Inspired Minds

Isabel Dréan

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Episode notes

Isabel Dréan is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer who likes to explore human nature’s dualities of light and dark through psychologically intricate storytelling.  

Raised by a single mother and now mother to two children herself, the theme of motherhood is an important and recurring one in her stories, with "Let Go" taking an uncompromising look at the devastating realities of losing a child. In general, Isabel is passionate about exploring female perspectives through thought-provoking narratives that cover various contemporary themes such as female revenge, #metoo, and women overcoming the impossible. 

Her screenplay, "Rush of Blood to the Head "sees a woman escaping an abusive relationship via an unpredictable road trip, and in her Nicholl Fellowship quarter-finalist thriller, "The Wife of Frank B," she further investigates the harrowing effects of abuse through a boundary-pushing story exploring battered woman syndrome (BWS) with female empowerment at its core.  

Isabel’s expertise in handling darker themes has resulted in a prolific career as a writer and director of complex psychological horrors and thrillers. Her short film, "Let Go," which she both wrote and directed, won numerous awards including Best Short, Best Directing, and Best Cinematography at Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival. Other award wins include Best Directing at HollyWeb Festival and Austin WebFest for her short format series, Manigances, about a famous novelist who employs a dinner party to orchestrate his own death. The series became one of the most-viewed online series in Canada and led to Isabel optioning the series to a major Hollywood studio.  

In response to the inescapable pandemic gloom, Isabel has felt compelled to tell lighter-hearted, uplifting stories under romcom, holiday, and coming-of-age umbrellas. For the latter, she developed unique narratives from her own personal experience, including her screenplay for "Love Letter to Laos," in which an adventurous woman settles in Laos to open the first bookshop after the communist era. Originally from Montreal, but a global wanderer at heart, Isabel’s love of travel has taken her beyond Laos to all corners of the world, immersing her in wonderfully diverse cultures that continue to influence and inspire her storytelling.  

Breakthrough Entertainment & Vast Entertainment acquired FOUR of her scripts in the last twelve months. Two were produced and aired in 2021 and the others are all slated for production in 2022.