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A CôTé
By Deborah Bete
When a burned-out French executive and a disillusioned director-producer meet by chance in a New York movie theater, a single afternoon forces them to feel again — and to face the possibility of something real they cannot allow themselves to keep.
SYNOPSIS:
Christian is a well-known director-producer whose life has become another performance. Ariane is a French executive who has learned to disappear inside hers. Both are in New York for obligations they quietly decide to abandon — each in their own way, each alone.
They end up in the same small movie theater. They notice each other across the dark. Nothing said. But something shifts — quiet and immediate.
When the lights come back on, Christian speaks first. Ariane almost walks away. She doesn't.
And underneath it, something else is building — unspoken, unresolved, impossible to ignore.
The afternoon reaches a point neither of them knows how to cross. What they've found is too close, too honest — and too impossible to keep. They walk back into their separate lives. The afternoon closes behind them.
What begins as a conversation about a film becomes something neither of them can fully control.
In a diner at the edge of the afternoon, they talk about the distance between who they are and who they're expected to be.
Each time the outside world presses in — a stranger's phone, a waitress who lingers — they briefly surface, only to go deeper. Words become more precise. Silences, longer. Something is being said that neither of them has said to anyone in a long time.
Eight months later, in his office in Los Angeles, Christian receives an email from his agent, forwarding him a screenplay written by someone named Ariane.
The script tells the story of a meeting in New York.
Troubled, Christian begins to read.
In the silence that follows, we hear the faint sound of a number being dialed.
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À Côté sounds like an interesting Art House film, Deborah Bete. I think your logline needs some work, and it’s really long (56 words). It’s more of a short synopsis.
Here’s a logline template that might help: After/when ______ (the inciting incident/event that sets the plot in motion), a _______ (the main flaw the protagonist has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the protagonist’s personality) _______ (the protagonist’s job/career/role) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes).
The inciting incident can also be at the end of the logline: A _______ (the main flaw the protagonist has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the protagonist’s personality) _______ (the protagonist’s job/career/role) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes) after/when ______ (the inciting incident/event that sets the plot in motion).
Loglines are one or two sentences. A one-sentence logline sounds better, and it takes less time for a producer, director, etc. to read it. Try to keep your logline to 35 words or less. Long loglines can make producers, directors, etc. pass on a project.
Avoid using “must” in loglines. “Must” usually means the protagonist is forced to do whatever they need to do in the story instead of doing it willingly. You might need to use “must” in a logline though, like when the protagonist is forced by another character to do something. Using “must” to choose between two options is fine.
Names in loglines are usually for biopics, well-known stories, and franchises (like Mission: Impossible).
Sometimes I put the location and date that the story takes place in instead of the inciting incident if it’s a Period Piece script.
All stories don’t follow this logline template. Biopics, documentaries, and Experimental scripts might not follow the template. The series logline for a TV show can follow this template, but the pilot logline and episode loglines for the show might not.
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Deborah Bete J'adore cette idee, Deborah! C'est complet de mystere, d'amour, et de un..je ne sais quais. I love that you write in French and are translating in English, I also write in several languages. I love the logline, but I would work a bit in making it a more cohesive, longer sentence instead of chopped up, although I understand why you do it...it gives that cinematic feel.
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Juliana Philippi I actually have different loglines — it depends on the context.
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Bonjour Deborah Bete The concept instantly has me hooked, it's quite immediate and palpable.
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Juliana Philippi Thank you. Just to clarify: I actually write directly in English, it’s not translated from French. I’m glad the logline resonated with you.
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Marie Hatten thank you so much, Marie. That really means a lot. I’m glad the concept came through so immediately. Your message genuinely warmed my heart.
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Deborah Bete Vous êtes les bienvenus
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Great work
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