Robert Hirsch, LISFF 2026, Feature Screenplay Finalist

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I find people immensely interesting.  I have been served by extraordinary beings, helping me to understand the saboteur – the ego – and how to transcend it.  My passion to help people and share the gifts I’ve received resulted in my becoming a mental health therapist with a solo practice in Seattle.  My love for my family, friends, playing sports, music, and traveling, have enabled me to have a very heart satisfying life.

- When and how did you get into writing?

I’d never felt much confidence in my writing abilities but a few years ago I wrote a children's book, FREE FALL, to help children face their fears of change and death.  On the tails of this, I had two articles published in Meditation Magazine, the first titled Grace, Freedom & The Ego Machine and the second titled Poor Me, Screw You.

After the 3 time Emmy award winning director, John Jacobsen, wanted to use characters I’d created to write a murder mystery, as I had a close purview of his writing process, I began in earnest to write screenplays.

In the last two years, I’ve written three screenplays; a sports drama, a psychological thriller, and a sci-fi thriller.  The sports drama, Exchange, is a Finalist in the London International Screenplay Awards.  It has placed high in many competitions i.e. it won Best Original Screenplay at the Dublin Movie Awards,  Best Character Development at the International Indie Film & Screenplay Festival in 2025 and was a Finalist in the Los Angeles Film Awards in 2025.

The psychological thriller, Clearlake, is a 2026 Finalist at the International Indie Film & Screenplay Festival, a 2025 Finalist at the Los Angeles Film Awards, and Semi Finalist at the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards.  I’ve just started to enter the sci-fi thriller, The Happiness Lottery, into various contests.  It recently won Special Jury Award at the Los Angeles Film Awards in 2026.

It’s wonderful that people enjoy these stories and how they are written.

- How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine? And what inspires you to write?

Clearlake was inspired by a person I knew,  an adult who was confined to a wheelchair with no ability to control their muscles or communicate.  I felt a person in that circumstance but with who then was discovered to be able to communicate with one finger, would make an interesting movie character.

Exchange was inspired by real life events.  My soccer team in high school, on which I played, won the state championship.  We had an exchange student from Colombia and a professional soccer player from England who became our coach.  We won in dramatic fashion and that inspired the screenplay.

The Happiness Lottery was inspired by the movie Poor Things, starring Emma Stone.

I write when the mood and ideas hit.  I love the creative process, feeling to be a vehicle for creativity to flow through me.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

As mentioned above, it is very gratifying knowing that people are really enjoying what I’ve written, but not as gratifying as it is for me to have written something that I feel is really entertaining and has substance.  I don’t feel like I’m the creator, but as mentioned, more the vehicle.

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a Screenplay? 

The joy when creativity is flowing is somewhat intoxicating.  What’s most challenging is making use of feedback and not allowing myself to be overcome by self-doubt.

- How did you develop the idea for your LISFF/LISP-selected work? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

This I answered above.  The essence of the script came very swiftly, in about 3 weeks, with another 6 months to work out the kinks.

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing?

Never force anything. Trust the process. Allow for wild ideas to flourish, then cull, keeping the best.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions?

The best thing about competitions is that if a script isn’t placing in the biggest ones, it may receive recognition in smaller ones, rendering some clues that you’re on the right path, and inspiring more writing.   Not getting acknowledgements of course can be disheartening and there’s some emotional fallout to contend with there.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers/filmmakers submit to LISP/LISFF?

I absolutely recommend writers submit to LISP.  It has been a very enjoyable process and the staff are very sensitive to writers.