashing Back, a nonlinear psychological thriller blending investigation and survival; Porch Pirates, a crime thriller about two petty thieves uncovering a human trafficking operation; and Checking Out, a high-concept horror film set inside a deadly immersive attraction.
With a background in live entertainment and a strong visual storytelling instinct, Brent writes with a focus on tension, authenticity, and cinematic execution.

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Writer Statement

Flashing Back is a story about survival, memory, and the weight of what we carry long after the moment has passed. The film moves between past and present, not just to uncover what happened, but to explore how trauma reshapes truth, fractures perception, and lingers in ways that can’t be easily resolved.

At its core, this is a story about three survivors connected by a violent event. One trying to hold on, one struggling to move forward and the other trying to make sense of something that may never fully come into focus. As the investigation unfolds, the past refuses to stay buried, forcing a confrontation not just with what happened, but with what it means.

I’m drawn to stories where survival isn’t clean or heroic, where answers come at a cost, and where emotional truth matters as much as plot. Flashing Back lives in that space where memory is unreliable, justice is complicated, and the line between victim and responsibility isn’t always clear.

JJ Brent