The Sionna Project

Sionna Project Story Elements:

1. The Main Character is female.

2. The Primal Wound" - the impact of adoption on a child and hard-won personal knowledge that comes from the experience… the existential aloneness of being adopted. Life and circumstances made her a survivor.

"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place* for the first time." TS Elliot -*even when the "place" is ourselves.

3. Loving, supportive adoptive family through whose upbringing and social environment instilled a set of strong values. Grandfather plays a special role..

4. Use Art & Music as major thematic elements. Main character is an artist from a very young age and becomes a professional working artist. Both music and art have tremendous healing power for her and, we discover, are part of her genetic inheritance from her birth mother.

5. Emphasis on Irish heritage. We discover both birth parents are Irish and helped settle Ireland, Texas.

6. Must have universal appeal. As in a great painting, the art stands alone and means what it means yet everyone brings their own story and perspective to the "Art" as it speaks to THEM. Note: (There's a reason Ancestory.com and similar sites are so popular, EVERYONE wants to know where they've come from and feel a sense of belonging.)

7. Main Setting--Texas., Main Season: Summer. Main Time Period: Modern

8. As a young adult, the main character finds her birth mother and father in different places...they are reunited after many years and get married (true). Initially, things are great but then go horribly wrong. Birth mother has incredible moral and ethical flaws… reveals a ruthless side and tries to turn her whole family against the child she gave away. Cruel irony.

9. Main character’s own children and adoptive family had long ago begun to heal her and make her whole. The answer was there all along. She just didn't know it.

General Notes:
The script should offer inspiration and hope to lost souls who've been given away and who've never been able to find healing and belonging.

Note: Hemingway said, "“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE SIONNA PROJECT
1. Terms. Your submission of Your original treatment/screenplay (the “Property”) to the Sionna Project (the “Competition”) is conditioned upon Your agreement to these Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”), and You are bound by these Terms as of the date You submit Your treatment/screenplay to Sionna Productions, Ltd. (the “Effective Date”).

1. Winning Submission. If Your Property is selected by and Sionna Productions, in its sole discretion, as the Winning Submission, You grant and assign to Sionna Productions, exclusively and irrevocably, all right, title, and interest, including all copyrights and all extensions and renewals, to the Property. These rights include, without limitation: the right to produce and exploit the Property, all movie picture rights, television rights (pay, free, film, tape, cable, live, and otherwise), home video rights, sequel and remake rights, documentary rights, merchandising rights, screenplay publication rights, computer-assisted media rights (including video games), interactive media rights, use-on-demand rights, promotional and advertising rights, rental and lending rights, and all ancillary, subsidiary, and allied rights, and all other rights in the Property of whatever nature, whether now or hereinafter invented, throughout the world, for the full duration of protection of those rights (collectively, the “Rights”). Without limiting any of the above, the Rights include the right to distribute, exhibit, broadcast, manufacture, and otherwise exploit all works produced pursuant to the Rights granted hereunder by means of any and all media and devices, whether known or hereafter invented, and in any and all markets whatsoever, as well as the right of Sionna Productions in its discretion to make any and all changes in, additions to, and deletions from the Property in connection with the creation and exploitation of the Property.

2. Participation. You agree, at Sionna Productions’ request, to make Yourself available to Sionna Productions to participate in any production or exploitation of the Property.

3. Compensation. If Sionna Productions decides, in its sole discretion, that Your Property is the Winning Submission, We will notify You in writing, using an email or physical address You have provided to us. If Your Property is the Winning Submission, You will be entitled to receive $10,000.00 (the “Prize”) and one Co-Producer credit (the “Credit”). You specifically acknowledge that the Prize is full and adequate consideration for any right to which You may now be, or will hereafter become, entitled to in connection with any rights under the Terms.

4. Additional Documents. All Our obligations are contingent upon receipt of all releases, assignments, supporting documents, and agreements in connection with the chain-of-title of the Property. If We ask You to sign any additional documents to evidence Our rights, You will do so within five (5) business days of Our written request. You hereby irrevocably appoint Us as Your attorney-in-fact with full power to execute any additional documents if You do not sign them within five (5) business days after You receive Our written request.

5. Waiver of Moral Rights. If Sionna Productions decides, in its sole discretion, that the Property is the Winning Submission, You irrevocably waive, to the full extent allowed under any law, any moral rights in the Property, and You agree not to assert any moral rights in the Property against Sionna Productions.

6. Right of Publicity. If Sionna Productions decides, in its sole discretion, that the Property is the Winning Submission, You hereby grant Sionna Productions the right to use Your name, biographical information, photograph, video, or likeness, and the names, biographical information, photographs, videos, and likeness of all individuals that are credited in the Property, worldwide and in any manner and medium now or hereafter devised, for any purpose in connection with the Property or exploitation of the Property, without additional compensation, notification, or permission.

7. Representations, Warranties, and Covenants. You represent, warrant, and covenant that You have the full right, power, and authority to enter into and fully perform the Terms. You further represent, warrant, and covenant the following with respect to the Property:

(a) You are the sole author, creator, owner, or rights-holder in the Property.

(b) Neither the Property nor the exercise of the rights granted under the Terms will infringe or violate any copyrights, contract rights, rights of privacy, or other rights of any person, or defame any person;

(c) If the Property is based in whole or in part on the life of any real person, You have identified that person;

(d) Sionna Productions exercise of the rights that You grant or purport to grant under the Terms will not give rise to any obligation to pay You or any third party any royalty or other payment other than the payments We expressly agree to provide to You hereunder; and

(e) The Property is free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances, or threatened or pending litigation.

8. Indemnification. You will indemnify and hold harmless Sionna Productions, Ltd. Co its licensees, its sublicensees, its producers, any party to which it assigns any of its rights hereunder, and any associates, agents, and representatives (the “Sionna Productions Parties”) from and against any losses, damages, liability, claims, costs, judgments, and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable outside attorney’s fees) (hereinafter, “Loss”) incurred by reason of any claim arising from or in connection with (a) any breach or alleged breach of Your covenants, agreements, representations, or warranties under the Terms; or (b) any violation by You of any applicable law or any breach by You of any licenses or other contracts in connection with the Property or Your grant or exercise of rights under the Terms. You will be required to indemnify the Sionna Productions Parties for, among other things, the costs of counsel to defend the Sionna Productions Parties, any damages awarded in a court of law against the Sionna Productions Parties, any amounts payable by the Sionna Productions Parties in settlement of any claim or proceeding, and any costs associated with the resolution of any claim or proceeding.

9. Termination. Without limiting any legal or equitable remedies We may have, Sionna Productions may terminate the Terms at any time for any reason by written notice to You. Your representations, warranties, and indemnification obligations will survive the termination.

10. No Assignment. You may not assign or otherwise transfer to any third party the Terms or any of Your rights hereunder without Sionna Productions’ prior written consent. Any attempted or purported assignment or other such transfer by You to any third party without such consent having been first obtained shall be void.

11. Waiver, Remedies, and Interpretation. A waiver of any breach will not waive a prior or subsequent breach. All remedies will be cumulative and pursuit of any one will not waive any other. Captions and headings are for convenience only and will not be used to construe meaning.

12. Governing Law. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Terms, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The Terms shall be governed by, and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of Texas and the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any action, suit, or proceeding arising out of, or relating to, the Terms shall be brought in the appropriate courts of the County of Dallas, Texas, and each of the parties hereby irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of any such action, suit, or proceeding.

13. Entire Agreement. The Terms constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to the Property, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous negotiations, discussions, and understandings of the parties, whether written or oral. No waiver or modification of any of the provisions of the Terms shall be valid unless in writing and signed by Sionna Productions.
Timeline for Treatment and Screenwriting Competition

April 9 - April 26 Call for entries. Each entrant submits a Short Feature Film Treatment.
April 25 - May 10 Short Treatment Judging and Review.
May 11 - May 23 Announce Top 25 Treatments and Begin 10 Page Treatment portion of the competition.
May 24 - May 31 10 Page Treatment Judging and Review.
June 1 - June 26 Top 5 Finalists Announced and Full Script portion of the competition.
June 27 - July 10 - Final Judging
July 13 - Winner Announced and $10,000 cash prize awarded.