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Introducing an
Old World
Fairytale 


The Great
Pasta Emporia!

Now Available on

AMAZON,

BARNES & NOBLE

Two bright‑eyed siblings chase the sparkling “diamonds” they’ve seen from the tower of their family’s pasta factory, embarking on a seaside adventure to a tiny island where nothing is quite what it seems.

ABOUT DARLENE

Darlene Villanova

Villanova is an award-winning writer and short film director who finds humor in the subtleties of everyday life. With a background spanning CBS (The Gayle King Show), ABC/Disney, and multimedia freelance work, she brings a sharp, resonant voice to every project.

Her work is available upon request via the International Screenwriters Association website, or by reaching out directly to her manager.

Bio

 Screenplays Available via
International Screenwriters Association Site

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Sleeping Alone

30: Pilot Heartfelt Comedy
 

Logline:
 

A devoted job coach for adults with intellectual disabilities is rattled when his new coworker is the high‑school crush he never confessed to. Suddenly staring down a long‑delayed shot at redemption, he finds his trepidation is no longer as simple as teen jitters.

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Synopsis:
 

After a week of training his new coworker Lena in job coaching adults with intellectual disabilities at Graylin Workers Inc, Travis is thrown when she pulls up a yearbook photo on her phone, proudly announcing she finally remembered how she knows him. What she doesn’t realize is that he recognized her instantly as his high‑school crush he never had the courage to speak to. He plays along, claiming he had just figured it out as well.
 

Lena invites him to a going‑away happy hour for a coworker neither of them knows, and Travis awkwardly stammers that he’d have to run home first to check on his mom. He ducks into the locker room, berating himself yet clinging to the hope that he might still have a chance with her.
 

Out in the field, Travis and Lena supervise three workers at a firehouse: Elle, dressed head‑to‑toe like Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods; her admiring boyfriend, Alex; and aspiring broadcast announcer Selek, who stows away in a firetruck as it leaves on a call. The firefighters spot him immediately but, pressed for time, take him along. Selek, who has swiped Graylin’s two‑way radio again, and delivers breathless “coverage” of the emergency back to the office as the administrators listen in horror.
 

Travis and Lena race to the scene to find it’s a false alarm. While Travis stays with Elle and Alex, Lena crosses the street to retrieve Selek. Alex confides that Elle told him she “doesn’t want to be Elle anymore,” and Travis promises to handle it later, though he finds himself distracted watching Lena flirt with firefighter Shane. Shane asks her to set him up with Elle’s mom, Nora, a Sporty‑Spice wannabe. Lena claims she knows how to make it happen.
 

Back at the office, Travis meets with Nora as Elle admits she no longer wants to dress like movie‑Elle; Nora lovingly understands. As the day ends, it’s still unclear which location Lena will be assigned to on Monday. Travis continues to confuse Elle stating that he can’t make happy hour; she’s unsure if he is interested or not. He soon beats himself up in the car for blowing it.
 

Later, Alex randomly tells Lena that Travis had a girlfriend but she was the one that got away because she died. This leaves Lena shocked and concerned. At the bar, she tries to enjoy herself, but the night fizzles when Shane and Nora leave early together.
 

Travis returns home to relieve his mom from babysitting and it’s then revealed he has a toddler son with Down syndrome.
 

At the bar, Lena tries to enjoy herself, but the night fizzles when Shane and Nora leave early together. Lena returns to her apartment carrying final notice mail and finds her power has been shut off. Travis begins to text Lena asking how the night went and that he has always loved her then deletes it all, sending nothing. Lena checks her texts finding nothing she closes her eyes to sleep.

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Exaggerator

30: Pilot  Family Comedy
 

Logline:
 

In 1970, an eight-year-old girl with a wild imagination refuses to let being poor stop her from fitting in with her wealthy classmates.

Exaggerator 

In 1970, an eight-year-old girl with a wild imagination refuses to let being poor stop her from fitting in with her wealthy classmates.

 

Nina’s family is young and poor. Despite her best friend Cassie warning her not to; Nina successfully short-changes the lunch lady to get an ice cream.

 

Nina watches enviously as Cassie, dressed in full uniform, joins others as they run off to a Cookie troop meeting after school.

 

Nina arrives home to find a bag of donated clothing and is thrilled that it contains a tattered Cookie Troop uniform. She swears to her mother that there are no dues involved.

Nina proudly attends the meetings where she is a ragdoll among Barbies. She soon learns there are dues of 15 cents per meeting. At each meeting she skillfully avoids and diverts her inability to produce payment.

 

The Earth Day event arrives and despite Cassie telling her they can no longer be friends if she short-changes the troop, Nina throws what little she had put together in the dues can so she can partake in the Earth Day roadside clean up.

 

Nina gleefully joins her peers, finding over a dollar in change she slips it into her pocket until after the pin and cookie ceremony where Nina finally feels she fits in. Until the leader asks if she had paid the full amount due. Nina swears she did. The leader then produces a dollar bill that Nina had dropped. Cassie attempts to cover for her, claiming it was part of the dues and Nina forgot, but the leader explains that Nina is no longer welcome there.

 

Nina and Cassie remain friends and they hang out with Nina’s sister who was left to join a free 4H group with a goat their grandmother borrowed.

Synopsis:
 

Nina’s family is young and poor. Despite her best friend Cassie warning her not to; Nina successfully short-changes the lunch lady to get an ice cream.

 

Nina watches enviously as Cassie, dressed in full uniform, joins others as they run off to a Cookie troop meeting after school.

 

Nina arrives home to find a bag of donated clothing and is thrilled that it contains a tattered Cookie Troop uniform. She swears to her mother that there are no dues involved.
 

Nina proudly attends the meetings where she is a ragdoll among Barbies. She soon learns there are dues of 15 cents per meeting. At each meeting she skillfully avoids and diverts her inability to produce payment.

 

The Earth Day event arrives and despite Cassie telling her they can no longer be friends if she short-changes the troop, Nina throws what little she had put together in the dues can so she can partake in the Earth Day roadside clean up.

 

Nina gleefully joins her peers, finding over a dollar in change she slips it into her pocket until after the pin and cookie ceremony where Nina finally feels she fits in. Until the leader asks if she had paid the full amount due. Nina swears she did. The leader then produces a dollar bill that Nina had dropped. Cassie attempts to cover for her, claiming it was part of the dues and Nina forgot, but the leader explains that Nina is no longer welcome there.

 

Nina and Cassie remain friends and they hang out with Nina’s sister who was left to join a free 4H group with a goat their grandmother borrowed.

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Merry Little Christmas Tree

90: Feature Romantic Comedy
 

Logline:
 

An overly optimistic Christmas tree farmer scrambles to hide his failing business from his successful family, believing that finding true love will save his farm.

​

Synopsis:
 

Magazine reporter Holly Parker thinks she had found artistic and romantic fulfillment until she is abruptly dumped by her gallery owner boyfriend and discovers he was the one buying her paintings and then discarding them.

​

Reeling, she retreats to her hometown of Hopeville, seeking solace in her family’s bakery, her father and brother, and memories of her late mother.

​

She soon finds inspiration in Blake, a relentlessly optimistic Christmas tree farmer whose trees have failed to grow, supposedly due to the town's lack of holiday cheer. As Holly unravels the true nature of the stunted trees, she devises a social media campaign to help Blake but remains oblivious to his growing feelings for her, focused on crafting the perfect story to appease her diva editor.

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Throughout it all, Blake seems to be conversing with a dog, but in truth, his elusive friend, Scout, is filming his journey to find love.

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When Holly enters the annual Frosty Cake Bake Off against her high school rival, she chooses the high road and loses. Just as Blake confesses his feelings, Holly leaves town with a banker who helped her gain information on Blake’s farm, leaving Blake heartbroken. But in a surprising twist, (because she has not appeared fully until this moment) Scout, no longer recording Blake’s quest to find “the one” steps out from behind the camera to confess that she has fallen for him.

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Joe's Pizza

30: Pilot Tween Comedy

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Logline:

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Joe’s Pizza is the proud sponsor of the Wacky River Race this year, and rather than working at their parents’ festival booth, the kids choose to create a last‑minute raft.

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​Synopsis:

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The three Taylor kids are not interested in manning their parent's business booth at the annual Wacky River Race claiming they can't help because they actually entered the race this year they then have to submit the plans to enter. Having only a few minutes to submit their forms Toro thinks to complete the missing information noting that their custom raft entry will be built using Ramen Noodles.

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The kids attempt to make due with the plans they have submitted including taking all the balls from the ball pit that their parents were to use at their booth.

 

The Taylor's end up using a rigged roulette wheel at their booth and losing money. The Ramen raft expands and blows balls up into the crowd. The kid's win best in show.

​

The three Taylor kids claim they can’t help their parents man the pizza shop promotional booth at the annual Wacky River Race claiming they have joined the race this year. They dash off to submit their water craft plans to enter on time only Toro writes that it will be made of Ramen noodles.

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The kids attempt to make-do but end up needing all the ball-pit balls from their parent’s booth. The parents scramble to rent the last game available, a roulette table that they rig to allow a single winner of the grand prize-only the wheel is defunct and they lose money on it.

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The Ramen raft expands and explodes into the crowd. The kid’s win best in show.

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Letters to Uncle  Fred

30: Pilot

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Logline:

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A young farmhand finds an unlikely motivator in the form of an old farmer of few words.

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Synopsis:

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Seventeen-year-old Ron works on a dairy farm finding an unlikely mentor in the old farmer who has mastered the ability to observe and distill life into few words. 

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Ron is an excellent student, but rarely attends school. He is considered a malcontent by all there and risks not graduating due to his lack of actual attendance. He takes the old man’s words to heart and creates a plan to align himself with the principal of the school who then creates numerous writing assignments.

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The assignments become increasingly difficult, but Ron rises to the occasion and also discovers that he would like to become a lawyer.

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As each episode is layered the viewer learns through letters Ron writes to his uncle; that seemingly minor events can have long term consequences in what ultimately becomes your life. 

AWARDS

International Writemovies

Best in the Fest &  Reader’s Choice

Writer

 

Long Way to Fenway

New Hampshire Film Festival

Semi-finalist Writer

 

Long Way to Fenway 

Silk City Flick Fest 

Best Writer / Director

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Life As Nin

CHETA Award

CT Higher Education Technical Award

Best Short Writer / Director

 

In the Beginning

Gustoff Award

Author Best Satirical Story

 

Making of an Angel

Gustoff Writer Award

Best Essay Writer

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Life as Nin

Hartford International Film Festival

Best Writer / Director
 

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Life as Nin  

Austin Table Read 2021

Top 100 Comedy Pilot

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Doll’s Life (aka Exaggerator), Writer

Accolade:

Performance of Joe’s Pizza, 

Nextstage Theatre Company

New York, NY

Awards

New Book Dropping Summer 2027

Life as an Exaggerator

Life of an Exaggerator Autobiography is a character driven story that follows the life of a fearless child growing up in the 70’s through to adulthood proving that having a sense of humor while observing people, places and situations; shape who you become. 

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Written in chronological order, each chapter is a series of events that reflects her perception of life in those moments.

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