2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Our film tells the true story of Chris Rowland of New Jersey, who joined Twitter under the handle @stc, after his college nickname, St. Chris, gaining him thousands of Saudi followers by mistake. Chris takes a liking to the attention and immerses himself in Saudi culture. Over time, Chris's friends and family begin to lose him to strangers across the world. He’s picked up unusual habits, receives constant messages from foreigners and is consumed by a culture unfamiliar to those around him. After a heated intervention, Chris cuts himself off from everyone he knows. In his isolation, he embarks on a journey of self-reflection and realizes he has lost his identity. He then receives news of an STC expansion into Bahrain and Kuwait and concludes that his fixation will only worsen. Chris reunites with his family and finally agrees to relinquish his Twitter handle of 11 years.

Provide the full film script in English.

Text on Screen Based on a true story We hear a car in the suburbs of New Jersey and muted Saudi Music playing. Text on Screen Park Ridge, New Jersey Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “I guess it started in 2009… I’m not 100% sure how to describe what happened” Mike Halley - Best Friend “It was just a case of mistaken identity” Text on Screen Chris Rowland joined Twitter under the handle: @stc Diane Fitton - Mom “I mean, ever since… things started happening… strange things” Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “I’m told it has something to do with Twitter” Text on Screen And thousands of Saudis followed him by mistake We see Chris’s hand turning up the volume and blasting the Saudi music in the neighborhood. People on the street give Chris a WTF look. Diane Fitton - Mom “Chris wasn’t always like that” We see photos and old footage of Chris when he was a young kid. Diane Fitton - Mom “He was a subtle kid… he wasn’t quite social, but he was very helpful and polite” Diane Fitton - Mom “Some might say too polite… that might be what got him into all this trouble” Mike Halley - Best Friend “I’ve been friends with Chris since we were kids… I would say we were close As a joke, we used to call him Saint Chris, StC… but none of thought it would cause him the trouble that it’s caused him today” We see Chris on his computer. Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “You see, he was a good family man… he’s got a good kid… beautiful wife, beautiful wife!” Lisa Rowland - Wife “Chris was always there for us… then he wasn’t” Mike Halley - Best Friend “Suddenly all these people in Saudi Arabia started writing to him on Twitter, because they thought they were writing… to the Saudi Telecom Company” We see Chris on his computer fixing his Twitter account. Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “I think the fame got to him immediately, like a dog going after a steak” Diane Fitton - Mom “It put a real strain on his marriage… poor Lisa” Lisa Rowland - Wife “I found way too many messages from these foreign women… these Arabs… something” We see wife going through Chris’s Twitter mentions. Lisa Rowland - Wife “See what it says?” Wife holds a printed tweet: @stc I want a bouquet together. Can we link? Lisa Rowland - Wife “@stc I want a bouquet together. He never bought me flowers.” Max Rowland - Son “I came home from school and found my dad in the basement… and he was making a really weird sound… it sounded like he was chocking… I was really worried” We see Chris on his computer in the basement learning Arabic. Max Rowland - Son “KKHHHH” Lisa Rowland - Wife “He had to leave” We see Chris moving to a motel. Dale Hernandez - Boss “This phone thing took over his entire life” Mike Halley - Best Friend “He suddenly didn’t have time to see his family, didn’t have time to see his friends… he didn’t even have time to shave” We see Chris with a beard now. Dale Hernandez - Boss “And it crept into every crevice of his body and mind” We see Chris on his office desk, not doing his job. Instead, he is going through his Twitter notification on his phone. Other employees are looking weirdly at him. Dale Hernandez - Boss “So when I looked into Chris’s eyes I no longer saw Chris…” We see Chris dancing to a Saudi song in the office parking lot. Dale Hernandez - Boss “I saw a guy from the Middle East… not a bad thing! just not the Americana Chris” We see Chris wearing a Saudi long coat and giving strangers at the motel ground a Saudi greeting – a kiss on the shoulder. Mike Halley - Best Friend “It felt like I had lost a close friend for some… some weird condition… How the heck could someone in his right mind believe that he’s a Saudi company?” Diane Fitton - Mom “We had to do something” Mike Halley - Best Friend “So… me and the family got together… and we planned an intervention” We see Chris and Mike entering the intervention at Chris’s house. Chris is holding a Saudi bread in his hand. (Onscreen dialogue): Bob Dylaney – Neighbor “Hey Buddy!” Mike Halley - Best Friend “We all love you… but it’s been eleven years” Chris’s Aunt “You’re not a Saudi company Chris!” Mike Halley - Best Friend “It’s time to let go…” We see Chris running away from the intervention Mike Halley - Best Friend “He did not take it well” Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “I told you it wasn’t going to work… we trapped him like a rat” We see Chris is back to his Motel. He begins to self-reflect. We hear repeated notifications sounds on Chris’s phone. He can’t sleep from the constant notifications he is receiving. We hear his mother singing his favorite lullaby when he was a kid. Max Rowland - Son “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him… I miss my dad” Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “You could call me dad if you wanted” Mike Halley - Best Friend “Then… something happened… I’m not quite sure how to explain it” We see Chris leaving the hotel, and heading to a bridge over a lake. Diane Fitton – Mom “We were really scared… I mean I feared the worst” We see Chris reading a headline news on his phone: Bahrain and Kuwait take on the stc name. Chris throws his phone in the river and comes back home Max Rowland - Son “I missed you dad!” Bob Dylaney - Neighbor “But I guess Chris is back now or whatever, so… yay” Christopher Rowland “I’m done… Khalas…” Super On 20/12/2019, Christopher Rowland, known as St. Chris, agreed to relinquish his 11-year-old Twitter handle “@stc” to the Saudi Telecom Company. Super Chris can now be followed on Twitter @formerlyStc Super Thank you Chris for 11 engaging years Super Follow us on Twitter @stc STC Logo The End.