HAPPY MEDIUM
An award-winning screenplay
by Aaron Lieben
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A staunch debunker of paranormal claims goes undercover at a school for psychics and falls in love with the instructor, who convinces him to admit his own exceptional psychic abilities.
Winner - Best First Time Screenwriter
Anaheim International Film Festival
Winner - Best Comedy
Winner - Best Feature Screenplay
Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes
Winner - Best First Time Screenwriter
Winner - Best First Time Screenwriter
Winner - 1st Place
Winner - 2nd Place
Winner - 2nd Place
The Monthly Film Festival (TMFF)
Winner - 2nd Place - Best Dramatic Screenplay
Winner - 3rd Place
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards
Winner - 3rd Place
Finalist - Most Original Screenplay
Finalist - Best Voice
Finalist
New York City International Screenplay Awards
Finalist
Finalist - Best Romantic Comedy
Finalist
DaVinci International Film Festival
Finalist
Finalist
Rome Independent Prisma Awards
Finalist
Feel the Reel International Film Festival
Finalist
Finalist
Paris Play International Film Festival
Finalist
Prague International Film Festival
Semi Finalist
Screencraft Drama Screenplay Competition
Semi Finalist
New York International Screenplay Awards
Semi Finalist
Semi Finalist
Semi Finalist
Semi Finalist
Semi Finalist
Drama Inc. Screenplay Competition
Semi Finalist
Quarter Finalist
Quarter Finalist
Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship
Quarter Finalist
Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards
Quarter Finalist
Quarter Finalist
Quarter Finalist
Special Mention
Madras Independent Film Festival
Official Selection
Official Selection
LA Under the Stars Film Festival
Official Selection
Austin Under the Stars Film Festival
Official Selection
Crown Wood International Film Festival
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Austin Spotlight Film Festival
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
American Screenwriting Conference
Official Selection
Sacramento International Film Festival
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
"Happy Medium was an extremely enjoyable read full of heart and humor and a little heartbreak. The pace was wonderful and the characters relatable. All the makings for a sweet, entertaining film. There is a purity here that is refreshing and organic and overall very satisfying. The writer’s voice is clear and concise and comes through with admirable intention and confidence. These is much to love about this charming script, from the characters to the love angle to the often irreverent and funny dialogue. Thanks to the writer for taking this reader on a lovely journey from tragedy to hope and love. Nice work!"
Austin Film Festival
"I enjoyed reading your script and fully expect to see it on-screen. The strength of the writing suggests there may well be interest from multiple venues. The characters are layered and interesting enough to attract the appropriate talent."
Screencraft Screenplay Competition
"The writer has created something really unique and interesting here. It’s idiosyncratic and fresh, and quite unlike anything else currently being produced. The writer took a risk on an unusual story and managed to make it entertaining, engaging, and heartwarming."
Los Angeles Intl. Screenplay Awards
"The concept is unique and Robert's journey is memorable. The screenplay is beautifully written, with excellent pacing and structure. Very impressive, well done!"
Los Angeles Film Awards
"I really enjoyed Happy Medium and I would love to see it come to life on screen. Happy Medium is a really fun, sweet story rich with characters I care about. The story weaves together different plots and has them intersect in satisfying and surprising ways. This is a strong, well written script that feels polished and professional that managed to entertain from the first page to the last."
New York Intl. Screenplay Awards
"I had a great time with Happy Medium. It maintains a very solid structure throughout and knows how to ratchet up tension and release it at the right moments. This was a very easy script to read through due to interesting characters and a wholesome message behind all the fun and bombast that comes with a story about a school for psychics. A very enjoyable read."
Chicago Screenplay Awards
"The screenplay is professionally crafted and enjoyable throughout. The scenes feel lifelike and tell an enjoyable story of the protagonist discovering how to live a more fulfilling life."
Nicholl Fellowship
"The relationship between Robert and Cassandra is endearing from the moment they meet. They share nonstop cute moments that make the reader’s heart melt every time they speak to one another. Cassandra is an incredibly written character, and the two of them play off each other so well."
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
"This was a very enjoyable read. The theme is universal and the message of the story came across clearly and gave the script a cohesiveness."
Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship
"The concept behind this script is pure genius. Some of the lines felt like life lessons that remain in the reader’s head for a long time. The tale beautifully blooms and gets through multiple discussions, moods, character encounters, climaxes, and an apotheotic finale. Let's get this project into the production phase!"
Bucharest Film Festival
Robert, a socially isolated over-thinker, works at an organization that debunks paranormal claims. When assigned to investigate a psychic school, he goes undercover disguised as a student and finds himself among new age eccentrics, even winds up in a smoky tepee packed with naked men. Despite his skepticism, Robert is drawn to fill a void in his life. With the help of a fun-loving hippy classmate, Jade, the insightful teacher, Melody, and her playful nine year old daughter, Cassandra, Robert develops a gift for seeing images in random scribbles which he uses for intuitive readings. He discovers the joy of helping people.
When Sheila, his boss, ends the investigation, Robert secretly continues with the classes. Cassandra catches Robert without his disguise and uses that to coerce him to join her at the big psychic fair. To Robert’s chagrin, he’s the main attraction and performs a reading to a large audience. This catapults him to psychic stardom and ignites a romance with Melody. His worlds collide when he provides a reading to someone he’s investigating at work. Harboring a grudge, that person reveals the deception and Robert loses his following, his relationship, and his job. Will Robert redeem himself? He must first follow his intuition to unravel the mystery of his childhood.
A UCSC film school graduate, Aaron Lieben has been a writer and storyteller his entire life. As a child, he loved to pen stories and poems. In high school, he did independent study in creative writing and journalism. In college, he wrote, directed, and produced films. Since then, he’s written plays that were performed on stage, wrote articles for local newspapers, and has extensively written for marketing purposes. He enjoys being a dad and his children fondly remember the many wonderful stories he improvised for them during bedtime.
Aaron also has a degree in psychology and utilizes his understanding of the human psyche to delve deep into character development. He finds his inspiration from magical realism, in telling stories that feel truthful but which add a sparkle of joy, humor, and romance to our ordinary lives. He enjoys the interaction more than the plot, the subtext more than the words, and the inner conflicts as much as the outer ones.
