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Synopsis
Jack Irvine, a recovering alcoholic from Sausalito, is lured away to Jakarta by an old Aussie friend, Andy Anderson. Andy entices Jack with an offer and a check for $1,000 to work for his employer, Francis McGuire. McGuire is a wealthy, charismatic attorney concocting a scheme to smuggle a large cache of arms to the Fretlin guerrillas in East Timor. Jack accepts the offer. While in Jakarta, Jack falls head over heels for June a beautiful Timorese woman. Arriving at his hotel, Jack runs into an uptight US Embassy employee, Dwayne Smith, a CIA operative working together with Colonel Ibnk Malick of the Indonesian Security Forces. Jack meets an eccentric alcoholic Jesuit priest, Father Paul O’Connor. Apart from drinking O’Connor runs a home for young girls/prostitutes he picks up in the bars and brothels of Jakarta. Jack becomes the Red Herring for McGuire’s scheme traveling to Singapore and to the Isle of Cheng Chau near Hong Kong. Cecil Washington, a CIA operative, has followed him and gets murdered. Jack agrees to take June to East Timor to see her parents. In a cemetery near Dili they witness a horrific slaughter of civilians by Suharto’s thugs. Living through the massacre June leaves Jack to join the Fretilin. Jack is picked up by the secret police and returned to Jakarta. Jack and Andy slip back into East Timor and wait at the docks of Dilli for the arms shipment to arrive. Malik intercepts the cargo, but finds nothing. Jack again is the object of a wild goose chase. Meanwhile the arms are landed on a remote section of the coastline. Waiting far into the night Jack, Andy and McGuire are informed that the Indonesian army surprised the Fretilin forces and that a fierce battle is taking place. McGuire commandeers a taxi and heads for the skirmish. Jack and Andy are returned to Jakarta and forced to leave the country, knowing neither the outcome of the scheme nor the whereabouts of McGuire or June.
A Note from the Filmmakers
The novel EAST of JAVA was written by the late Scott Amour. Virginia Travers , asked C.V. Herst to write the screenplay after Scott Amour passed away. Virginia Tom Walsh worked on the development package and budget. This is a little known story of the war in a Little known country TIMOR LESTE. (East Timor) that lost over 200 thousand citizens during the Indonesian Occupation. They became an independent nation in 2002 after a war of 25 years. Both Virginia and CV Herst were grateful to have met Jose Ramos Horta, the President of the Nation, and Nobel Peace prize winner in 2017. . Virginia Travers holds all rights to East of Java and made a promise to Scott Amour on his death bed to continue to promote his work. It would be a pleasure to be accepted to a Festival for this screenplay. Important to note.. :East of Java" was written as a prequel to Brothers Blood. Based on the novel "Dreamer" by Scott Amour. "East of java" is based on a true story .
From the Judges
From the Judges
Its pacing is the first thing that registers, an action screenplay that moves with real control while the stakes keep climbing. The dialogue lands cleanly and the characters arrive fully drawn, giving the heightened drama a foundation to build on. A confident, propulsive piece of writing.
Director's Biography
C V Herst is an award winning writer. Has a masters in Screen writing from UC Riverside. In 2007 and 2008 he won the Creative Screenwriters magazine AAA contest. He was also the first place winner for the 2009 Houston Gold Remi Award, and finalist in the 2009 Page International awards. With three films already produced “ Dearly Departed,” “Restraint” and the multi award winning “The Maestro” , and 20 feature screenplays under his belt, He splits his time between the US and Germany working as a research scientist in Cancer Biology, and has several published journals on genetic disorders. In 2020 he was focused on creating a vaccine for COVID 19.
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East Of Java was Winner of Best Feature Screenplay at the AFIN International Film Festival 2022, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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