-- by Anthony Adinolfi
Fade in. Nighttime. A medium, aerial shot of a secluded residence, off a winding road bordering the forest. A thunderstorm bathes the scene in sheets of rain and intermittent light. A small house sits at the end of a short driveway. Only one light can be seen escaping from a single window on the second floor. From the distance a set of headlights approaches from around a curve.
Cut to a window-level shot facing the front of the house, as the automobile drives past below and continues into the night. The camera is slowly approaching the lit window. Crossfade to a closer shot, still approaching the window. We can now see through the wet glass into a softly-lit bedroom within. A young boy can be made out scribing something at his desk.
Crossfade to the inside of the bedroom. The camera approaches the boy slowly from behind. Muffled sounds of the storm can still be heard outside as the boy stares thoughtfully at his desk surface. We cannot see what he is writing. The camera slows to a stop as the boy raises his glance toward the window.
Cut to slow, dreamlike imagery of the silhouette of intertwined tree branches outside. The shadows of several birds can be seen stirring and flapping their wings among the branches.
Cut back to the boy’s face. His expression is one of subtle introspection as he stares toward the window. He is experiencing an intangible awareness which beckons him.
Cut to a reverse shot from the boy’s side, sitting at his desk in the foreground. His head is turned away from the camera toward the window. The window is in focus. A moment later, the boy’s head returns to face forward as the camera’s focus centers now on him. We see his profile, lit softly from the desk light. He looks down to his desk surface once again.
Cut to another dreamlike silhouette of birds in the trees.
Cut back to the profile shot. The boy has more strongly felt this calling. He pushes his chair out from the desk and begins to stand. Cut to floor-level shot, reverse angle. The chair moves into view in the close foreground, and we see the boy’s feet as he stands. Off-camera, he turns off his desk lamp putting the room into near darkness. The only light seen is that which passes under the bedroom door in the background. He begins to walk toward the bedroom door. A pulse of lightning flashes light into the room, illuminating him for a moment before returning to darkness. He reaches the door and opens it. Light floods in from the hallway.
Cut to outside of the window. Through the glass, we see the boy’s silhouette reach to shut the hallway light. The camera begins to descend slowly, moving downward and to the left. It arrives at the front entrance-way just as the boy is shutting the front door behind him. He now stands outside, under the entrance overhang. He takes a few steps out and carefully looks up from under its protection.
Cut to an aerial shot looking straight down at the boy. The rain falls away from the camera to the ground below, lit by occasional pulses of lightning.
Cut to another dreamlike silhouette of birds in the trees.
Cut to a side view of the boy. More sure of himself, he is already walking out through the rain toward the end of the driveway. Light catches his face from an approaching vehicle.
Cut to a shot of the automobile approaching. The camera follows it as it passes by, coming to rest on the boy’s face. He is standing now at the edge of the road. He watches the automobile drive away for a moment before returning his gaze forward.
Cut to a shot from behind the boy. He is staring into the forest which lies on the other side of the road. An intangible energy beckons him toward it.
Cut to a ground-level side view of the boy’s bare feet as they begin to walk across the road. The camera follows them across until finally he reaches the beginning of the forest. As he steps into it, the sounds of the world around him, the thunder, wind and rain, are swallowed up. He has stepped into another place.
Cut to another dreamlike silhouette of birds in the trees.
Cut to a back view of the boy walking into the forest. The motion is slow and dreamlike. A pulse of silent lightning lights up his silhouette along with the surround shapes of the trees.
Cut to two more dreamlike shots of bird silhouettes. The birds are now taking flight, descending to the ground below.
The imagery climaxes with a final pulse of lightning as we return to a back view of the boy, now raising his arms to the sky to meet the flock of birds engulfing him. In slow motions, they land upon his body as the boy’s awakening is realized.
Cut back to an aerial shot of the house. The sounds of the storm also cut back in. After a few moments, the shot and its sound crossfade into morning daylight.
Cut to the inside of the boy’s bedroom. Sunlight illuminates the room. In his bed, near the window, we see the boy quietly sleeping. The camera pans across the bedroom and approaches his desk.
Crossfade to a 3/4 shot from above the desk surface. The camera zooms slowly toward it, revealing the boy’s scribings from the previous night - we see various sketches of iconographic trees and birds, some with a central human figure.
Crossfade to a side shot, overlooking the desk surface. In the background, the boy’s face can be seen, still peacefully asleep in his bed.
Fade Out. Roll credits.
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Awakening Screenplay
