Intro to Screenwriting: Crafting Your Short Film
April 25 @ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Art Form
WritingChapter
Hampton RoadsProgram Type
WorkshopThe leap from turning an idea into a screenplay can often feel daunting, but this three-hour workshop will demystify the process, and get your creativity flowing into a finished draft of screenplay for a five-minute short film.
In this working session, you will bring your written idea for a short film (such as film genre, where the story takes place, and people involved), and use this context to learn the basics of screenwriting and create your short film in the industry-standard screenplay format.
If you have a unique experience, interesting story, or crazy character that you have always wanted to see on screen, this workshop is for you.
About the Instructor
Adrian K. Belman is a writer-director-producer, songwriter, artist, playwright, and retired military spouse. She holds a PhD in Psychology and has worked for over a decade across a wide range of industries, from space exploration to healthcare. Her feature film screenplays include Money Getters, Grandma Crypto, and Homed. Adrian made her directorial debut with Shilly-Shally; a short film, which premiered at the 2024 NGO International Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia. Her plays include Spit It Out, The Arbiter of Me, and Operatic End. She is currently in pre-production for Seh-ruh-brayt (Celebrate), her feature film about a middle-aged woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, made possible by the City of Virginia Beach Department of Cultural Affairs.
Adrian is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a 2023-24 Cadence Pipeline New Works Screenwriting Fellow, a recipient of a 2025 Virginia Beach Individual Artist Grant, and a member of the Zeiders American Dream Theater. Adrian loves to learn, and aims to illuminate the world with advocacy-centered storytelling that embraces comedy and cultural nuance to present alternative perspectives and celebrate our shared humanity.
