(Provo, UT; Portland, OR; Gorizia, Italy; and London, UK – October 12, 2022)
At an after-hours ceremony in London’s famed British Museum, the British Horror Film Festival conferred its top screenwriting honor on Edinboro alum Lee Copeland. Rooted in traditional tales of creatures corrupted by humans, Oread is a folk/horror story about friends who reconnect in the mountains and cross into the realm of myth and madness.
A 2008 Boro grad, Copeland recently returned to the classroom for instruction in screenwriting with Dr. Bernard Hass. “He was serious,” said Hass. “He imagined his future into being.” The English professor credits Copeland’s perseverance in refining the story’s arc – making each scene stand as a self-contained dramatic unit.
Additionally, Copeland took a film course from Assistant Professor of Digital Filmmaking Brian Fuller, who helped him develop his craft and taught him how to enter film festivals. “Lee was a standout contributor to Lighting and Sound Design.” says Fuller. “His deep enthusiasm for and knowledge of the horror genre was a point of connection with other student filmmakers. Obviously, it’s also paid off for him as a scriptwriter.”
Following his success at the British festival, Copeland’s work was also named a finalist for the FilmQuest Film Festival (Provo, UT), the Oregon Screams Horror Film Festival (Portland, OR) and the Be Afraid Horror Fest (Gorizia, Italy).
Following his win and the awards circuit, Copeland’s goal is to receive enough attention of filmmakers and producers to bring Oread to life – and to continue writing the story into a trilogy.