Kairos Announces Contest Winners
The three winners who will share the $50,000 awarded annually in the Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays (sponsored by the Templeton Foundation) were announced at the Movieguide Awards Gala in Hollywood, attended by more than 200 top studio executives and celebrities.
The grand prize of $25,000 went to Guy Forest of San Pedro, Calif., for his screenplay "If by Chance," about a successful African-American professor and pastor who returns to his ghetto neighborhood to reopen the old, abandoned church and revive the community.
"Stairways," by James Rogers of St. Davids, Penn., was awarded $15,000 as first runner-up, and "Angels on Earth," by Caroline Friday of Marietta, Ga., won the $10,000 prize for second runner-up. "Stairways" tells the heart-rending story of a young boy who finds that only faith can help him live with the loss of his parents in the World Trade Center collapse. "Angels on Earth" has one of the least likely transients deliver a religious widow from hardheartedness.
Each of the winning scripts had a common theme of an uplifting or encouraging message for its audience. Each was based on faith and values, and helped the audience know God and understand God better. Now they share the additional benefit of being read by the top major studio executives in Hollywood - what many of the competitors value as the real prize in the contest.
Dr. Ted Baehr, president and founder of Movieguide, announced the winners at last night's gala. Commenting that these were three of the best scripts that have ever been submitted in the competition, he said he has high hopes for their future development into great movies.
"Every year, I am blessed by the amount of undiscovered talent we see in these submissions. I am encouraged that this competition is bringing more faith and values to Hollywood," Baehr said.
More information about the competition is available at www.kairosprize.com. A comprehensive understanding of the type of scripts awarded the Kairos Prize can be found in Baehr's book, "So You Want to Be in Pictures," available at www.movieguide.org.
The Kairos Prize was established as a result of Dr. Ted Baehr's and Sir John Templeton's long-held belief that the media - and specifically the entertainment media - plays a role in how individuals form their ideas about morality and spirituality. He determined that individuals and companies should be encouraged to produce entertainment with positive messages about faith and values.
Updated: 02/14/2008
Additional Contest Info: Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!FLIGHT OF THE HEN GLIDERS
When strong winds blow a flock of chickens and their coop away from young Emily and Sam's backyard, it's up to the chickens to learn to fly their coop back home.
THE GEPETTO PROTOCOL
To stay "real" in the real world after their last creator dies, an action figure, fashion doll, superhero, anime girl, and crash dummy—now real flesh and blood—must find new believers in ten days or be forgotten forever, and get help from two kids and their dad at a cosplay convention.
GALERIJ
As an art authenticator collects twelve 17th century Dutch Brohm family portraits, she learns the dangers of reuniting the portraits—the Galerij—when an art expert warns her the collection will revive the Brohm family and unleash them into present day society, where they'll resume control over and castrate European trade.
DEAD STATES
A group of resilient small town teens struggle to carve out a new future after a series of TEOTWAWKI events crush the U.
Rod Knock
A newly single man encounters many comical mishaps in his work and social life, but he must prove himself worthy to his deriding buddies and his Latino lady friend.
THE WETTEST SPRING
In the late 1980's, Kurt Maxwell battles puberty and locker room myths, a family in the midst of dissolving, and on top of everything else, he must conquer Date Math at middle school.
THE LIGHT MAN
A woman at a music festival passes off two children to the light toy vendor.
PRETTY
Who can you trust when everyone loves you to death? When a trophy wife is manipulated by spouse and friends, she better find a way look out for herself or lose everything -- including her life.
Time Travel: Many Happy Returns
Two simple-minded brothers work part time at a science lab and find machinery in an unauthorized area that unknowingly transports them to Spain years before their time.
CLEAN LIVING
When her actor boyfriend delays marriage claiming money woes, Isabel tries to turn her inherited Smalltown cleaning service into a quick buck.