An Interview with 2024 TITAN Awards Winner Thomas Oliver Hand

TITAN Awards Winner – Thomas Oliver Hand

In an extremely close final vote, our three “titans” of industry – producers – all voted, independent of one another, for the contest’s Gold-Silver-Bronze order.

And winning the 3rd place Bronze award, the winner of our 2024 TITAN Awards, was Thomas Oliver Hand for his feature screenplay, BURMESE DAYS:

In the murky, slowly decaying backwaters of the British Empire, a visionary police officer aggressively pursues a sadistic serial killer who’s lurking just out of reach in the criminal underworld.

So after Thomas’ amazing victory, we sat down with her to ask her a few questions about how she feels after being crowned the TITAN Awards winner, her inspirations, and her path to becoming a screenwriter.

Interview with TITAN Awards Winner Thomas Oliver Hand

Firstly, Tell us About You: Where Are You From, What’s Your Background in the Business?

Thomas Oliver Hand

Mesmerised from a young age by the magical history of faraway places, embarking on epic trips across the globe while devouring classic novels, training in martial arts and shooting cinematic films in an array of languages, I hunt projects that spark a call to adventure.

Originally from London, I grew up in the pretty Cathedral town of Worcester in the West Midlands, before studying History at the University of Durham. I then completed a loop back to the capital to achieve a Distinction for an MA in Global Cinemas and the Transcultural at SOAS, the world’s leading institute for the study of Asia and Africa.

Following a Certificate in Documentary Filming and Editing at University College London, I spent five years working as a VFX Editor on over thirty blockbuster movies, which included being credited on Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Michael Apted’s Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I met, worked with and learned from legendary directors Sir Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie, Michael Apted and Tomas Alfredson, the multi-Oscar- nominated producer David Heyman, and the extraordinary multi-Oscar- winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. The absolute highlight of this time was hosting a number of video calls with God-among-men Steven Spielberg for both War Horse and Lincoln.

Alongside working in the industry, I wrote, directed and produced seven short films, the last of which, Coke, a sports-drama shot on the Red Epic at Harlequins’ Twickenham Stoop stadium, caught the attention of senior producers in the British film industry.

After five years of grafting in editing suites, I departed the film industry in search of sunshine and more time for my own work, to spend a decade teaching English in Thailand and China, where I produced two more multi-award-winning teaser films, the action-drama The Shadow Boxer, in which we shot a highly choreographed round of Thai kickboxing in a flowing one-er on the Arri Alexa Mini, and the underworld gangster- thriller Tarantula, shooting guerrilla-style on a Sony a7S without a permit in downtown Shanghai, in addition to penning my first four feature-length action-thriller screenplays.

I’m now living in Venice, California, while taking a 9-month Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA with screenwriters Rita Augustine and Wendall Thomas, after completing a 10-week Professional Program in Directing in the summer. It’s been a pleasure to learn from some of the giants of the industry, including directors Daniel Attias (Homeland), Jann Turner (Jack Reacher), James Ponsoldt (Shrinking) and George Huang (Weekend in Taipei), the super talented Emmy Award winning editor Timothy Good (The Last of Us), and the inspiring Oscar- nominated writer-director Billy Ray (Captain Phillips).

How Long Have You Been Writing Seriously For?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I’ve been serious about writing and directing for almost twenty years, and have really focused on feature writing over the last five.

How Does it Feel to Have Won the TITAN?

Thomas Oliver Hand

It feels wonderful. I really appreciate the recognition for Burmese Days.

2024 TITAN Screenwriting Contest Judge - Shannon McIntosh (Oscar-Nominated Producer)

Can you tell us more about the project you won with?

Thomas Oliver Hand

Burmese Days combines my two favourite genres: action-thrillers and biopics. This is a famous historical figure you know – but not like this.

I swung for the fences in creating a fully-fledged crime–thriller based off of eighteen months of historical research, and I think it’s fair to say that you couldn’t have written the version that I did from the safety of an English armchair! I followed in Orwell’s footsteps by travelling fromLondon to Mandalay, across Burma and beyond, to create a script with the themes of ambition, family and legacy, set in the murky marshlands of the Burmese Delta.

It took actually living along the border of Myanmar for five years, combined with the closest possible experience you could have of Orwell’s 1984 (perhaps short of staying in North Korea), by surviving the 4 years of China’s draconian Covid Zero policy, and specifically the brutal 6 month lockdown of Shanghai’s 28 million residents, during which time falling ill meant being dragged against your will by police officers to massive confinement camps full of thousands of strangers, with no control over when you’d be able to leave months later, to truly understand what oppression is and to be able to pour that experience into an understanding of who this young man was, before he changed sides, from being an imperialist oppressor, to becoming the greatest anti-oppressive writer of all time, something he could never have achieved without this life changing experience. Before Orwell could write about Big Brother, he first had to serve Big Brother.

At a time when white supremacy is again on the rise in America and beyond, this journey into one man’s embattled soul, set exactly a hundred years ago, feels both prescient and pressing.

Where did the idea for your winning project first come from?

Thomas Oliver Hand

The idea first came from exploring Myanmar during a holiday between semesters teaching English over the border in Thailand.

It was fascinating to see Orwell’s controversial debut novel Burmese Days sold quite widely in Myanmar. Whilst my screenplay is not an adaptation of Orwell’s early novel, the realisation that Orwell had lived in Burma for five years before becoming a writer was an exhilarating thought, which lead, five years later, to my finally sitting down and beginning to research his actual time there, including at the UCL Special Collections’ Orwell Archive, where I got my hands on the author’s final notebook, in which he tried to pen a magnum opus about his years working for the British Empire, tragically succumbing to tuberculosis before he could complete his epic manuscript.

Orwell was, until his last breaths, haunted by his half-a-decade as an Imperial Police Officer in the murky waterways, steamy jungles and stuffy boys’ clubs of 1920s British Burma.

What would you say the key cinematic touchstones are, for it?

Thomas Oliver Hand

Burmese Days aims for a mixture of the thrilling journey into the murky Heart of Darkness of Apocalypse Now and the lingering, agonising mystery of Zodiac, with a hearty sprinkling of the broader conspiracy of the finely woven tapestry of Chinatown within.

What scene in the script are you most fond of?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I think it has to be the young Orwell’s storming of his nemesis’ castle, only to be stopped in his tracks by some explosive home truths that will leave the audience reeling.

Why did you choose to enter The TITAN and what’s been your experience with other contests?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I chose to enter The TITAN Awards due to the incredible judges.

Having previously written a couple of action-thrillers set across Mexico and California, El Matador: Volumes I & II, which share similarities with Sicario, John Wick and The Town, and seeing that Basil Iwanyk is passionate about both action-thrillers and biopics, I was really eager to compete for the opportunity for Mr. Iwanyk to read my latest thriller, Burmese Days. I’m a huge fan of Mr. Iwanyk’s movies, particularly Wind River and Hell or High Water; I love seeing the incredible new John Wick movies on the big screen and return to watching The Town, Sicario and Sicario: Day of the Soldado for inspiration each year. These are exactly the kinds of movies I want to be writing and directing.

John Wick Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Keanu Reeves, Willem Dafoe Movie HD

As a passionate lover of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, the chance to be read by his producer Shannon McIntosh was also incredibly exciting. Each of their movies is unique, game-changing and epic, so I’m really excited to receive Ms. McIntosh’s guidance as to how best evolve this cinematic project inspired by real events in the style of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The fact that Ms. McIntosh has also produced an array of martial arts movies like The Lockdown, set in Myanmar and filmed in Thailand, which is where I would love to shoot Burmese Days, is a brilliant bonus!

As an admirer of what Amazon Studios has brought to the industry in both film and TV, I’m eager to receive advice from producer Georgia Brown from both a British and a European point of view. I’m looking forward to learning from Ms. Brown and re-connecting with the British film industry and any exciting writing or directing opportunities there after living abroad for over a decade.

Burmese Days is currently a ScreenCraft Drama Semi-Finalist and ranks in the top 2% of all discoverable projects on Coverfly.

In terms of the winners’ benefits, which run over the whole course of a year, which one are you most excited about?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I’m excited to work with Industrial Scripts’ Script Consultant to keep improving Burmese Days as well as my next screenplay, The Great Lover.

I was delighted with the feedback that I received from the Industrial Scripts reader, and I’d be thrilled to continue that conversation, to make Burmese Days as explosive as possible, so that it can eventually become a fuse-lit global blockbuster.

2024 TITAN Screenwriting Contest Judge - Basil Iwanyk ($4bn+ box office producer)

What are you working on next?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I’m now flowing with the momentum of Burmese Days by serving up another 1920s biopic, The Great Lover, set across New York and L.A., about Hollywood’s first global superstar, Rudolph Valentino, who suddenly died aged just thirty one, and the eighteen days of absolute chaos that followed.

If Burmese Days aims to be like David Fincher’s Zodiac, then The Great Lover will be more in the classic style of Mank, mixed with the sweeping New York timeline of The Godfather Part II and the bitter-sweet romance of the ultimate golden oldie, Casablanca.

What do you consider your super-strengths to be as a writer,
and your work-ons?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I’m good at world-building, threading prescient themes and crafting a broad ensemble of memorable characters that jump off the page.

As a visually-minded writer-director, people often say that my scripts are especially cinematic. My aim is for the reader to feel like they are watching the movie, as I’m envisioning all of the different facets of filmmaking as I craft each page, before chipping away to a sweet spot where the read is lean and fun.

Finally, as I’m keen to rev a powerful story engine as soon as I jump into the narrative saddle, I sometimes have to double back to caress the protagonist’s early characterisation and the establishment of their personal stakes on an emotional level. This is an area I’m really interested to discuss more with industry insiders.

Where do you hope to be in 5, and 10 years?

Thomas Oliver Hand

I hope to be an established screenwriter within the next 5 years, and an established film director within the next 10. If I could also work on any action-thriller TV shows as a writer or director, then that would be a lovely bonus.

Quickre round:

Favourite movie made by the judges:

SICARIO and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Favourite tv show made by the judges:

THE CONTINENTAL

Your top 10 movies of all time:

Only God Forgives
Drive
Lost In Translation
Apocalypse Now
Heat
Sicario I & II
Dune I & II
The Godfather I & II
Tokyo Story
Casablanca

Your top 10 TV shows of all time:

Mindhunter
Narcos / Narcos Mexico / Griselda
Homeland
Jack Reacher
Ozark
Ripley
Line of Duty
The Last of Us
The Continental
The Penguin

Dune Part 2 [ 4K - HDR ] Worm Attack, Final Battle (2024)

If you could emulate anyone’s career, whose would it be?

Denis Villeneuve.

Thanks, Thomas!

Learn more about The TITAN Screenwriting Contest.

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