DFW locals Jody Hadlock, A.J. Orr, Mike Farris and Troy Perkins topped the competition. They will each receive cash prizes, a professional consultation with a high profile writer, Star Pass at the Dallas International Film Festival and opportunities to pitch their work to industry professionals through Virtual Pitch Fest. The two grand prize winners will embark on a future Writer’s Enrichment Cruise.
Features and 1-Hour Pilots
WINNER — GREENWOOD by Jody Hadlock & A.J. Orr
Based on a true story, a 1920’s African-American lawyer takes on the system to defend the residents of Greenwood, the all-black district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, when it’s destroyed by an angry white mob.
RUNNER UP — THE CATCH by Mike Farris
Two detectives hunt for a serial killer who is killing lawyers and staging the murder scenes to reflect lawyer jokes.
Shorts and 30-Min Pilots
WINNER — CLOISTERED by M. Rowan Meyer
A priest, a nun, and an excommunicate navigate identity within the boundaries of their Catholic faith.
RUNNER UP — CROSSING by Troy Perkins
Lyle, a Texas rancher, hunts migrants crossing his sprawling ranch near the Mexico border. The tables are turned when he has a serious accident and needs help from a migrant woman and her little boy.
FINALISTS (Features and 1-hour Pilots):
CONNECTED
Hillery Baker
Privileged teenagers Emilia and James Capriglione are about to learn there isn’t enough holy water in New Jersey to wash all the blood off their family’s hands.
FASTER THAN HORSES
Chris & Michael Mul
An arrogant runner embarking on the Marathon des Sables—the toughest footrace on earth—faces a race against time to survive when he becomes isolated in the desert and a hostage to its harrowing conditions.
THE STORM KING
Alex Hendler
With the help of a Yale-educated behavioral psychologist, a classical pianist struggles to bond with his mentally challenged disruptive young son before the turmoil he causes tears the family apart.
FINALISTS (Shorts and 30-Min Pilots):
BOXED WINE
Gregory Caruso
After years of constant rejection, a struggling painter in his late-20s decides to make a statement by putting almost no effort into his artwork, resulting in immediate acceptance from the art community, throwing him into a spiral of self-questioning and self-destruction.
GREAT AMERICA
Angelita Mendoza & Morten Vestergaard Jensen
A border vigilante’s house is broken into by an undocumented immigrant and his daughter who are desperate for water.
SELKIE
Chris & Michael Mul
A selfish fisherman is morally torn between his conscience and happiness when he meets and falls in love with a mysterious woman.
