stormtrooper
"Struggling to survive in 1930s Berlin, an alienated gay youth falls under the spell of a Stormtrooper commander who promises he’ll help make Germany great again, but ultimately pays a high price for siding with the Nazi's dangerous, hate-fueled ideology."
I wanted to write something that addressed the resurgence of nationalism, intolerance, and xenophobia around the world. Looking to the past for guidance and answers, I gained surprising insights by studying the tumltuous rise of Nazism in 1930s Berlin. STORMTROOPER is the result.
Berlin, 1933. World War II is still six years away, but Nazism is on the rise, thanks in part to the terror campaign of the Party’s paramilitary army -- the SA, or Stormtroopers. Against this backdrop we meet Adolf Kordt, a young gay man hustling in Berlin's bars. Uncomfortable with his sexuality, it’s nonetheless the only way he can make a living. One night Adolf is caught by a group of Stormtroopers and is stunned to learn they count many gay men in their ranks – including Wolfgang, an older commander who entices Adolf to join them, promising food, a roof, and a purpose: To make Germany great again. Adolf slowly embraces Nazi ideology, participating in book burnings and the destruction of gay landmarks around the city, while thinking the SA uniform will protect him from their rabid homophobia. As fascists tightens their grip around Germany, Adolf and Wolfgang struggle to find their place in the new order -- and to make sense of their growing feelings for each other. When a day of reckoning finally catches up to them, Adolf makes a fateful decision that forever changes their lives. STORMTROOPER is an Austin Film Festival Second Rounder, a quarterfinalist in the Emerging Screenwriters Drama competition, and finalist in both WeScreenplay's Diverse Voices and LiveRead L.A.
Berlin, 1933. World War II is still six years away, but Nazism is on the rise, thanks in part to the terror campaign of the Party’s paramilitary army -- the SA, or Stormtroopers. Against this backdrop we meet Adolf Kordt, a young gay man hustling in Berlin's bars. Uncomfortable with his sexuality, it’s nonetheless the only way he can make a living. One night Adolf is caught by a group of Stormtroopers and is stunned to learn they count many gay men in their ranks – including Wolfgang, an older commander who entices Adolf to join them, promising food, a roof, and a purpose: To make Germany great again. Adolf slowly embraces Nazi ideology, participating in book burnings and the destruction of gay landmarks around the city, while thinking the SA uniform will protect him from their rabid homophobia. As fascists tightens their grip around Germany, Adolf and Wolfgang struggle to find their place in the new order -- and to make sense of their growing feelings for each other. When a day of reckoning finally catches up to them, Adolf makes a fateful decision that forever changes their lives. STORMTROOPER is an Austin Film Festival Second Rounder, a quarterfinalist in the Emerging Screenwriters Drama competition, and finalist in both WeScreenplay's Diverse Voices and LiveRead L.A.
PITCH DECK
