As soon as she learned to read and write, Maude Paradis began composing short stories and poems, and completed two short novels before she finished elementary school. Already fascinated by the excesses and the unboundedness of the human soul, she created supernatural worlds and science fiction stories. She discovered the theories of Freud and Janov in her early teens, which led her to explore, through writing, the heart-wrenching beauty of life and all its escapes. The artist's mind has forged a pole between the horror and the sumptuousness of the human adventure, and she continues to explore these extremes through the richness of a language where humour is always ready to show its many faces.
In 2019, she began a bachelor's degree in literary studies at Laval University, Canada. In February 2021, she was awarded the Jean-Sebastien Pontbriand Scholarship for Excellence in Creative Writing for her poetry collection "Ton visage est une étoile". She has published in Le crachoir de Flaubert and in the first publication of Éditions Figures.
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Gaslighting in the 21st Century won Shorescripts's Best Feature in November 2021 and got into the quarterfinals of WeScreenplay Feature Screenwriting Competition and Emerging Screenwriters Genre Competition in 2022. It was also part of the official selection of the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards of 2022.
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Poetry, theater and novel exercepts can be found on the A (French) side of the website.
Screenplays
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The Seven States of Drunkenness
Historical musical drama
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Logline: In the late eighteen hundreds, a French female composer struggles with fame, love, and the loss of her four illegitimate children.
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Sleep.
Psychological thriller
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Logline: A young child with supernatural powers gets tortured in her sleep, night after night, by her tyrannical captor.
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Ghosting, or a Little Guide to Millennial Relationships
Romantic comedy
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Logline: A middle-aged bisexual actress's world is turned upside-down as she falls under the charm of an older theatre director who has strings.
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Gaslighting in the 21st Century
Comedy
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Logline: A bisexual ‘poetess’ in her early thirties struggles with her identity and place in the world as she falls for a narcissistic lesbian influencer who doesn’t do monogamy.
Excerpt:
SUBTITLE: DISPLAY OF SOCIAL SKILLS AND FLUFFING (HOW HONESTY WILL ANNIHILATE YOUR SOCIAL LIFE)
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INT. NIGHT - DIAMOND'S PLACE.
Music: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and variations on the song.
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DIAMOND (CONT'D)
For dinner, we're having a few recipes Hope wanted to cook for us.
They're apparently from a French writer, a guy named George something.
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George looks at Diamond.
GEORGE
Good man, for sure.
HOPE
Actually, good woman. George Sand was a nineteenth century French
female writer. She was baptized Aurore Dupin, but she used George
Sand as a pen name, and she wore men's clothing. Some of her
colleagues said that she didn't know if she were a woman or a man,
making her a precursor of modern non-binarism, if you ask me.
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She looks around and sees no one is reacting.
HOPE (CONT'D)
Although admittedly, I need to read a bit more on the subject before I
give my final opinion on the matter.
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Everyone looks at her, surprised and bored.
CHAD
Great way to start a party, dude.
JERRY
So, we're eating French cuisine?
DIAMOND
Yes! Here's a soufflé, as a starter.
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Diamond serves everybody portions of the soufflé. They look at the food. John starts eating right away. Guy seems disgusted by the smell, and pushes his plate away.
JOHN
(thinking out loud)
Sometimes I think I've made a mistake, buying a bar.
GUY
Your bar sucks, John!
JOHN
Yeah yeah yeah. Seriously, I don't understand where all the gays are
going. Maybe we don't offer enough entertainment?
CHAD
Put Hope on stage!
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Hope seems embarrassed, but wants to chime in.
HOPE
You had ONE good idea, with the drag kings and queens at
Valentine’s night. Why don’t you have a drag king night every week?
Be innovative! Drag kings are largely underrepresented and almost
absent from the LGBT nightlife in this city. It will attract people, I’m sure.
JOHN
(Was looking at Louise the whole time, and didn’t pay attention to one word Hope said)
I'm thinking I might go back to being a lawyer.
LOUISE
I didn't know you were once a lawful man.
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John leans toward her and tells her something in the ear. She seems turned on, and smiles.
GEORGE
Don't lawyers make more money than crummy bar owners?
HOPE
Weren't you disbarred?
CHAD (TO HOPE)
Way to hit a man when he's down!
(to John)
John, you were disbarred?
JERRY
What did you do?
GUY
Did you murder someone?
LOUISE
Was it on T.V.?
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Louise takes her phone out and starts researching.
JOHN
(not paying attention to the comments. To Hope)
How did you? Who are you?
(pause)
It's none of anyone's business.
SUSAN
Well no scandal in my line of work!
DIAMOND
What do you do?
SUSAN
I'm a secular missionary. I just came back last week from Northern Canada.
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