Neilanchal Vats

Tea and Tears (Poetry Collection — Writing Sample)

• Format: Creative Writing / Source Material
• Genre: Drama / Slice-of-Life / Coming-of-Age
• Logline: A collection of emotionally raw and introspective poems that trace the quiet aches and fleeting joys of growing up. Through themes of love, loss, identity, and resilience, Tea and Tears offers an intimate look at a young woman's inner world.
• Page Count: 50 (poetry collection)

• Note: This published collection reflects my narrative voice, emotional tone, and ability to build character and mood—qualities I bring into my screenwriting. Select pieces from this collection are available for adaptation into monologues or short scenes.

• Format: Feature Film
• Genre: Historical Horror / Psychological Thriller / Supernatural Mystery
• Logline: In the early 1800s, a Chinese trade vessel vanishes into cursed waters in the South China Sea. When it resurfaces with no crew and only a cryptic logbook, a haunted investigator must uncover the truth behind its descent into madness—and face the entity that waits beneath.
• Excerpt: Opening Sequence Available
• Note: A slow-burn psychological horror exploring colonial greed, karmic vengeance, and the supernatural cost of disturbing what should remain buried.

Opening Sequence Snapshot:
The film begins with The Shen Lan , a decaying trade ship, silently adrift in an unnatural fog. Lanterns flicker, the sea holds its breath, and footsteps in fresh black ink trail across the deck. Below, a final log entry warns: "The sea is listening." As ink swirls and a figure emerges in the shadows, a jolt sends the screen to black. Title card: The Black Wake .

Themes:

• Supernatural isolation
• Descent into madness
• Colonial exploitation and karmic justice
• Ancient sea curses bound to stolen goods and broken spirits

• Genre: Mystery/Supernatural Drama
• Setting: A forgotten ancestral house in the Himalayas
• Logline: When a weary young man returns to his family's abandoned mountain home, he begins receiving offerings of white lilies at his doorstep—just like his grandmother once left for the old gods. As time unravels and reality bends, he must confront the unseen forces that never leave.
• Format: Short film script or feature-length development
• Status: Script sample and visual treatment available

Opening teaser snapshot:
A mist-choked road curves through the Himalayas. Arjun, a city-worn young man, arrives at a crumbling ancestral home nestled in wild pines. His mother once said the mountains remember what people forget. When white lilies start appearing at his doorstep with no explanation, Arjun sets up cameras, chases shadows, and drifts deeper into dream and folklore. One morning, he doesn't wake up. But someone else arrives—carrying lilies of her own.