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2003 Slamdance Screenplay Competition Winners Announced

The Slamdance Screenplay Competition announced the top three screenplays in a ceremony at the Writer Guild of America, west. Awarded $4,000 in prize money and Slamdance merchandise are, as follows: 1st place "Song of Silence" by Miranda Kwok; 2nd place "The Parachute Factory" by Tanya Steele and 3rd place "Wizard of Genoa" by Gary L. Miner. The celebration included past winners, Slamdance alumni and members of the WGAw Independent Writers Caucus who were on hand for the announcement of the winners.

TOP 10 SCREENPLAYS

1. SONG OF SILENCE by Miranda Kwok
After 50 years of silence, Su Jin exposes her untold history and that of the thousands of other woman who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan during WWII.

2. THE PARACHUTE FACTORY by Tanya Steele
Trapped in a small Southern town, Manny and Lula set off cross-country, when a justifiable murder sets off a chain reaction of life changingevents.

3. WIZARD OF GENOA by Gary L. Miner
Violin Virtuoso of the Romantic period, Niccolo Paganini, was music's first shock-rock icon, who performed with such force, it was thought that he was in league with the devil.

4. BROBOT by Kiyong Kim
Jeff, an awkward 8-year-old, convinces his younger brother, Shawn, that he is in fact a robot slave built by his parents.

5. GO DOWN LIGHTLY by Gary Fisher
Con Man Robert and his girlfriend Frankie drift into a nascent lumber town in 1922 and get mixed up in a murder investigation.

6. THE DIVINE ORGASM (in 3 movements) by Rod J. Emelle
Three different stories, tied together by the presence of a television reporter, follow characters struggling desperately to find some meaning in life and their own "divine orgasm."

7. UNTITLED GIRL GUIDE COOKIE THRILLER by Alana Garrop
An idealistic Girl Guide accidentally discovers the diabolical selling methods of the Troop's top cookie seller: techniques that include blackmail and murder.

8. SCALP PEELED FORWARD by Jud Cremata
A frightened medical examiner who claims to have been buried alive, offers a Foster's Freeze employee a thousand dollars to keep an eye on him for the night...

9. NELSON: ROCK AND ROLL DETECTIVES by Brian Farrelly, Jay Barba
Glam-metal icons, Matthew and Gunner Nelson, are hard-rockin' identical twin private eyes who disguise themselves as roadies to investigate a string of mysterious deaths.

10. THIRD CLASS CRY by Sang Kyu Kim
Two British football hooligans from dysfunctional families, have to question their destructive lifestyles when they meet an abused wife and her young son.

"As the number of screenplay competitions increase, Slamdance realizes the necessity for constructive criticism. By helping fledgling writers to hone their scripts into final drafts, we are also helping to bridge the gap between unknown screenwriting talent and established industry professionals," says Screenplay Manager John Stoddard.

"By supporting new talent, Slamdance's mission--by filmmakers, for filmmakers--is perfectly aligned with that of the WGAw Independent Writers Caucus," said Jill Sprecher (Independent Film Steering Committee Member, co-writer and director of Thirteen Conversation About One Thing). "We¹re here to support and protect new writers and projects of any budget level, small or large. We¹re proud to stand side by side with these emerging screenwriters recognized by Slamdance."

The WGAw Independent Writers Caucus (IWC) was established to promote the interests of both emerging and established independent and low budget screenwriters. Through the newly developed Low Budget Agreement (LBA) and the Independent Writers Caucus, the WGAw is committed to servicing the independent film community. For further information, check out wga.org or call 323-782-4731.

The 2003 Slamdance Screenwriter's Workshop will be held on October 4, 2003 in downtown Los Angeles at the Wilshire Grand Hotel & Centre. It is open to all screenplay contestants at a discounted rate and new writers unfamiliar with the competition. It takes place Saturday, October 4th from 11am-5pm, and offers individual attention to scripts in a small group setting. The 2nd Annual Screenwriter's Workshop is an important part of the competition. The workshop builds on the reader feedback that every entrant to the competition receives. Speakers include professional screenwriters, award winning Slamdance filmmakers and past screenplay winners.

Slamdance received over 1,500 submissions this year. Also recognized for their achievements are the twenty-five semi-finalists. A complete list is posted on the www.slamdance.com website, and available upon request by e-mail screenplay@slamdance.com.

Now in its ninth year, Slamdance has firmly established one of the nation¹s top screenplay competitions. The 2001 1st place winner, "The Woodsman" by Stephen Feltcher and Nicole Kassell is currently in production at Paramount Classics with Lee Daniels. The Slam-Fi competition attracted attention from science fiction writers around the world. The winning scripts were selected by a group of highly acclaimed writers and filmmakers that included Greg Bear, Jane Frank, Gale Anne Hurd, Orson Scott Card, and David E. Williams. Lists of the semi-finalists and top ten, along with their contact information and synopses, are available upon request by agents, production studios and will be posted on the web. The Slamdance Film Festival celebrates its 10th Film Festival with the 2004 edition of the festival, held, January 17-24 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. The festival will once again be headquartered at the Treasure Mountain Inn (TMI) on Park City's Main Street. There will be four screening rooms - two inside TMI (now air conditioned), one at Brewvies in Salt Lake City and a fourth at a location to be announced. For the first time, there will be separate Juries for Narrative Features and Shorts and Documentary Features and Shorts. The Jury is traditionally comprised of high profile filmmakers and film critics. The final submission deadline for the 2004 festival is October 10, 2003.

Started in 1995 by a group of upstart writer/director/producers, Slamdance continues to be organized and programmed by active filmmakers. Now in its tenth year, the festival runs simultaneously to the Sundance Film Festival, each January in Park City, Utah. Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first-time directors working within limited budgets. With a renowned film festival at its heart, Slamdance has expanded to include domestic and international On The Road events (Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Cologne, Beijing, Delhi), a thriving screenplay competition, a popular website (slamdance.com), the Anarchy online short film competition, a $99 Special short film production wing, and the Dirty Dozen DVD series.

Updated: 09/11/2003

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