Introduce Yourself : Reports from a mystical mind by Johan Tebelius

Johan Tebelius

Reports from a mystical mind

Hello everyone,

I joined Stage32 about a month ago, and I adore being part of this community. As it is Introduce Yourself Weekend I take the opportunity to introduce myself once more.

Although I started as a theatre actor back in Sweden decades ago, my background is in anthropological filmmaking and TV news reporting. Over time, using documentary methods, I realized two things.

1. The best stories can never be told with methods that aim to convey reality. People never believe you. If you write fiction, you don’t have this problem as the story is based on your imagination.

2. Documenting an ethnographic reality isn’t enough, as you need a theory to explain why you see things the way you do. Telling a fictive story using symbolic language provides other possibilities to convey a theory.

These insights made me interested in scriptwriting. Until last year, this passion was unrealized. Now, I have written three draft scripts.

In the first one, I discuss the relation between magical thinking and Artificial Intelligence, using Plato’s allegory of the cave.

In the second one, I discuss capital punishment and human value, letting inmates be fed to sharks.

In the third, I turn apocalyptic myths about flooding upside down and let a sailor experience the ocean does not return.

I hope to find people who can help me get these stories on a screen, (and someone who needs crew to the Transpacific yacht race in 2025).

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Johan Tebelius. Have you thought about pitching to executives, managers, etc. through Stage 32’s Pitch Sessions (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/pitch-sessions)? The main purpose of the Pitch Sessions is to get feedback to improve your pitch, but sometimes the executives, managers, etc. will request scripts, sign writers, etc. (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories).

Ashley Renee Smith

Welcome to Stage 32, Johan Tebelius! Your three scripts sound so interesting!

We're currently celebrating Stage 32's July Filmmakers Club, a month-long series of FREE events, resources, and prize giveaways to help our members learn more about indie filmmaking and make new networking connections. You can join in NOW by clicking on the link below and posting in the Filmmaking Lounge! Then make sure that you participate in next week's challenges which will be outlined in Monday's blog so that you are eligible to win 1 of 3 FREE DaVinci Resolve Licenses that I'll be giving away on Friday the 26th!

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/directing

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