Private Project

The Great Tit is a Bird - Episode 1 script

Episode 1:
Seventeen-year-old Renella Mendoza grieves the loss of her mother, who died during a global pandemic. To help Renella recover, her school counselor encourages her to take an electronics internship with a prestigious academic group conducting a research study in the tropical city of Mayaaka.

Forthcoming Episodes:
In Mayaaka, Renella stumbles on four things: an apparent cure for her debilitating skin condition, an immunity to electrocution, a mind-melding contraption, and a group of exploited girls. But when Renella tries to rescue the girls, all of whom have a similar skin condition, she learns that none of the girls want to be rescued. At least—not by her.

  • Ar Ducao
    Writer
  • Francheska Njanja
    Sensitivity Editor & Writer
  • Paula Hung-Palmer
    Story & Audio Editor
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay, Short Script, Television Script
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, technology, women, LGBTQ+, drama
  • Number of Pages:
    23
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Awardee: New York State Council on the Arts, Media Arts Assistance Fund
  • Awardee: NYU Anti-Racism Grant
  • Awardee: NYFA / NYC Mayors Office of Media & Entertainment NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre
Writer Biography - Ar Ducao

Ar Ducao (they / zey pronouns) is a new media artist, engineer, organizer and professor. Ducao’s 3D animations and visualizations have been shown in venues and festivals around the world, including the Margaret Mead Documentary Festival (US), Reel Sisters of the Diaspora (US), Le Musee di-visioniste (Germany), Salon International de Arte Digital (Cuba), and Lola Screen Children’s Festival (Kenya). Their media work has been honored with the SXSW Community Service Award, the MIT Public Service Center Fellowship, the Best App Ever Award, the Seoul Cycle Design Prize, and the Brave Destiny Film Festival’s Grand Prize, among others. Ducao began their animation career as a production designer for the American Museum of Natural History.

Ducao is also a co-founder and principal at Multimer, a bio-spatial analytics spinoff from MIT Media Lab and National Science Foundation SBIR award winner. A federally-certified EDWOSB (economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business) with patented technology (USPTO# 20200000337), Multimer has worked with marginalized communities in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Ducao is a research affiliate and instructor at MIT, and an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, NYU School of Engineering, and the NYU Prison Education Program. Their writing and design has been published in journals including Bright Lights Film Journal, the Journal of Intelligent Buildings, and International Journal of Community Well-being; and books including Data, Architecture, and the Experience of Place and Instrumental Intimacy: EEG Wearables and Neuroscientific Control. Ar Ducao is a member of the Fulbright Specialist Program, recent co-chair of the UAW 9A Human & Civil Rights Council, and technical advisor for the Black maternal health startup Birth By Us.

Add Writer Biography
Writer Statement

"The Great Tit is a Bird" is a sci-fi episodic project about Black and Brown feminine and trans-feminine people around the world, the losses they survive, and the ways they shape our high-tech era even as they are pushed to the margins. The show probes issues its creators have experienced firsthand, including techno-colonization, research misconduct, and threats to body autonomy. I'm grateful to examine such important issues with such a wonderful collaborators.

Some camera and audio directions are included in this
script, which was used to create a proof-of-concept 3D
animated episode. The episode is available at
https://filmfreeway.com/TheGreatTitisaBird-1.