Esperanza - One Hour Pilot

1 Writer

Additional Project Info

Esperanza presents an alternate rock-music history, as a unique period-piece and urban fiction, that focuses on the rise of a Los-Angeles-based, Mexican American family rock band in the '70s. A heartfelt series drama, with plenty of stakes, but a triumphant theme, Esperanza celebrates the power of family, talent, dreams and hope - over the seemingly insurmountable odds of institutionalized racism, economic marginalization and disenfranchisement. The numerous industry awards and placements for Esperanza's pilot screenplay attest to an extraordinarily well-structured series destined to win the hearts of audiences, who will be captivated by the characters, music, and poignant storylines occurring in an era defined by so many of the cultural issues we still wrestle with today . The full series bible can be made available upon request by qualified parties. Some background: In 1973 a unique Latino rock movement literally exploded into the pop zeitgeist. Groups like Santana, Malo, El Chicano, War (technically an Afro-Latino group) and others became mainstream bands. In fact, War's debut album was the number one album of that year. Because of that period trend, it's not unrealistic to imagine that a family of Chicano rock musicians from that era, could emerge from the inner city of a Los Angeles suburb and rise to the top of the pop charts. The dialogue was written to authentically capture the cadence and linguistic idiosyncrasies of a Los Angeles area Mexican American family in the 70s. Spanglish was and remains a predominant dialect.. In most cases where Spanish appears, I placed the subtitles in italic brackets within the dialogue itself. I'm aware that this approach may differ with convention, but as a Mexican American artist who grew up in Los Angeles, the spoken "Spanglish" is intrinsic to the characters and their identity. I have intentionally removed previous act breaks (there are five plus an opening teaser). Since, I don't see this as a broadcast network show, but rather one which would be more easily adaptable to a streaming platform like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu, I chose to simply allow the narrative to flow unrestricted. An early draft of Esperanza was recognized as a Semifinalist in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards competition. It's now been recognized with over 20 placements and wins. At the time of this writing it ranks #1 for the month and year on The Red List for One-Hour Television in the Musical Drama category. PARTIAL LIST OF HONORS: Finalist - Creative Screenwriting TV Pilot Screenwriting Competition Semifinalist - Austin Film Festival Semifinalist - Warner Bros. TV Pilot Award Semifinalist - Rooster Teeth BIPOC Fellowship Award Winner - New York International Film Awards Finalist - Santa Barbara International Screenplay Competition Semifinalist - Hollywood International Diversity Film Festival Semifinalist, The Script Lab - TSL Free Screenplay Contest Semifinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Fall Esperanza was created and written by David Christopher Loya, a second-generation Mexican American filmmaker and musician of Chicano heritage, who - like his protagonists - also grew up in a Los Angeles inner-city housing project.