Candace Egan's Women's Action Adventure Screenplay Recognized as Semi-finalist
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 30
Candace Egan's feature screenplay DESERT BELLES has made the semi-finals of ISA’s Emerging Writers Action Adventure Screenplay Competition. Prior to this, DESERT BELLES has received over 17 accolades, including Best Screenplay-Feature in the Switzerland Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, Winner-Action Adventure in the Hollywood Storytellers Festival & Genre Script Competition, Finalist in the Stage 32 Second Annual Grown-up Movies Screenplay Contest and a Page International Screenwriting Awards semi-final placement.
The screenplay is a motor sports action-adventure featuring two women over fifty as the main characters. The film is about Geri, a stubborn veteran off-road racer facing financial ruin, who is determined to preserve her deceased father’s business legacy by competing in a grueling eight-day, 4-wheel drive desert auto rally for the prize money. When her daughter drops her for a manufacturer’s team, she’s forced to partner with Melanie, a disgraced former NFL reporter who’s never been off a paved highway. They battle deadly desert conditions and sabotage by Geri’s shady former racing partner and prove to themselves and Geri’s daughter that they are not too old to compete. Together, they claw their way to friendship and ultimately survive to win the Desert Belle Competition.
The concept was inspired by the Rebelle Rally, an annual women-only, eight-day 4-wheel drive motorsports competition in the Mojave Desert. It’s a test of old-school orienteering and off-road driving skills. Modern communication and navigational systems are disabled, forcing competitors to use only a compass and paper maps. I’ve met some of the competitors and was inspired by their determination and resourcefulness.
DESERT BELLES is an inspirational story about mature, capable women who embody the vibrancy of today’s women over 50. It shows women breaking stereotyped expectations in a fun, heartfelt, hair-raising action-adventure through the harsh beauty of the California Desert.
Check out Candace Egan's member profile at https://www.iwclist.com/team/candace-egan.
