My Father the Queen

After the murder of her sister by an abusive boyfriend, Kelly starts to unpack her family’s painful history, how she has held on to all her traumas, and tries to find compassion for her deeply closeted father who is hospitalized with Covid.

  • Lisa N. Alexander
    Writer
    The Spiral, What Mercy Looks Like, Just One
  • Lisa N. Alexander
    Producer
    The Spiral, What Mercy Looks Like, Just One
  • Jessica Davis
    Producer
    The Reading
  • Kathryn J. Hatam
    Producer
    Are You There God? It's Me Margaret
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    74
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Best Script Award London
    London
    November 3, 2022
    Best LGBT Screenplay
  • Cannes International Shorts
    France
    December 26, 2022
    Best Script
Writer Biography - Lisa N. Alexander

Lisa N. Alexander
Writer | Director | Producer
Known as The Marketing Stylist® for most of her career, Lisa has worked as an art director, graphic designer, and marketing director. Now as the owner of the award-winning creative agency PrettyWork Creative LLC (PWC), she serves as the company’s CEO and creative director. She along with her team help their clients tell amazing stories through video.

Lisa's filmmaking career began with a desire to share a story. While the flood waters were still rising in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey, Mercy Response—a nonprofit flood relief organization—was strategizing how to get volunteers, tools, and supplies to the Houston area.

Lisa and her husband Elgin were both amazed at what lengths this team of volunteers went through to get to the waterlogged city and setup their basecamp. For six weeks, the pair followed a team of volunteers as they salvaged collectibles, hauled furniture to the curb and tore out drywall at no cost to the homeowners. The documentary, "What Mercy Looks Like," won several awards at regional festivals including the WorldFest Houston Film Festival.

Lisa went on to write, direct and produce two more documentaries for clients through her creative agency, PrettyWork Creative. "Just One" is the story of young adults who were part of both the foster care and juvenile detention systems, and "The Spiral" opens up the world of marginalized families.

With three award-winning films under her belt, Lisa wrote her first feature film, "My Father, The Queen," and is set to direct and produce the project. "My Father, The Queen" is currently in preproduction and is anticipated to be released in the winter of 2024.

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Writer Statement

Flashbacks of the 70s with closeups of the characters will capture the audience and draw them into "My Father The Queen." The flashback scenes will be bathed in warm/orange light and intense scenes will see a color shift to red.

Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter (domestic violence, drug use, sexual content), I'm choosing to use shadows and low-light shooting techniques to tell those parts of the story when it makes sense. I want to give the suggestion of violence without showing all the gory detail. That's not the film I want to make. I trust my audience to fill in the blanks.

If you grew up in a Black church, there are certain things that are common to us all. Music is one of them and this music is very much so the backdrop to our lives. Using familiar gospel songs (or creating something similar) from the 70s will give insight into our character, Carolyn, and hopefully, bring back fond memories for the viewer. I'm using key songs that contradict what the viewer is seeing and elude to the faith that we're supposed to hold onto in times of trouble.

As a PK (preacher's kid) who married a PK and worked in ministry for lots of years, I KNOW the inner workings of the Black church. I was able to write realistic scenes and dialogue because I've seen and heard it all. I’ve lived it.