We’re happy to announce the winners and finalists from this year’s contest. A big thank you to all the screenwriters who entered. We are planning on running the contest again next year, so if you’re working on a low budget screenplay, hopefully you’ll consider entering it.

But today we are announcing the winners and finalists for 2022.

Trying to choose the “top” or the “best” screenplay when writing is so personal and subjective is never easy. We had lots of great screenplays this year that were well written, original, and could be produced on a modest budget, so this decision in no way means that the other screenplays weren’t good, quite possibly they were, but we’re trying to bring attention to some high quality screenplays that we feel deserve it. 

A big congratulations to both the winners and the runner-ups. They are…

Short Film Category

Winner

Gloomy Sunday by Kevin Machate 

Logline: Gloomy Sunday (horror) – When a mysterious stranger comes to him to learn a song long believed to lead to suicide, music teacher Jonah Horvath must discover the truth behind both the stranger and the mysterious song, before he becomes yet another victim of Gloomy Sunday.

Runner-Up

Thirty Magic Candles by Joe Hurst

Logline: A woman’s overdependence on her frustrated mother becomes grotesque after an ironic birthday wish.

Feature Film Category

Winner

The Edge of Darkness/Dark Smoke by Amy Rebecca Blackwelder

Logline: When ominous dark smoke that preys on movement covers the skies of a small town, an Olympic runner is one of the last survivors and must struggle to protect her neighbor’s child.

Runner-Up

The Unseen by Shiva Ramanathan

Logline: The Unseen (thriller) – With an unusual happiness haunting the world, four strangers receive cryptic messages from an unseen entity that lead them to a remote desert on Christmas Eve where something momentous awaits. First, they must uncover the reason they were chosen if they are to survive what is about to happen.








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