Get this free insider conversation with award-winning filmmaker Stéphanie Joalland & James Bond screenwriter Sean McConville — and discover what they actually look for when they read your script.
Have you ever finished a script, felt good about it, sent it out — and heard nothing back?
Or worse, gotten feedback that said "technically well-written" but nothing else?
Hi, I'm Ingvill Konradsen — founder of the Aurora Writers Retreat.
I know that feeling! You've learned the rules. You've formatted everything perfectly. Your screenplay is technically correct. But so are the other 10,000 scripts sitting on that same desk.
That's why I sat down with two of my favourite people (both of whom are mentors at next year's Aurora retreat)— Stéphanie Joalland and Sean McConville — for a raw, unfiltered conversation about what actually grabs them when a script lands on their desk.
Stéphanie is an award-winning filmmaker whose feature The Quiet Hour is on Netflix. She lectures at Cambridge and the National Film and Television School.
Sean is a writer-producer who's worked on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and the James Bond films GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
Together, they've read thousands of scripts. They know what works. They know what doesn't. And in this conversation, they don't hold back.
Get instant access...Â
Drop your details below, and I'll send you this insider conversation — straight to your inbox!
Inside you’ll discover:
-
What "voice" actually means in screenwriting — and why most writers are being taught to suppress it
-
The difference between amateur rule-breaking and masterful rule-breaking
-
How to know when you're ready to break the rules (and which rules are worth breaking!)
-
The one question that changes how you look at your protagonist
-
Why proactive characters create structure naturally
This conversation offers a glimpse into the kind of creative transformation we dive into at the Aurora Writers Retreat — a week-long immersion from January 24th–30th 2027, in Senja, Northern Norway.
AÂ week designed to reignite your connection to story, character, and the pulse of your writing.
Guided by world-class mentors and surrounded by wild nature, you’ll return to the heart of why you write — and leave with work that carries more truth, more courage, and more life.
