A Frosty Agenda
A group of young artists huddle in a drafty Northwestern Ontario community hall, attempting to forge a non-profit collective amidst the biting winter. Ideas clash, hopes flicker, and the fragile blueprint of their shared future slowly takes shape.
# A Frosty Agenda
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
In a frigid northern town, four artists battle the encroaching cold and their own doubts to forge a creative collective, only to have their fragile hope threatened by the harsh, immediate reality of their environment.
## Themes
* **Hope vs. Harsh Reality:** The tension between ambitious creative dreams and the unforgiving, practical limitations of a cold, under-resourced environment.
* **Community vs. Isolation:** The struggle to build a supportive network as a defense against the artistic and personal solitude endemic to their remote region.
* **Creation as Defiance:** The act of building something new—a collective, a mission—is a quiet act of rebellion against economic hardship and cultural neglect.
* **The Tangible and the Abstract:** The conflict between the need for concrete resources (a warm space, funding) and the abstract goals that fuel the project (connection, visibility, inspiration).
## Stakes
At stake is the very survival of their collective dream; failure means succumbing to the creative isolation and economic pressures that force local artists to either give up or leave their home behind.
## Synopsis
In a stark, cold community hall in Northwestern Ontario, four artists—DAN, CATHY, SARAH, and DAVID—hold a tense meeting to discuss the logistics of forming an arts collective. The initial conversation about securing a "shared space" is fraught with pragmatic pessimism, particularly from Cathy, who points out the inadequacy of their current surroundings and the monumental task of securing funding. The frigid air seeping through the windows mirrors the chilling reality of their financial and infrastructural challenges.
Dan, the group's reluctant leader, steers the conversation away from the overwhelming logistics and towards their core purpose. By focusing on a mission statement, he draws out the group's foundational desires: Sarah's passion for visibility and accessibility, Cathy's insistence on professionalism, and David's quiet focus on connection. David crystallizes their purpose with the metaphor of a "bridge"—connecting talent to opportunity and artists to community. This breakthrough ignites a spark of shared purpose, and the group furiously brainstorms, hammering out a mission and assigning actionable next steps for securing grants and a name. For a moment, the warmth of their shared ambition pushes back against the room's chill.
Just as the meeting concludes on a high note of fragile optimism, the hall's old furnace clanks and dies. The sudden, profound silence is immediately followed by a creeping, intense cold. This abrupt, physical manifestation of their core struggle—the battle against an unforgiving environment—leaves the group in stunned silence. Their theoretical plans and newfound hope are instantly confronted by a tangible, immediate crisis, symbolizing the immense, ever-present challenge that lies ahead.
## Character Breakdown
* **DAN (30s):** The Organizer. Anxious but determined, he carries the weight of the collective's momentum on his shoulders. He is the mediator, constantly trying to bridge the gap between the group's big ideas and the practical steps needed to achieve them.
* **Psychological Arc:** Dan begins the meeting feeling the familiar knot of anxiety, burdened by the logistics and struggling to rally the group's wavering focus. He ends in a state of sobered determination, where the initial spark of hope is tempered by the immediate, physical reality of their struggle, forcing him to confront that their fight will be more literal than he imagined.
* **CATHY (30s):** The Pragmatist. Sharp, direct, and grounded in the hard reality of budgets and business plans. She is not a pessimist but a realist, acting as the group's anchor to prevent their ambitions from floating away into pure fantasy. Her practicality conceals a deep-seated desire for the collective to succeed sustainably.
* **SARAH (20s):** The Idealist. Full of earnest energy, she is the voice of community, accessibility, and the emotional core of *why* they are doing this. She represents the passion and the fight against isolation, sometimes overlooking the practical hurdles in favor of the inspirational goal.
* **DAVID (20s):** The Philosopher. An introverted visual artist who speaks rarely, but with profound insight. He observes and internalizes the group's dynamic, often providing the key phrase or idea that cuts through the noise and unifies their vision. He is the quiet soul of the collective.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE COLD OPENING:** The meeting begins in a frigid community hall. Dan's attempt to discuss a "shared space" is met with skepticism and the harsh reality of their environment. The characters and their conflicting perspectives (pragmatism vs. idealism) are established. The cold is a constant, oppressive presence.
2. **THE PIVOT TO PURPOSE:** Seeing the conversation stalling, Dan refocuses the group on their mission statement. This shifts the energy from logistical despair to creative possibility. Sarah, Cathy, and David each contribute their core values: visibility, professionalism, and connection.
3. **THE BRIDGE METAPHOR:** David, the quietest member, offers the unifying idea of the collective as a "bridge." This galvanizes the group. They find their central identity, and Dan furiously scribbles down a draft mission statement, capturing the sudden momentum. The mood lifts; there is a sense of shared hope and warmth.
4. **ACTION AND COMMITMENT:** With a clear purpose, the group outlines concrete next steps: researching names, grants, and creating a six-month plan. A fragile but real sense of accomplishment settles over them. They are no longer just talking; they are planning.
5. **THE FURNACE DIES:** As they pack up, the furnace cuts out with a final, metallic tick. The sound is replaced by an immediate, encroaching silence and a biting cold. The hopeful energy evaporates, replaced by a shared, unspoken dread. The symbolic struggle against the cold becomes a literal, immediate threat, leaving their future hanging in the balance.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is grounded in social realism. The color palette is cool and desaturated, dominated by winter blues, grays, and the institutional beige of the hall, making the vibrant pops of color—like Sarah's scarlet scarf—stand out as symbols of defiant life. Lighting will be naturalistic, using the flat, weak winter light from the large windows. Handheld or shoulder-mounted camerawork will create a sense of intimacy and immediacy, placing the audience in the room with the characters.
The tone is one of quiet realism and fragile hope, focusing on the small, intimate moments of human connection against a vast, indifferent landscape. It aligns with the character-driven, atmospheric tension of films like Kelly Reichardt's *Certain Women* or the grounded community struggles depicted in *Nomadland*, where the environment is as much a character as the people within it.
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
In a frigid northern town, four artists battle the encroaching cold and their own doubts to forge a creative collective, only to have their fragile hope threatened by the harsh, immediate reality of their environment.
## Themes
* **Hope vs. Harsh Reality:** The tension between ambitious creative dreams and the unforgiving, practical limitations of a cold, under-resourced environment.
* **Community vs. Isolation:** The struggle to build a supportive network as a defense against the artistic and personal solitude endemic to their remote region.
* **Creation as Defiance:** The act of building something new—a collective, a mission—is a quiet act of rebellion against economic hardship and cultural neglect.
* **The Tangible and the Abstract:** The conflict between the need for concrete resources (a warm space, funding) and the abstract goals that fuel the project (connection, visibility, inspiration).
## Stakes
At stake is the very survival of their collective dream; failure means succumbing to the creative isolation and economic pressures that force local artists to either give up or leave their home behind.
## Synopsis
In a stark, cold community hall in Northwestern Ontario, four artists—DAN, CATHY, SARAH, and DAVID—hold a tense meeting to discuss the logistics of forming an arts collective. The initial conversation about securing a "shared space" is fraught with pragmatic pessimism, particularly from Cathy, who points out the inadequacy of their current surroundings and the monumental task of securing funding. The frigid air seeping through the windows mirrors the chilling reality of their financial and infrastructural challenges.
Dan, the group's reluctant leader, steers the conversation away from the overwhelming logistics and towards their core purpose. By focusing on a mission statement, he draws out the group's foundational desires: Sarah's passion for visibility and accessibility, Cathy's insistence on professionalism, and David's quiet focus on connection. David crystallizes their purpose with the metaphor of a "bridge"—connecting talent to opportunity and artists to community. This breakthrough ignites a spark of shared purpose, and the group furiously brainstorms, hammering out a mission and assigning actionable next steps for securing grants and a name. For a moment, the warmth of their shared ambition pushes back against the room's chill.
Just as the meeting concludes on a high note of fragile optimism, the hall's old furnace clanks and dies. The sudden, profound silence is immediately followed by a creeping, intense cold. This abrupt, physical manifestation of their core struggle—the battle against an unforgiving environment—leaves the group in stunned silence. Their theoretical plans and newfound hope are instantly confronted by a tangible, immediate crisis, symbolizing the immense, ever-present challenge that lies ahead.
## Character Breakdown
* **DAN (30s):** The Organizer. Anxious but determined, he carries the weight of the collective's momentum on his shoulders. He is the mediator, constantly trying to bridge the gap between the group's big ideas and the practical steps needed to achieve them.
* **Psychological Arc:** Dan begins the meeting feeling the familiar knot of anxiety, burdened by the logistics and struggling to rally the group's wavering focus. He ends in a state of sobered determination, where the initial spark of hope is tempered by the immediate, physical reality of their struggle, forcing him to confront that their fight will be more literal than he imagined.
* **CATHY (30s):** The Pragmatist. Sharp, direct, and grounded in the hard reality of budgets and business plans. She is not a pessimist but a realist, acting as the group's anchor to prevent their ambitions from floating away into pure fantasy. Her practicality conceals a deep-seated desire for the collective to succeed sustainably.
* **SARAH (20s):** The Idealist. Full of earnest energy, she is the voice of community, accessibility, and the emotional core of *why* they are doing this. She represents the passion and the fight against isolation, sometimes overlooking the practical hurdles in favor of the inspirational goal.
* **DAVID (20s):** The Philosopher. An introverted visual artist who speaks rarely, but with profound insight. He observes and internalizes the group's dynamic, often providing the key phrase or idea that cuts through the noise and unifies their vision. He is the quiet soul of the collective.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE COLD OPENING:** The meeting begins in a frigid community hall. Dan's attempt to discuss a "shared space" is met with skepticism and the harsh reality of their environment. The characters and their conflicting perspectives (pragmatism vs. idealism) are established. The cold is a constant, oppressive presence.
2. **THE PIVOT TO PURPOSE:** Seeing the conversation stalling, Dan refocuses the group on their mission statement. This shifts the energy from logistical despair to creative possibility. Sarah, Cathy, and David each contribute their core values: visibility, professionalism, and connection.
3. **THE BRIDGE METAPHOR:** David, the quietest member, offers the unifying idea of the collective as a "bridge." This galvanizes the group. They find their central identity, and Dan furiously scribbles down a draft mission statement, capturing the sudden momentum. The mood lifts; there is a sense of shared hope and warmth.
4. **ACTION AND COMMITMENT:** With a clear purpose, the group outlines concrete next steps: researching names, grants, and creating a six-month plan. A fragile but real sense of accomplishment settles over them. They are no longer just talking; they are planning.
5. **THE FURNACE DIES:** As they pack up, the furnace cuts out with a final, metallic tick. The sound is replaced by an immediate, encroaching silence and a biting cold. The hopeful energy evaporates, replaced by a shared, unspoken dread. The symbolic struggle against the cold becomes a literal, immediate threat, leaving their future hanging in the balance.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is grounded in social realism. The color palette is cool and desaturated, dominated by winter blues, grays, and the institutional beige of the hall, making the vibrant pops of color—like Sarah's scarlet scarf—stand out as symbols of defiant life. Lighting will be naturalistic, using the flat, weak winter light from the large windows. Handheld or shoulder-mounted camerawork will create a sense of intimacy and immediacy, placing the audience in the room with the characters.
The tone is one of quiet realism and fragile hope, focusing on the small, intimate moments of human connection against a vast, indifferent landscape. It aligns with the character-driven, atmospheric tension of films like Kelly Reichardt's *Certain Women* or the grounded community struggles depicted in *Nomadland*, where the environment is as much a character as the people within it.