Tribeca/Sloan Announces Screenplaty Development Selection

The Tribeca/Sloan Screenplay Development Program seeks scripts that have a scientific, mathematical, and/or technological theme and storyline or have a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, or mathematician. Each year, selected screenwriters are provided with financial support and guidance from an advisory panel of leading filmmakers and experts in science and technology. This year’s selection holds the promise of an exciting film to come: “A First Class Man” by David Freeman.

“A First Class Man,” written by David Freeman, is an examination of the life of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan. This tenderly poetic portrait of an unparalleled genius brings to life the influences that shaped Ramanujan. His innate gift for mathematical thought, his religious devotion verging on mysticism, and his love of his culture and traditions come into high relief during his sojourn at Cambridge during World War I. This compelling story of the mysterious nature of genius gives a glimpse into the delicate heart of a man removed from his culture as he makes his way through British academia and a love affair that shakes his conception of his identity.

About David Freeman

David Freeman is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and occasional journalist. Among his books are It’s All True, a Hollywood novel, One of Us, a novel of Egypt and England, A Hollywood Education, a collection of stories about the daily life of the movie business, and The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock, a memoir of his time writing a script with the great director. His play Jesse and the Bandit Queen played for 200 performances at The Public Theatre in New York and has since been performed around the world. A stage version of “A First Class Man” played this past October at the 46th Street Theatre in New York. Among the movies he’s written are Street Smart directed by Jerry Schatzberg, starring Christopher Reeve and Morgan Freeman, and The Border, directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jack Nicholson. His essays, articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and studied playwriting and dramatic literature at the Yale Drama School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Judith Gingold.

"It was while traveling in India during Ramanujan’s centenary that I became interested in his story and, through him, the story of G H Hardy and his circle. At first, the tale of a misunderstood genius just enchanted me. Hardy’s presence in Ramanujan’s life made it a drama. Ramanujan was unlettered. Hardy was a mandarin of Trinity College, Cambridge and a distinguished mathematician. He brought Ramanujan from South India to England where he did his greatest work. Most of the action is played out at the time of World War I. Ramanujan was a man of faith. He believed his formulae came through prayer. Hardy was an atheist. Proof was central to his view of the world. In that is the story’s theme: Faith versus reason. I’ve spent a long time with these characters and I’m happy to say I have never tired of them and their distant world."

- David Freeman

Updated: 03/30/2007

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