When Culver City resident, Renée De Palma, received a letter that she had been nominated as a Writer at the CITY OF ANGELS WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL, she was over the moon. But she had submitted three Screenplays to the Festival, and wrote back asking which of her three Screenplays had been selected. “The letter came back saying ‘Ms. De Palma, all three of your works have been nominated in all three categories,” says De Palma. “I had a moment then. A few tears. I suddenly realized the quality of our work was being recognized professionally. And it was one of the most poignant moments of my life.”
The emerging screenwriting team of Renée De Palma and Mary Mackey have, indeed, accomplished an unusual feat. They have been nominated three times in three separate writing categories at the City Of Angels Women’s Film Festival. Their Feature Film Screenplay LADY DANGER, their Short Film Screenplay TIME PIECE, and Renée’s Synopsis CASSIOPEIA, were all nominated at the local Los Angeles Film Festival, a festival that showcases films and written works created by women and about women.
Renée De Palma landed in Culver City first as a young filmmaker. “Culver City has always been good to me. I started my business here, OneMotion Pictures, and having the studios here, as well as several post production facilities and independent film companies, helped me launch my career here as a film professional,” says De Palma, “I had an office here, and soon just moved here and made Culver City my home.”
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, De Palma and her writing partner, Mary Mackey, decided to use the isolation to their advantage. De Palma and Mackey met over the phone and on Zoom every single Tuesday over the entire pandemic, cranking out ideas that turned into treatments that turned into screenplays. Mary Mackey is a professional writer who also writes novels, and teaming up with De Palma was a good match for both writers.
“Renée has an uncanny sense for what’s going to work on the screen in terms of story structure, and I’m a novelist who loves story structure, and we both write good dialogue together, and we laugh a lot,” says Mackey.
Dr. Mary Mackey, PhD, is a comedy and historical fiction novelist, as well as an accomplished poet. She is a direct descendent of author Mark Twain, and has sometimes written under the pen name, Kate Clemens, in homage to her relative, Twain. Her novel, THE STAND IN, is a comedy that Renée and Mary have adapted into a Screenplay, which is another aspect of their work. They write both original works, often conceived by Renée, and adapted works, often based on novels that Mary Mackey has written.
Mary and Renée will find out if they win any awards at the CITY OF ANGELS WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL Awards Gala on Sunday September 4th at Bella Blanca Event Center, Los Angeles.
The Film Festival runs over Labor Day Weekend, September 2nd-4th at the WhiteFire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. Tickets for the film festival, film screenings, panel discussions, and the Red Carpet Awards Gala can be purchased at www.cityofangelswomensfilmfest.com
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