Ainhoa Fernandez-Martinez
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Where do you live (City, State, or Country)?
 I live on Madrid, (Spain).
 
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?
 As a woman, a marine biologist and a writer, I felt the need to show certain aspects that are seen in the feature screenplay, both in the configuration of the characters and in the problems they face.
 
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?
 It took me about six months or so to come up with a version of the script that I felt comfortable with. Although, of those six months, two of them were spent preparing before writing.
 I start first with a brief synopsis, then I do some initial research and create the characters, then I make a structure with the key points of the story. And finally, before I do any writing, I make a scene treatment or a scene treatment.
 
What is your ultimate ambition as a writer?
 As a writer, I would like to make viewers not only like my work, but also reflect on certain issues.
 
Which film or television writers inspire you? Why?
 I really admire Guillermo del Toro, I think he is a writer with his own universe inside that he is able to transmit. I also admire Neil Gaiman for his extraordinary imagination and Phoebe Waller-Bridge for her great ability to write brutally real dialogue that anyone can identify with at some point.
 
 What’s your all-time favorite movie or television show?
I like so many that it's really difficult to choose just one.
 Gravity by Alfonso Cuarón (2013), 1917 by Sam Mendes (2019), Crimson Peak by Guillermo del Toro (2015) or The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan (2008) are some of my favourites. 
If I had to choose one series, I think I would choose Anne with an E (2017).
 
 What advice do you have for writers hoping to win a contest or place as a finalist as you have?
 I would advise them to write something that they would like to watch. Something that, if they had watched it at the cinema, they would have been thrilled by it. That's what I did and it truly made me enjoy every second of the writing process, even the difficult moments.
 
What else are you working on that the world needs to know about?
 At the moment, I have a short film (written and directed by me) in distribution that has already been selected for several festivals. In addition, this week I start shooting my second short film as a director and writer.

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