Celeste Banks - Screenwriter
Celeste Banks - Screenwriter
Meet the Writer!
*Seeking Literary Representation*
In a far-away town called Decatur, Georgia, a little girl read comic books and watched every fantasy or animation film she could get her hands on. She dreamed of the day when she could tell stories like the ones she watched. She was both the princess and evil witch. During the day, she flew with Static Shock. During the night, she hid away from werewolves. That little girl was me, Celeste Banks, and I am here to write the next Marvel movie or Disney princess film! I graduated from Agnes Scott College with a BA in English Literature-Creative Writing. After graduating from Agnes Scott, I entered the Atlanta Film Industry as an associate producer on several indie projects. My work primarily demonstrates magical realism and fantasy aspects. Several of my scripts made it into festivals like the Atlanta Film Festival, Women in Horror Film Festival, and Urban MediaMakers Film Festival. Right now, I am currently producing my fantasy short film, “Black Girls and Fairytales.” I intend to expand this project into a feature film! I’m delighted to see all the black women and girls connecting to the project on our social platforms! To date, my team and I have raised over $20K for the project from small-dollar amount donations! If you wish to contribute, please visit www.blackgirlsandfairytales.com.
Featured Script Highlight!
Check out "A Black Girl's Fairytale" on Coverfly!
This script has been placed in the Atlanta Film Festival Semi-Finals, ScreenCraft Fantasy and Science Fiction Competition
Quarter-Finals, and ScreenCraft Feature Script Competition Quarter-Finals. The script has also been on Coverfly's RedList several times.
Featured Script Highlight!
You can request to read "The Lady of Sherlot" on Coverfly!
I wrote this script back in 2018. I had just quit my job, and all my plans for my film career completely fell through. Thankfully, I had a nest egg and could survive most of the year without picking up another 9-5. Along with two other screenplays, I completed a draft of this script.
Before, I submitted it to any contests. I did rewrites and got notes. I believed in this script. I created a series bible, everything you can think of. I did it for this script. I submitted to the Austin, TSL, ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition, and Women's Writing Competition (and maybe others). This script was rejected by each one. It got NO LOVE! I was devastated. I did a few rewrites and put the screenplay aside for four years.
A friend mentioned a mentorship competition after reading this script. I did one more rewrite on it and submitted it.
Today, this script has been placed in the second round of the Black Boy and Black Girl Writes Mentorship Competition. I am proud of this accomplishment because this story deserves acknowledgment.
My hope for this script is for it to be made.
AWARDS AND OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Just to name a few...
A Black Girl's Fairytale
A Black Girl's Fairytale
Black Girls and Fairytales
Repast
BREAK
BREAK
Press and Interviews
Black, Educated & Talented Interview
An Interview with Kiara Barnes and Celeste Banks
Listen to the director and the screenwriter behind "BREAK" on the hit radio show, "Black, Educated & Talented."
A Screenwriter’s Call: The Leap into BREAK
Take an inside look of the journey of the writer behind, "BREAK."
Celeste describes her journey with "BREAK" after quitting her steady and stable job in Academia.
Black Girls & Fairytales / Kiara Barnes and Celeste Banks
Hear Celeste and Kiara talk about their journey with BGFT!
Indie Director/Co-Producer Kiara Barnes as well as Screenwriter/Co-Producer, Celeste Banks go off about their new short film, Black Girls & Fairytales. These two women have set out to change the narrative around colorism and the lack of black women representation in film, with a not so typical fairytale. Listen in as we discuss Black Girls & Fairytales plus, we have raw conversations about the film industry, building genuine connections, and staying motivated.
