After being falsely accused of murder, a troubled American child psychologist living in Nigeria is forced to go on the run and the only one that can clear her name is a young boy stricken with the Ebola virus.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
IDA MAE RAUN (35) is an American Child Psychologist living in Nigeria. Ida is emotionally haunted by the death of a young boy in America that she was treating. He committed suicide.
In Nigeria, Ida treats a troubled young boy, EDIMA UFOT DALTON (9), whose parents, MELODY and TODD DALTON, are separated. Edima suffers from hallucinations and imaginary friends.
When there’s an emergency, Ida helps him. Edima trusts Ida. She promises to take him to the beach one day. She accidentally leaves her phone at the Dalton house and takes Melody’s phone.
Ida attends her birthday party where she sees KUFRE, a thug gambling. Ida is dating Todd Dalton, the husband of Melody. Todd’s upset that Ida continues to be his son’s therapist. When Ida gets a strange text message, Ida realizes she left her phone at the Dalton house. Ida goes to the house and finds Melody’s body. A mysterious intruder attacks Ida, knocking her out. Edima watches. The police arrest Ida, believing that she killed Melody. Ida escapes and goes on the run. She knows that the only hope of clearing her name is Edima. GOZIEM (47), with Nigeria’s State Security Services, investigates the case and pursues Ida. Ida finds evidences at the Dalton home, a piece of a broken wristwatch worn by the killer. Ida learns that Edima is stricken with the Ebola Virus. She slips into the Ebola Quarantine Camp and sneaks out with Edima. Edima refuses to tell her what he saw, until they visit the beach. They head to the beach, but Goziem stops her. She begs him to let her go. Goziem realizes that she’s determined to clear her name when suddenly a mysterious man shoots at them. Goziem lets Ida escape. She takes Edima to the beach. She records Edima, who tells her that it was his father’s friend, Kufre, who killed his mother. Ida tries to get a message to Goziem, but Kufre locates them at the beach. Ida and Edima flee. Ida struggles with Kufre. When Goziem calls Ida, she leaves the phone line open and he hears Kufre confess to killing Melody for Todd, who wanted her dead. Kufre jumps at Ida when Goziem bursts into the room. …show more content…
Goziem and Kufre struggle when gunshots go off. Ida shoots Kufre. Todd is arrested.
Ida takes Edima to the beach where he dies. Ida and Goziem are quarantined and tested for the Ebola virus. They all test negative. Ida decides to head back home as she let’s go of her past.
STORY COMMENTS
PHATE is an intriguing mystery thriller that is worthy of consideration. While the premise of a woman being falsely accused of murder isn’t new to the industry, the script presents with a unique setting in Nigeria, which gives this thriller a refreshing point of view.
The other strong hook for this thriller is the idea that the only witness that can clear Ida’s name is a young boy stricken with Ebola. It’s a solid concept for a thriller.
The goal is clear and the stakes are high. The script features a very likable female protagonist, who drives the plot. The audience effortlessly roots for and emotionally connects with Ida, Edima, and to their plight.
While there’s plenty to really like about this script and plenty of strengths, the script would benefit from more development to build on the strengths. The main concerns are the structure and pace. First, the opening scene sets the tone and creates some anticipation. The structure then transitions back in time several weeks, eventually going back to the opening moments. This works well. The first act does a good job of establishing Ida’s relationship with Edima. The first act also nicely foreshadows the idea of Ebola, which later becomes pivotal to the storytelling. There’s a solid inciting event with the murder of Melody and the arrest of Ida. The story is propelled forward when Ida escapes. Her call to action is to clear her name and find Edima. However,
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
IDA MAE RAUN (35) is an American Child Psychologist living in Nigeria. Ida is emotionally haunted by the death of a young boy in America that she was treating. He committed suicide.
In Nigeria, Ida treats a troubled young boy, EDIMA UFOT DALTON (9), whose parents, MELODY and TODD DALTON, are separated. Edima suffers from hallucinations and imaginary friends.
When there’s an emergency, Ida helps him. Edima trusts Ida. She promises to take him to the beach one day. She accidentally leaves her phone at the Dalton house and takes Melody’s phone.
Ida attends her birthday party where she sees KUFRE, a thug gambling. Ida is dating Todd Dalton, the husband of Melody. Todd’s upset that Ida continues to be his son’s therapist. When Ida gets a strange text message, Ida realizes she left her phone at the Dalton house. Ida goes to the house and finds Melody’s body. A mysterious intruder attacks Ida, knocking her out. Edima watches. The police arrest Ida, believing that she killed Melody. Ida escapes and goes on the run. She knows that the only hope of clearing her name is Edima. GOZIEM (47), with Nigeria’s State Security Services, investigates the case and pursues Ida. Ida finds evidences at the Dalton home, a piece of a broken wristwatch worn by the killer. Ida learns that Edima is stricken with the Ebola Virus. She slips into the Ebola Quarantine Camp and sneaks out with Edima. Edima refuses to tell her what he saw, until they visit the beach. They head to the beach, but Goziem stops her. She begs him to let her go. Goziem realizes that she’s determined to clear her name when suddenly a mysterious man shoots at them. Goziem lets Ida escape. She takes Edima to the beach. She records Edima, who tells her that it was his father’s friend, Kufre, who killed his mother. Ida tries to get a message to Goziem, but Kufre locates them at the beach. Ida and Edima flee. Ida struggles with Kufre. When Goziem calls Ida, she leaves the phone line open and he hears Kufre confess to killing Melody for Todd, who wanted her dead. Kufre jumps at Ida when Goziem bursts into the room. …show more content…
Goziem and Kufre struggle when gunshots go off. Ida shoots Kufre. Todd is arrested.
Ida takes Edima to the beach where he dies. Ida and Goziem are quarantined and tested for the Ebola virus. They all test negative. Ida decides to head back home as she let’s go of her past.
STORY COMMENTS
PHATE is an intriguing mystery thriller that is worthy of consideration. While the premise of a woman being falsely accused of murder isn’t new to the industry, the script presents with a unique setting in Nigeria, which gives this thriller a refreshing point of view.
The other strong hook for this thriller is the idea that the only witness that can clear Ida’s name is a young boy stricken with Ebola. It’s a solid concept for a thriller.
The goal is clear and the stakes are high. The script features a very likable female protagonist, who drives the plot. The audience effortlessly roots for and emotionally connects with Ida, Edima, and to their plight.
While there’s plenty to really like about this script and plenty of strengths, the script would benefit from more development to build on the strengths. The main concerns are the structure and pace. First, the opening scene sets the tone and creates some anticipation. The structure then transitions back in time several weeks, eventually going back to the opening moments. This works well. The first act does a good job of establishing Ida’s relationship with Edima. The first act also nicely foreshadows the idea of Ebola, which later becomes pivotal to the storytelling. There’s a solid inciting event with the murder of Melody and the arrest of Ida. The story is propelled forward when Ida escapes. Her call to action is to clear her name and find Edima. However,