Using an an Award-Winning Short Film to Validate a Feature
Overview
Hold Me, Don't Touch Me was the first feature screenplay I ever wrote. It explores grief, love, and the possibility of human connection after devastating loss. While developing the project, I recognized an opportunity to test its emotional core in a more immediate format.
Rather than waiting years to make the feature, I adapted a portion of the screenplay into a short film designed to function as both a standalone work and a proof of concept.
The short film went on to screen at 17 film festivals, win six awards, and provide invaluable insight into what audiences connected with most deeply.
The experience reinforced my belief that sometimes the fastest way to understand a story is to put it in front of an audience and listen carefully to what comes back.
The Challenge
The challenge was finding a way to engage complex themes honestly while maintaining warmth, humor and accessibility. I wanted audiences to recognize themselves in the characters rather than simply observe them from a distance.
Because the short film was serving as both a complete work and a proof of concept, it also needed to capture the emotional DNA of the larger feature.
The PROCESS
I adapted a section of the feature screenplay into a short film, then wrote and directed the project in collaboration with a small cast and crew.
The goal wasn't simply to create a successful short. It was to pressure-test the larger story: its themes, tone, emotional rhythms and audience appeal.
The festival run became an unexpected extension of the creative process. Audience reactions helped reveal which moments resonated most deeply, which questions lingered after the credits, and which aspects of the story deserved further exploration as development of the feature continued.
The Results
• Official selection at 17 international film festivals.
• Recipient of six festival awards.
• Screened internationally across North America, Europe and Australia.
• Validated the creative and emotional foundation of the feature screenplay.
• Currently being packaged as my debut narrative feature.
• Recipient of six festival awards.
• Screened internationally across North America, Europe and Australia.
• Validated the creative and emotional foundation of the feature screenplay.
• Currently being packaged as my debut narrative feature.
What I Learned
This process taught me that audiences are drawn less to plot than to emotional truth. When characters pursue something they genuinely need, and risk something meaningful in the process, people lean in.
Creative development isn't about protecting an idea. It's about challenging it until it becomes bulletproof.