Debbie Castanha

  • 2-X NICHOLL FELLOWSHIPS SEMIFINALIST
  • SCRIPT PIPELINE FINALIST
  • ROADMAP FINALIST
  • SCREENCRAFT FINALIST
  • AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL SEMIFINALIST
  • PAGE AWARDS SEMIFINALIST
  • BIG BREAK SEMIFINALIST
  • BLACK LIST FEATURE WRITERS LAB
  • STOWE STORY LABS FELLOW

See more notable placements here.

About Me.

WHITE KNIGHT table read, compliments of COVERFLY

I am an old girl, a wonderer, a dreamer.

An armchair philosopher. A dime store psychologist.

Every Man is unique, beautiful and compelling to me. I want nothing less than for my words to touch people, nothing more than to make a tiny difference in a complex and crazy world.

Thanks for your time!

Debbie


debbie_castanha@hotmail.com

THE DEBT

When a poor teen works for a retired Black female judge to pay the debt for his crime, she inspires him to a better life, but secrets from the past threaten to derail his new path.

WHITE KNIGHT

A dying Black mailman’s goal to win his local chess tournament is jeopardized when a young “shut-in” on his route rekindles troubling visions of his long-dead daughter, as his community simmers over a Confederate war monument.

THE BITTERROOT CHRONICLES

Years after a free-spirited young woman from California rejects a lovestruck cowboy, she returns to Montana, now broke and broken, to find that her inherited ranch is sought by an oil conglomerate and the fate of her ex’s beloved town rests in her hands.

TO BE PERFECKLY FRANK

A lawyer puts his dreams of a luxury yacht on hold when his brother becomes ill and his son gets a girlfriend pregnant, but after years of being an insensitive prick, he struggles to repair the damage.

THE WATER TOWER

Delaying a promise to go “all the way” with her boyfriend, a teen helps a retiree return to the hometown he was pushed out of decades earlier to finally paint his beloved’s name on the water tower.

THE DROUGHT

Self doubt prevents a man from fighting for his marriage but when his teen’s intervention forces him to finally face his painful past head-on, he resolves to get his wife and family back.

ANYWHERE BUT HERE

Hoping to quickly unload her inherited childhood home, an artist with emotional baggage instead finds herself entangled with a neglected child and a man with his own difficult past.

TO FLY

(animated short)

An office pest unexpectedly returns a favor and turns into a treasured friend.

SPICES WITH VICES

(animated short)

A pair of Ray Ban sunnies lost in the spice drawer must employ aid from infighting spices to escape before she’s replaced.

Read about my Black List Lab experience here.

Read my interview with Upward Media here.

tABLE READ – WHITE KNIGHT

Thanks to Coverfly, producers Shaan Sharma & Laura Taylor, casting director Judith Bouley, and ALL the fine actors who brought my script to life!