Photo courtesy of Eleni Rivera-Colon
Eleni Rivera-Colon’s social profile reads: “Small, nerdy, Puerto Rican sci-fi writer/director.” While that may sum her up on the page, in real life she’s got an energetic vibe that’s easy and engaging… with an edge. "My goal is to write female-driven, sci-fi, coming-of-age that feels authentic. It’s grounded and it’s wondrous, and kind of throws you into these other worlds but you can connect with them.”
Eleni's thriller pilot Bosque recently made the 2021 Blood List. “I love writing sci-fi, horror, and coming of age…you know, that young 20-year-old that’s still trying to navigate the world. [But] sci-fi and horror have definitely been where I've found my voice as a writer,” says Rivera-Colon.
"My recent pilot Bosque, I wrote it during the pandemic. It was something that came from when I found out that my dad is not my biological dad. I had this weird identity crisis and I was spiraling. I was like, ‘Okay, I need to write because I don't know what else to do.’ So, I did a Sundance collab course, I really worked on the script and put everything I had into it.”
That script landed Rivera-Colon representation at Aaron Kogan Management, placed in a festival, and is her current calling card in the industry. “It's crazy how it came full circle. It gave me this identity crisis, but it's also the same thing that gave me an identity as a writer. It's all funny the way that life works.”
Learning on the job
It started where it does for a lot of writers, with a love of writing. Journaling, short stories, poetry—you name it. “Screenwriting actually felt really daunting to me. Because there’s so much with formatting, so many rules. With a story, you literally just write it in first person, third person… And there's no one that's like, ‘No, this isn't how you write your short story.’ So, it felt really scary to dive into screenwriting."
Rivera-Colon continues, "...when I was working on the shows, I ended up writing poetry and I self-published a book of poetry, which was kind of my first publication during my early 20s where I was dealing with heartbreak and my journey of self-love and, you know... Anything you can do; any self-expression is right.”
The Georgia State grad spent her time assisting writers, directors, and producers on films from Black Panther to Stuber before moving to L.A. about a year before the pandemic. Her time at Big Beach production company was where Rivera-Colon learned to analyze scripts and which of those would have legs in the marketplace.
“But I knew ultimately, I didn't want to be an executive. So, after working with this great producer, I got an assistant job with Alexandra Cunningham for Dirty John season two, and that is when I really got to dive into learning about writing in a real way, with studio notes and a writer who's done incredible shows. That's kind of when I really started writing - after I got that job,” recalls Rivera-Colon.
“I was looking back at my high school yearbook and one of the quotes that they asked me was, 'What matters to you?' [and I said] writing,” she laughs gently. “Looking at that, I was like, Wow, what a full-circle experience,” she says.
Storyboarding her future
The thing about inspiration is, that you can’t always wait for it. Rivera-Colon is a planner. While she works with her reps, Rivera-Colon also directed a short film. “I wanted to prove that I can direct other writing in case, you know; TV directors don't necessarily always get to write what they're directing, so it's nice to have a balance. But I do hope that this directing can help me get funding for the feature that I wrote, and then I can get trusted for the feature.”
“I want to collaborate with people,” she says adamantly. “That’s what I find really fun, like, now we get to experience the story together versus just me being the anchor for all of it. I like that there're other people and I can learn from them and we can all work together.”
If Rivera-Colon could staff on her dream show, "...obviously, Obi-Wan or The Mandalorian would be something that I would just like cry—I would probably cry before doing anything with it because I think it's so cool.”
Screenwriting advice from a little up the ladder
"Writing and directing will never necessarily be easy and there will never be a thing that’s, like, mastering it. I think there will always be preparing yourself, sharpening your craft, and then laughing at your failures, because that's really all you can do when people say no... I think that finding some sort of good in all these weird moments is the best way to navigate the industry,” advises Rivera-Colon. “...just do the things that you want to do as long as you're being nice and kind to people. And write things that feel right, even if they feel scary and daunting because some of the best things are scary to you, but you'll never know where it could lead you if you don't do it.”