WINNER OF THE TRUE INDEPENDENT SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FOR 2003 - FIRST PLACE

Paul Michael Giachetti has a very diverse and seemingly unrelated background. His experiences range from being a wildland fire fighter, a guitarist in a weekend bar band, a successful martial arts competitor, a runner of marathons and an amateur painter.

His career is that of an environmental geologist to which he spends most of his time roaming through the Allegany Mountains of Western New York State, far from the concrete sidewalks of where he grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The one constant in his life, however, has been writing. Beginning with songs he would pen as a teenager, he continued into the realm of short stories and eventually embarked on a novel. Upon entering graduate school with a major in Modern European History, his writing no longer was based on his personal thoughts and observations but had to be fortified with documented research. The result was his receiving a writing award as a Master's student, which had historically been given to PhD candidates.

The idea of writing screenplays was provided by his wife who saw this as the logical combination of his artistic vision and his technical expertise. With one screenplay completed, a second about to be finished and the outline of a third already formulating in his mind, Paul has been busy making the reality of "screenwriter" the final addition to his life's resume.

Paul Giachetti

Writing is, and has been, my favorite vehicle of expression. Being able to convey ideas, thoughts and emotions through the written word is something I've always admired in others and to participate in that realm has been my quest.

In the past I was content with writing "for myself" yet there was always that muted desire to share. I think as a writer, one of the things that' s encouraging is validation. It can come in many forms but it's only worth something if it causes us to continue the craft rather than to sit back and admire what we've accomplished. "Self-validation" was enough motivation for me to write in the past; however, I found myself writing less and less over time. I needed something more.

I entered this competition as an opportunity to acquire some independent validation, which fortunately, I've received. Whether or not this particular screenplay will become a success has no impact on my focus nor should it.

Success in writing depends on perspective and the joy for me lies in the journey, not the destination.