JOSHUA REIS
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JOSHUA REIS

Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
Colfax, CA, and Los Angeles, CA, USA

Your script stood out among hundreds of others. What was the inspiration for your story  and why did you write a script instead of a short story or a novel?
The inspiration for Ice Valley came from three overlapping currents. First, traveling for decades through  California's Central Valley— observing its stark beauty—the drought-cracked land of almond groves, the tule fog, the forgotten farm towns and its agriculturally dependent economies. Second, realizing there’s a dark underbelly to this land after conducting research for an anti-methamphetamine PSA I directed. Interestingly enough, the script truly crystallized when I traced the supply chain. The meth crisis isn't just a local problem; it encompasses a global pipeline connecting a sterile Indian pharmaceutical factory (think Ramba Shah and Kreles) to Mexican cartels, and to the  desperate immigrant families caught between INS (now ICE) and economic survival in the Central Valley.
Third, I wanted to tell a story about how systemic corruption doesn't just exploit the "American Dream"—it breaks families on every link of its chain: Matt's guilt, Jose's love for his children, Ramba's hypocrisy with his disabled son. Ultimately, my goal is to tell stories about and for California—not the glossy postcard version, but the resilient, complex, often-overlooked reality. Working on sets across the globe as a cinematographer for nearly twenty-five years has only sharpened my perspective: there is truly no place like home, and home deserves to have its complicated, beautiful and not-so-beautiful stories told on the big screen.

How long did it take you to write your script...and what is your writing process? Do you outline...use index cards...white board...or just start with FADE IN?
As for the timeline, the current version of Ice Valley took about three months to complete—but that's only half the story. I actually wrote my first draft back in 2013 over the course of a month, purely for fun. My career as a cinematographer took off shortly thereafter, so the script sat on a shelf until the industry slowdown in 2025, when I stumbled across the document again. I spent an additional two months refining and editing to complete this current version. A few readers have told me it feels like a
Sicario spin-off, which I take as a compliment—though ironically, I had a full draft three years before that film was released.
My story development process varies with each project, but for Ice Valley, I was very methodical. I started with a two-page plot summary to lock in the structural spine relying on the vast amount of research I’d already completed from the anti-meth PSA that I directed. From there, I created a detailed chart for each character—mapping age, sex, ethnicity, skills, flaws, and motivations. I want to know what drives them before they ever speak a line. I also pulled stills to build a look book, almost like pre-visualizing the cinematography before a single word is written.
Continuing the process, I actually start writing the script—but not always at the beginning. Sometimes I jump into the second act or write specific scenes centred on a character that are already fully formed in my head. Once I have a handful of those scattered scenes on the page, I return to the beginning and write from start to finish, weaving and visualizing everything together. It's an intense process; I typically pull twelve- to sixteen-hour days until a draft is done.

What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
My ambition as a writer is to capture humanity—to tell stories that entertain, inspire, and offer new perspectives. That's the true power of cinema. Writing my own material also sharpens my eye as a cinematographer, because great imagery starts on the page—with a great script. Ultimately, I want to direct my own screenplays.
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Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
I have a long list of influential writers, but I'll highlight three comparable to Ice Valley.
​First, Taylor Sheridan, (Sicario, 2015). I admire his ability to capture the pursuit of the American dream via the blue- collar experience—his boots-on-the-ground, grit-in-your-face writing style. I grew up in the remote mountains of Northern California which afforded me the opportunity to work the land, log it, operate heavy machinery, and learned to restore classic muscle cars. I feel it’s better, when possible, to draw from actual experiences to authenticate my writing. I think Taylor often writes from a similar perspective.
Second, Guillermo Arriaga, (Babel, 2006; Amores Perros, 2001; 21 Grams, 2003). His style influenced the non-linear, interlocking, globally-spanning structure of Ice Valley. He's a writer who values authenticity over formula. It's good to have rules to guide us, but rules are meant to be broken—or at least bent—to capture the true essence of humanity. As a cinematographer, when lighting or framing a scene, I'd always say "the beauty is in the imperfections." There's probably no better reference for that mindset of a writer than Guillermo.
Finally, Stephen Gaghan, (Traffic, 2000). Stephen resists easy heroes and writes with documentary-style authenticity. No one is purely good or evil—just surviving within an unfair system is a theme echoed in both Traffic and Ice Valley. I could cite more writers, but these are undoubtedly my strongest references.

What’s your all-time favourite movie or television show?
That's a tough one—but if we're speaking about modern contemporary American cinema, my three favourite movies would be Man on Fire, Se7en, and Fight Club. In my role as a cinematographer, story and the words on the page come first. Aesthetics and the director's interpretation follow from there.

What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
Seek criticism, study references, watch similar films, read similar scripts, rewrite, expect rejection, and rewrite some more until you truly feel your work is complete.
That said, as a cinematographer, I can tell you from my personal experience: a script is never really done. I lost count of all the times rewrites—sides—were delivered on set the day of filming. So I'd say a script is never truly finished until the scene is in the can—and even then, the editor can have their own interpretation too, so there's that. If it was easy, anyone would do it. Ultimately, never give up.

What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
I have another screenplay I recently completed—a modern western action drama called Crypto Cowboys, which is a love letter to Lake Tahoe. I wrote it to bring honor to the blue-collar trades: welding, logging, truck driving, operating heavy machinery. It explores the dignity of manual labor versus abstract digital wealth, redemption versus brotherhood, and offers a critique of the modern American dream—a thrilling synthesis of the old and new American West. This script also made the 2026 Top List Black List.
I have a couple of other scripts I've co-written and am about a third of the way through a new screenplay. As I mentioned, I've been working as a cinematographer for nearly twenty-five years, keeping notes along the way, so I have a lot of ideas to put on paper! I'm working toward the day one of my screenplays hits the big screen. So far, it's been a wonderful and challenging journey. I'm greatly appreciative of the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s recognition and support. I feel blessed to work in such a rewarding career. Hollywood is a complex industry, but once in a while, recognition like this is enough to keep one moving forward through the "no's"—because all you need is that one "yes."