2009 Screenplay Winners

2009 SHORT SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

Thanks to everyone who entered our 2009 Short Screenplay Competition. The level of competition this year exceeded our expectations. Over the past three weeks, our featured judge and evaluation panel have been engaged in a series of lively discussions and debate to select the screenplay finalists.

AND THE WINNER IS...

First Place goes to Nick Shupper for his short screenplay, Broken Records. Nick is currently a graduate student at American University completing a Masters in Fine Arts in Film and Electronic Media. His screenplay, Broken Records, is a touching story of a man recently released from a mental institution and his struggle to adjust to "normal" life in a modern and seemingly complex world.

Evaluator's Report: "Broken Records is a masterfully done work of psychological realism that can be described as Forest Gump meets Sling Blade. The plot is excellent and the central character is interesting and intriguing from beginning to end!"

Second Place resulted in a tie between two screenplays, Story of a Complicated Man by Chantal Ellen and Perceptions by James Irving and Olishia Johnson.

Chantal Ellen, author of Story of a Complicated Man, graduated with a B.A. in Political Science Summa Cum Laude and graduated with honors from Howard University Law School. Chantal has successfully authored and published several books including The Rise: Where Neighbors Are Sometimes More. Her screenplay, Story of a Complicated Man, is a poetic look at the excitement and sometimes disappointment that goes along with dating and the start of new relationships.

Perceptions was co-written by James Irving and Olishia Johnson. James and Olishia are the founders of Creative Two Productions and credit their hard work and success to the support of family and friends. They are currently writing a feature film entitled, Hard to Find. Perceptions is a universal and comical tale of two men whose chance encounter brings to life the idiom "you can't judge a book by its cover."

COMPETITION PRIZES

Our First Place winner will receive a $500.00 Cash Award and the opportunity to see his screenplay filmed and produced as a part of our 2009 Summer Film Project.

Non-Cash Awards for the First Place winner and runner ups may include gift certificates to workshops at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, free movie passes to the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD and the Landmark E Street Cinema in Washington, DC, a one-year paid membership to a national screenwriter's or filmmaking association, or other prizes.