Based in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Erin Galey is a writer-director who won the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in the 2025 Final Draft Big Break competition with her feature See You See Me. The script is a grounded genre thriller that blends a search for identity with cutting-edge science as one woman fights for her own survival. What begins as a mystery about fractured memory evolves into something much darker and more existential.
“It’s a sci-fi thriller. A young woman wakes up from a coma, and she’s trying to get her memory back. She really wants to go home and be reunited with her family, because she’s been asleep for two years in a coma. Or so she thinks,” says Galey with an impish smile.
As the story unfolds, the character discovers she is actually a clone, created by grieving parents to replace their daughter. But that’s just the first of many twists and turns in the script. “It’s all told from the point of view of the clone. It’s a story about belonging, identity and who you really are, and what all that really means,” she says.
It’s a bold concept, but Galey’s Big Break win wasn’t just about writing something clever or shocking. It marks the next step in moving her career forward.
From Encouragement to Recognition
By the time Big Break came along, Galey had already begun building momentum with the project. She had attended BendFilm’s Basecamp, which she describes as a meaningful early boost, and then got into Stowe Story Labs. Those opportunities helped give her the green light to keep putting her work out into the world.
“That gave me the courage and validation to apply for more things,” she says. Then came the rollercoaster climb through the Big Break competition.
“I made a quarterfinalist, then a semifinalist, and then a top 10 finalist,” Galey says. “It just kept going, I couldn’t believe it.”
When she finally learned she had won, the moment was emotional.
“They told me I was the winner, and I was just so floored and thrilled,”
Like many entrants, Galey knew the competition came with prizes and industry exposure, but she didn’t fully understand how much support would follow until after the win. That turned out to be one of the biggest benefits.
“I knew there was a prize package, but I hadn’t deeply researched it,” she says. “And it’s been an amazing experience.”
The “Professional Amateur”
As one of the winners, Big Break has given her access to working professionals, craft development, and career strategy at a moment when she was ready to make the leap to professional filmmaker.
She points to her work with career coach Lee Jessup as one of the most valuable parts of the experience.
“She’s so brilliant and has really helped me understand certain aspects of how to go about becoming a working screenwriter from what I call myself, a ‘professional amateur.’ Trying to make that leap from doing this as a passion to doing it as a job - Lee’s filling that gap for many people,” she says.
She also cites screenwriting mentor Jen Grisanti’s class as another major asset.
“You can pitch in her classes, and that has been incredible,” Galey says. “Being able to pitch, listen to other people’s pitches, hear the feedback on their pitches, see things that work, see things that maybe could use another look.”
Pitching to Pros
One unforgettable opportunity that came from the experience was the chance to pitch to Oscar-nominated screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, co-writer of The Shape of Water. For Galey, it was both intimidating and helpful.
“I was nervous to pitch to her, but then as soon as I saw her on screen, I was like, ‘Oh, she’s down to Earth, I can just do my pitch.’”
What Galey valued most was Taylor’s clarity. Instead of vague encouragement, she offered precise, practical feedback.
“She actually really loved my concept,” Galey says. “And then she had two really great notes. They’re not major changes, but they were enough that I was like, ‘Oh, wow, that really elevates this to a level I hadn’t considered.’”
One of those notes spoke directly to the sophisticated demands of sci-fi writing, and constructing creative reveals for certain plot points. “She said, ‘the sci-fi audiences are going to poke holes in all your stuff, and you have to be ready for that’” Galey says.
It’s the kind of high-level, professional note that can strengthen both the logic of a screenplay and the arc of a protagonist. Something you can’t learn in a class or a book.
The Strategic Path Forward
For Galey, Big Break has helped her clarify how she wants to move forward career-wise.
“Working with Lee and Jen is about how you’re going to shape your career moving forward,” she says. “It pushed me over the edge to make some decisions, create action steps, and formulate a plan moving forward that is strategically accurate with industry-vetted advice/next steps, not just hoping my own perseverance will work.”
In other words, she feels momentum.
Her Advice to Writers Entering Big Break
Galey’s advice to writers considering the competition is straightforward.
“I would just do it,” she says. “This is a contest where you have a lot of exposure to real working industry people, so make sure your script is in good shape.”
Her own script, she says, had gone through extensive rewrites before she sent it in. “I polished the rock a lot before I put it out there.”
Then she offers a unique perspective, perhaps shaped by her life in the Pacific Northwest.
“This competition happens every year,” she says. “It’s like a river you can jump on at any moment, so think about being ready to get on that river before you go down”
Congratulations Erin! We can’t wait to see what happens next.