Ferdinand W Gernandt has received a high honour in Hollywood; his latest screenplay has received a ‘RECOMMEND’ which means it will get it seen by more executives
South Africa (01 October 2020) – The South African and international screenwriting world is sitting up and taking notice of Ferdinand W Gernandt, as the news hot off the presses is that he has just received his third RECOMMEND from international producers, screenwriting contests and table reads for his gothic suspense thriller screenplay Discordant.
Two other thriller feature screenplays The Imagined and Corpse Garden have also garnered similar acclaim, also receiving RECOMMENDS from international film executives.
Ferdinand is no stranger to the SA entertainment industry, having been part of it for over 20 years and has evolved from being a sought-after vocalist and actor to an award-winning, respected and accomplished producer, director and writer.
Having amassed a wealth of knowledge on stage and in front of the camera, Ferdinand has travelled an exciting 10-year journey behind the camera, getting to this point of being a respected professional writer.
Gernandt has completed a diverse array of international screenwriting courses and written 14 full feature screenplays, 5 short film scripts, 5 writing assignments for local and international producers.
With many career highlights, one that is instantly recognisable, is him having produced, written and directed the smash-hit stage musical Reik Na Die Sterre which received 7 Naledi Award Nominations.
Internationally, he was the winner of the Top 10 1st Scene Screenplay of 2018 at The Wild Sound Festival from over 500 submissions.
Upon receiving this news this week of Discordant receiving an international RECOMMEND, Ferdinand had this to say;
“I am humbled by the fact that my decade-long journey towards becoming a screenwriter has brought me to the discovery of my own screenwriting voice. To have received RECOMMENDS on three of my high concept thriller scripts from International Executives proves that the global screenwriting-door is now open to me and to all of my local, fellow-writers here in South Africa. I am now beyond the ‘show of hands’ approach. To guess what people want and then try to give it to them. Those RECOMMENDS encourage me to share what I know, what I’ve learnt and believe in my future writing projects.”
Gerdnandt goes on to explain what a “RECOMMEND” means;
“This is the highest rating, and it’s also the rarest. When a script gets rated with a RECOMMEND, it means that those executives responsible for greenlighting scripts to get made into movies, should take the time and read it. Executives rarely give RECOMMENDS to scripts and they do this only about 5-10 times a year.”