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RIIFF Announces Screenplay Winners

What does an adulterous miner’s wife, a horror fan in search of a muse, and a grandfather fulfilling a dying boy’s wish have in common? They are among the winning scripts from the 2006 Rhode Island International Film Festival’s (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. The winners were drawn from an entry pool of 231 submitted scripts covering a broad spectrum from comedy to drama to contemporary to historical.

“We are very excited about this year’s competition,” commented Adam Short, manager of the screenplay contest. “Every year that I’ve been involved, the quality of the scripts has amazed me: there are so many great stories and innovative storytellers out there! It was not an easy decision to come up with our winners.

“This year we had entries that came to us from across the globe. English-language scripts came from Spain, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Arab Emirates. It was heartening to see the international interest in our competition.”

After much reading and deliberation among the contest’s judges, seven prizewinners were chosen; with each script being given multiple readings by the Festival judges. New this year is the Rhode Island Screenplay Award, which is given to a local writer whose script has a focus on Rhode Island.

“The local screenwriting prize is a chance for RIIFF to recognize our home grown talent,” explained George T. Marshall, Executive Director of the film festival. “It is awarded to a writer who resides in the state and whose writing reflects the issues or stories that are important to Rhode Islanders.”

Over $15,000 dollars in prizes will be awarded to the winners of the screenplay competition and include: software from Final Draft, magazine subscriptions from MovieMaker Magazine and Creative Screenwriting, web placement services from Inktip.com, listings from Sell-a-Script, and free Festival Passports to the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival and ScriptBiz Screenwriter’s Workshop. The Grand Prize winner will be flown to Providence to attend the ScriptBiz program in August 2007, where actors will present a live reading to scenes from the screenplay.

The prizewinners for the 2006 Screenplay Competition are:

Grand Prize


“Slidin’ Home” by Jodi L. Johnson. A young boy with chronic illness and his grandfather go on a cross-country adventure to fulfill his dream of meeting the Boston Red Sox.

First Prize

“A Muse Named Stephen King” by Jenn Dlugos. With a six-month long writer’s block and a potential publishing contract looming, 19-year old Rosemary is looking for anything to spark her creativity. When an unexpected trip to a horror movie fan convention breathes new life into her novel, she comes to the frightening conclusion that Stephen King has made a home insider her head.

Second Prize

“Mine” by Anita Justice Skibski. A wealthy and respected coalmine owner spirals into dangerous obsession over the wife of his best employee in small town 1950’s Kentucky.

GLBT Grand Prize

“Boy Meets Dick”. At 18, Kevin considers himself friendless. At 58, Richard has lost his family and any interest in friends. Neither knows what he’s looking for, but they both know they can’t be alone anymore.

Local Screenplay Grand Prize

“Big Red Country” by Edward Hunt and David Botts. After his brothers leave home, Logan struggles to maintain the family farm. Following the heart attack of Logan’s father, an eccentric but emphatic friend offers his help in keeping a family legacy going.

Short Script Prize

“Sigurnost” by Isabelle Marinov. The End, Inc. informs its customers up to six hours ahead of their death, giving them time to make their final arrangement. Error shouldn’t be an option in a business like theirs … it could be deadly.

Honorable Mention

“Rewind” by Michael Betzold. A teenage girl in the warming Artic; a writer working for a company that uses video manipulation to control perception; a therapist specializing in recovering suppressed memories- these three must discover their connections and remake their pasts to save the world from powerful agents seeking to control their destinies.

Updated: 10/20/2006

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