Albert’s sci-fi romance feature screenplay The Verge of Seas has been recommended as a “Weekend Read” the past two weekends in a row by the influential The Black List.

Since 2005, The Black List releases its annual list, a survey of the most liked unproduced screenplays of that year. The annual lists, aggregated using votes from film executives working in the film industry, have included such Oscar winning films as JUNO, THE KING’S SPEECH and ARGO.

According to The Black List readers:

“A BEAUTIFUL, GROUNDED SCIENCE-FICTION JOURNEY… RAW AND HEARTFELT… A UNIQUE VOICE AND CONCEPT THAT FULLY DELIVERS AN EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED STORY.”

“HEART AND EXCELLENT STORYTELLING… AN EMINENTLY ENJOYABLE ROMANTIC FANTASY FILM THAT’S WELL-PACED AND CLEVERLY PLOTTED… THE WRITING IS STELLAR.”

“THE SCRIPT BEAUTIFULLY COMBINES THE GENRES OF SCI-FI AND ROMANCE INTO AN INNOVATIVE NARRATIVE ABOUT THE POWER OF LOVE AND CHOSEN DESTINY… THERE IS A VERY PROFICIENT TALENT BEHIND THIS SCREENPLAY… IT’S PRETTY EASY TO ENVISION THIS BECOMING A HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER SCRIPT IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET… AN IMMENSELY ENTERTAINING STORY THAT DESERVES TO FIND SUCCESS IN A CINEMATIC MEDIUM!”

“A PRETTY EXCEPTIONAL SCRIPT. SUBTLE AND ELEGANT IN ITS HANDLING OF BOTH DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER AND A HIGH CONCEPT MYSTERY… IMMENSELY POWERFUL AND ENTERTAINING… THE STRENGTH OF THIS SCRIPT LIES WITH THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS WHO SLOWLY COME TO LIFE BEFORE OUR EYES, IMPERFECTIONS, CONFLICTS AND ALL… THERE’S PLENTY OF UNDERSTATED HUMOR WOVEN IN BETWEEN THE DRAMA.”

“WITH A BRILLIANT PREMISE, POIGNANT RELATIONSHIPS AND THEMES AT PLAY, AND STRONG WRITING THROUGHOUT, THIS SCRIPT DELIVERS A THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND ENGAGING READ… COMPELLING AND EXCITING FROM START TO FINISH… THE QUEER LOVE STORY AT THE CORE IS REFRESHING AND HEARTFELT.”

Industry members with an active account on The Black List can download the script here.

The Verge of Seas, written by Albert M. Chan, is about a grieving widower struggling to raise two young sons. When he returns to his childhood lake house, he’s unexpectedly trapped in a parallel universe in which he’s been dead 30 years, his kids have a different adoptive father, and his late husband—the love of his life—is not only alive… but straight. The project was a Second Rounder in the 2024 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition and a finalist for the 2024 Shore Scripts OutHere: An LGBTQIA+ Screenwriting Contest.