Contest Comments

You must login to post a comment.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!

Contest News

Slamdance Announces Winners of 6th Annual Screenplay Competition

LOS ANGELES – The Slamdance Film Festival is pleased to announce the winners of the 6th Annual Slamdance Screenplay Competition. The top three awards - which include cash prizes, consultation by The Screenwriters Room and software packages- are as follows: 1st place: "The Woodsman" by Steven Fechter and Nicole Kassell; 2nd place: "War" by Barbara Marshall; and a tie for 3rd place: "Maria Full of Grace" by Joshua Marston and "The River" by Lonnee Hamilton.

"The Woodsman" is the candid tale of a recently released convicted sex offender who attempts to rebuild his life and resist temptation.

Slamdance also awarded two scripts with a Recognition of Excellence: "Moundville" by Kristine Levine, and "Cut Off" by Roger Aylward.

"There are countless stories out there and new genres are create everyday. Submissions ranged from Native American Noir to Hip Hop Action. Unlike the financial and logistic limitations most independent filmmakers face, screenwriters are free to explore stories that many filmmakers wouldn't initially attempt." said Director of the Screenplay Competition, Gianna Chachere. "This is reflected, of course, in the diversity of screenplays we received, and I think we found the gems."

The 2001 competition also recognized six finalists (in alphabetical order):

"A King's Secret" by Michael Cheung, "Brit or Miss" by Lisa Rothstein, "The Devil's Echo" by Darryl Smith, "Mimi's Tattoo Parlor" by Lisa Luciani, "Nude with Stratocaster" by Scott Louis Clevenger, and "Pilgrim of Eternity" by Andrew Arthur.

"There definitely has been an increase in screenplay competitions and interest in screenwriting. Our competition attracts new talent because, like our festival, it is interested in recognizing and supporting good writing." added Chachere.

In response to the increasing interest in the screenplay competition, Slamdance developed a genre-specific sci fi competition which is currently underway. As a result, Slamdance received a record breaking number of submissions totalling just over 2,000 scripts. Co-sponsored by The SCI FI Channel, winners of the SCI FI Screenplay Competition will be announced later on October 31, 2001.

A list of the top twelve finalists will be available on www.slamdance.com or from the Slamdance office. Beyond cash and prizes, the Slamdance Screenplay Competition provides coverage to every entrant. Writers are invited to call the Slamdance office at 323 466 1786 to get constructive feedback on their work, weekdays from September 24 - October 19, 2001, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm PST.

The Slamdance Screenplay Competition continues to grow and is now considered one of the nation's top screenplay competitions. Based on its mission to support the first-time filmmaker, the competition was conceived to promote and recognize new writers and to provide a link between unknown writing talent and established industry professionals. Russell Paquette's 2000 1st Place Winner "Gotta Keep Movin," a tale about Blues legend Robert Johnson, is being considered by five top African American actors. Mr. Paquette signed with Ascension Entertainment and a top entertainment attorney as a direct result of winning the competition. Cindy Hewitt, a Slamdance 2000 Screenplay finalist, signed with an agent and a manager and is now on her second contract with Pixar. Nelson McCormick's "The Lyster Theory" was optioned immediately upon being announced as a 2000 Finalist and he recently sold a script to Paramount Television.

The 2001 finalists will also be on hand October 8th at Knitting Factory Los Angeles as Slamdance launches its first ever reading series. Select scenes from the 2000 first place screenplay winner "Gotta Keep Movin" will be featured.

Slamdance will award $2,000 in cash to the 1st-place winner of the 2001 Screenplay Competition, as well as $1,000 to the 2nd-place winner and $250 to each 3rd-place winner. All twelve recognized screenplays and their writers will receive introductions to studios, production companies and agencies as well as software from Cinovation, Screenplay.com, consultation by the Screenwriters Room and the opportunity to be listed on the websites Writer's Script Network, storyXchange and Script P.I.M.P. The awards will be presented at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Slamdance will also hold a screenwriter Fireside Chat and other informal get-togethers related to the Screenplay Competition as it kicks off the 2002 Screenplay Competition at the January festival. Sponsors of the competition include the Writers Script Network, Script Magazine, Cinovation software, Script P.I.M.P., The Screenwriters Room, storyXchange, and The Knitting Factory.

The Slamdance Film Festival, which is billed as "by filmmakers, for filmmakers," was started in 1995 by a group of writer/director/producers and continues to be organized and programmed by active filmmakers. Now entering its eighth year as a festival that runs simultaneous to the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first-time directors working with limited budgets. Most recently, David Greenspan's film "Bean Cake," which premiered at Slamdance 2001 went on to win the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival and Seth Wiley's "The Good Things" won Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at Deauville 2001.

Slamdance 2002 will take place in Park City, Utah from January 11-19, 2002, and the final deadline for film submissions is October 1, 2001. For entry details and applications, please call 323 466 1786 or email mail@slamdance.com. Full information about the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and Film Festival can also be found via the Slamdance website at: www.slamdance.com.

Updated: 09/21/2001

Submit Report Card

You must login to read or submit report cards.

First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!