A film script about Illinois State University students and faculty who served in the Civil War, written by Professor John McHale, was recognized with the 2023 Award of Excellence from the Broadcast Education Association, which represents over 250 colleges and universities around the world.
Blood Brothers is a feature film script about students and faculty from Illinois State who fought in key battles in the Civil War. This Civil War period feature action-drama is based on true events. In the most tragic American war, under the most challenging circumstances in the bloodiest battles, four men discover, in the end, they fight for each other.
McHale is a professor in the School of Communication and has won over 20 awards for his film writing and production, including the Walter Cronkite Civic Engagement Leadership Award at the U.N. McHale has also earned BEA’s 2020 Top Film screenplay and 2021 Award of Excellence.
“This project is very near my heart. It is important to understand our academic community’s legacy and those who sacrificed to end the evil of slavery and to preserve our Union. It is also an important time to explore the divisions in our nation, as those that threatened to tear our nation apart continue to simmer below the surface during our politically tumultuous time,” said McHale.
Illinois State senior Sydni Stoffregen was also recognized with a 2023 Student Best of Festival Award for her script written in McHale’s class on long-form media writing.
“Sydni’s win is an amazing accomplishment and contributes to recognition of ISU as a place in which storytelling is taught. It is also an honor that ISU earned a faculty and a student scriptwriting award,” added McHale.
McHale, who has written over 25 screenplays and produced and directed a number of award-winning films, continues to strive to get one of his feature film scripts produced by a major network or production company. “Every year I have more than 30 meetings with studios and networks. I get many requests to read the scripts, but I continue to seek the right companies for the right projects. I know one thing for sure: the script that is not written or promoted will not get made.”
The script Blood Brothers was also recognized as a semifinalist in the Fade In Magazine Award for First Ten Pages Competition.
