Brief

At 14 years old Carmen leaves behind an abusive, fiercely Christian mother in rural Canada to live with her father on a farm. By 18 she becomes an elite exotic entertainer which leads her to the Hell's Angels biker gang in Canada and culminates in a daring escape from a drug cartel in Bolivia, with adventure, friendship and romance along the way.

What We Liked

The premise of a very young woman leaving behind a broken home and abusive, fiercely Christian mother to navigate the big bad world on her own two feet--which takes her from working on oil fields to exotic dancing, meeting Hell's Angels bikers and Bolivian drug cartel members on the way--is a fascinating premise, often thrilling in its execution. Although Carmen makes many mistakes, she learns from each one and shows a maturity far beyond her years over the course of the story, and this makes her experiences all the more enjoyable to witness. The story offers a snapshot of what life is like in rural Alberta, Canada, with its often narrow-minded and highly religious culture juxtaposed by the hard-drinking, exotic dancer-appreciating men who know how to have a good time, yet the story never offers a condescending or patronizing view of this culture . Carmen is explicitly aware of the patriarchal society she finds herself in and learns to navigate it to her own advantage, using her female body and ballet-dancing skills to manipulate the men around her and in doing so creates a better life for herself than the usual life available to young women in this part of the world. The emotional and physical abuse Carmen and her brother are subjected to by their mother is shocking and fosters a deep sympathy in us for Carmen, who we root for to achieve her goals and find happiness. Over the course of the story Carmen grows from a traumatized, sheltered young girl to an incredibly self-assured, intelligent and ambitious young woman who does not let anything block her road to happiness, and who has traveled extensively and experienced much adventure and romance along the way, becoming a character we adore and admire.

Film: THE BUTCHER SHOP GIRL follows a perfect coming-of-age hero's journey arc which makes it ideal for film adaptation. Over the course of the story, Carmen's broad character arc sees her grow from a traumatized, sheltered young girl to a self-assured, confident and tenacious young woman, which provides a powerful ending to a film about one woman's relentless determination to thrive in a man's world. The story offers authentic insight into life in small-town Canada--analogous to conservative red states in the U.S.--in a manner that is never patronizing or condescending as such portrayals often are, and in this way the story would make an excellent adaptation as a hard-hitting small-town drama in the vain of THE WRESTLER, or a focused drama about a woman striving against abuse and a society that attempts to keep her down, such as PRECIOUS, with the excitement, flair and female sexual empowerment of a film like HUSTLERS. Young female audiences in particular would identify with and greatly admire Carmen, which, paired with the SEX AND THE CITY-like theme of female sexual empowerment and identity, could lead a film adaptation to become a huge hit that would have audiences and publications alike talking about it for months. With its accurate, non-condescending portrayal of sex work and life as a modern young woman, this is exactly the kind of gritty, realistic, contemporary film that young, modern audiences want to see, but would be universally popular with a wide range of demographics.

TV: Because of the sheer volume of experience Carmen undergoes throughout this story, a TV series offers the perfect opportunity to thoroughly explore each major period of Carmen's life significant to the story in a manner similar to the Netflix's uber-popular THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT series, such as one block of episodes or one season focusing on Carmen's life as a child and young teenager growing up with an emotionally and physically abusive mother, and the next focusing on Carmen's first months as an exotic dancer and her time with the Hell's Angels biker gang, followed by her time in the United States culminating in the job opportunity in Bolivia. A TV series allows for the many people in Carmen's life to feature in the story, providing sufficient subplots and conflicts to adequately fill out each season. Over the course of the series, Carmen's broad character arc, which sees her grow from a traumatized, sheltered young girl to a self-assured, confident, tenacious young woman, would become extremely powerful if explored across multiple episodes or seasons.

Key points: Accurate, non-condescending portrayals of sex work, life as a modern young woman, and life in small-town North America; Carmen is an excellent protagonist who young female audiences in particular will identify with and admire; The story contains flavors from every genre, from coming-of-age drama to adventure, thrillers, comedy and romance; Does not require a huge budget or special effects; Showcases a perfect coming-of-age hero's journey story arc.

Synopsis

SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA, CIRCA 2001: (19 years old, Canadian, beautiful, athletic), frightened, sneaks over the 15-foot wall of a compound, slicing her palms on glass at the top. She flags a cab and asks to be brought to the U.S. Consular Agency. TWO WEEKS EARLIER: Carmen, an exotic dancer, accepts a job offer of exotic dancing in Bolivia. She flies there with two other female dancers. When they arrive, the wealthy owner of the club and compound wants to keep the dancers’ passports—they realize something isn’t right and plan their exit. Carmen meets handsome United States D.E.A. agent TOM (early-30s) in the club and romance blossoms. As Carmen’s situation becomes more dangerous, she escapes from the compound.

TEN YEARS BEFORE: Young Carmen lives in Alberta, Canada. She looks masculine because of her mother’s styling. Carmen’s parents divorce, and Carmen’s fiercely Christian mother refuses to allow Carmen and her brother to see their father, who works on a farm. Carmen and her brother are emotionally and physically abused by their mother. Carmen works in the slaughter house where her mother also works and from a young age Carmen witnesses and participates in the violent slaughter of animals. At 14, the abuse culminates in Carmen leaving her mother and going to live with her father where she works on the farm and experiments with more feminine style, including makeup. At 18, she becomes an exotic dancer and travels around northern Canada on her own doing work for an agency. She makes huge amounts of money and parties with the Hell’s Angels biker gang every night.

Seeking more opportunity and money, Carmen takes the Bolivia job. A while after she returns to Canada, she reconnects with TOM and visits him in Florida. They begin a long-distance relationship. Later, Carmen moves to Texas following a job opportunity as an exotic dancer. She goes to school there and sees Tom regularly. She begins to feel that the more intellectual and independent she becomes, the less Tom wants her. Eventually, she ends the relationship and returns to Alberta determined to reconnect with her family, even her mother, having learned so much from all her life experiences over the past few years and ready now to stand securely on her own two feet as a confident, optimistic young woman.

About The Author

Carmen Kissel-Verrier is a technical writer and graduate of Mount Royal University. She still loves a wild time spent with peculiar people and appreciates a good ribeye steak, and remains fascinated by the diversity of the human spirit. Carmen lives with her husband and their two children in Moose Lake, Alberta.