AFF is pleased to announce the 2012 Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Finalists.  They were chosen from a record field of more than 6,500 entries in the Drama, Comedy, Enderby Entertainment Award, Dark Hero Studios Sci-Fi Award, and Teleplay categories.  The winners will be announced during this year’s Conference at the Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at the Austin Club. Winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, reimbursements for travel and lodging while at AFF, and access to and recognition by some of the most important writers, agents, producers and filmmakers in the industry.

The 2012 Screenplay & Teleplay Finalists are (listed by category and alphabetically by title):

SCREENPLAY – COMEDY

Blind Date by Alex Cramer

Concession Olympics by Megan Grano

Get Real by Bev Atkinson

The P.A.N.D.A. War by Daniel Shea

Santagate by Mike Sundy

SCREENPLAY – DRAMA

Clouds of Sorrow by Jack Davidson

Cumberland by Scott Larson

Dali by Lorraine Mauvais

Dark Ops by Andrew Sodroski & Raven Burnett

From New York to Florida by Austin Reynolds

Lukomorie by Margot Arakelian

ENDERBY ENTERTAINMENT AWARD

For feature scripts in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be produced for under $5 million. The production company was founded by Rick Dugdale and Daniel Petrie, Jr.

Bad Blood by Chris Connolly

The Break-Up Nurse by Adeline Colangelo

Cancer by Bobby Duncan

Drink With a Stranger by Anita J Skibski

From New York to Florida by Austin Reynolds

DARK HERO STUDIOS SCI-FI AWARD

Open to Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Surrealism, Myth/Legend and Fantastical Storytelling. The studio was founded by David Hayter and Benedict Carver

Bad Blood by Chris Connolly

Dark Ops by Andrew Sodroski & Raven Burnett

The Domain by Michael Raymond

The House of Bathory by Shannon Pestock

My Sweet Genevese by William Viglione

TELEPLAY – ONE-HOUR PILOT

Horizon by B.D. Flory

Mustard by Christian Canterbury

The Photographer by Jennifer Raite & Chris Cullari

Static – “Someone to Watch Over Me” by Keith Davidson

Thin Air by Niceole R Levy

TELEPLAY – SITCOM PILOT

The Doghouse by Greg Karber

Fangirls – “I Love Aquaman” by Lillian DeRitter

Katie and Becca Grow Up by Leila Cohan-Miccio

TELEPLAY – ONE-HOUR SPEC

Dexter – “The Second Coming” by David Radcliff

Justified – “Mama’s in the Graveyard; Papa’s in the Pen” by Courtney Kirkpatrick & Edward Kirkpatrick

Parenthood – “How to Jew” by Nathaniel Orr

TELEPLAY – SITCOM SPEC

30 Rock – “Clinical Implantation” by Dayo Adesokan

The Middle – “To Heck and Back” by Sheela Shrinivas

Modern Family – “Earthquake Party” by Abi Wurdeman & Phil Wurdeman

Finalist scripts will be reviewed by an industry panel of judges including:

Drama Finalist Judges (provided by the Writers Guild of America, East)

• Christopher Kyle – writer SERENA (2013). ALEXANDER
• John J. McLaughlin – writer HITCHCOCK, BLACK SWAN
• Stephen Schiff – writer WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS,  TRUE CRIME

Comedy Finalist Judges

• Larry Doyle – writer I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER; DUPLEX
• Craig Mazin – writer IDENTITY THIEF (2013), THE HANGOVER PART II
• Herschel Weingrod – writer KINDERGARTEN COP, TRADING PLACES

Teleplay Finalist Judges

• Noah Hawley – showrunner “My Generation”, “The Unusuals”
• Kyle Killen – showrunner “Awake”, “Lone Star”
• Nancy Pimental – writer/producer “Shameless”

A PDF of the full list of Finalists and Semifinalists:

2012 Finalists and Semifinalists

A PDF of the full list of Second Rounders:

Second Rounders

AFF is pleased to announce its 2012 Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Semifinalists and Second Rounders who were chosen from a record field of more than 6500 entries in the Drama, Comedy, Enderby Entertainment Award, Dark Hero Studios Sci-Fi Award, and Teleplay categories. A total of 729 scripts advanced to the Second Round (roughly top 10-12%) before being eliminated. 96 scripts were selected for the Semifinals to remain in contention.

The Finalists will be revealed by early October and the winners will be announced during this year’s Conference at the Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 20th, 2012 at the Austin Club. Winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, reimbursements for travel and lodging while at AFF, and access to and recognition by some of the most important writers, agents, producers and filmmakers in the industry.

This year’s Semifinalists are (listed by category and alphabetically by title):

Screenplay – Comedy

• 12 Steps for Pussies by Dwayne McKenzie & Jim Patton
• Blind Date by Alex Cramer
• The Break-Up Nurse by Adeline Colangelo
• Candy Rocks Doesn’t Grow Up by Eric Randolph Rasmussen
• Concession Olympics by Megan Grano
• Detroit Nuke City by John Sheehan
• Donnie Lasagna by Anthony Stitt & Jeff Trently
• Get Real by Bev Atkinson
• Henchmen by Eric Gross & Marshall Johnson
• High School Seniors by Hamish McCollester
• How to Win in Politics by Jordan Newman
• MILFS by Carrie Stett
• The Monster of Perfect, California by Paul Sheridan
• The P.A.N.D.A. War by Daniel Shea
• Rusty by Michael Ouellette
• Santagate by Mike Sundy
• Two Old Dicks by Matt Zajac
• V-Day by Ali Imran Zaidi
• Western Bloc by Margot Arakelian
• Worst.Date.Ever. by Joshua Sheehan & Marco Rodriguez

Screenplay – Drama

• Bad Blood by Chris Connolly
• Child-Proof by Michael Levin & Kevin Brotman
• Clouds of Sorrow by Jack Davidson
• Cold Snap by Samuel J. Winokur
• Cry Mother Earth by Aron Wilburn & George Wilburn
• Cumberland by Scott Larson
• Dali by Lorraine Mauvais
• Dark Ops by Andrew Sodroski & Raven Burnett
• Deacon’s Point by Blake McCallister
• Drink With a Stranger by Anita J Skibski
• Freedom by Byron Hudson
• From New York to Florida by Austin Reynolds
• Havana Rules by Annie LaBarba
• Heaven’s Door by Geoff Redknap
• The House of Bathory by Shannon Pestock
• Lukomorie by Margot Arakelian
• The Mortality Game by Ed Vela
• The Murphys by Kaitlin McLaughlin
• My Sweet Genevese by William Viglione
• Our Enemies by Ramesh Santanam
• Paris Burning by Roberto Dantas
• The Rise and Fall of Lorenzo the Kid by Matthew A. Brown
• What’s Ailing Spencer Frayley by Michael Werwie
• The Witness by Nouri Zarrugh

Enderby Entertainment Award

(For feature scripts in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be produced under $5 million.  The production company was founded by Rick Dugdale and Daniel Petrie, Jr.)

• Bad Blood by Chris Connolly
• The Break-Up Nurse by Adeline Colangelo
• Cancer by Bobby Duncan
• Drink With a Stranger by Anita J Skibski
• From New York to Florida by Austin Reynolds
• Hero Wanted by Dennis Douda
• Santagate by Mike Sundy
• The Scrubland by Corey Bodoh-Creed
• Suburban Gothic by Anton Diether
• Will’s Friend Will by Elaine Thomas

Dark Hero Studios Sci-Fi Award

(Open to Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Surrealism, Myth/Legend and Fantastical Storytelling.  The studio was founded by David Hayter and Benedict Carver)

• Bad Blood by Chris Connolly
• Coffin Makers by David B. Carren
• Dark Ops by Andrew Sodroski & Raven Burnett
• The Domain by Michael Raymond
• Heirloom by Noga Landau
• The House of Bathory by Shannon Pestock
• Little Lucy by Daniel J. Hernandez
• My Sweet Genevese by William Viglione
• Shiny Penny by Daniel Shea
• When the Moon Rises by Jeff Storms

Teleplay – One-Hour Pilot

• Beltway – “The Last of the Swinging Dicks” by Thom Woodley
• Bricks and Stones  by Alexander Newman-Wise
• The Hinterland – “The Last Human City” by Jason Noto
• Horizon by B.D. Flory
• Mnemonic  by Jimmy Miller
• Mustard by Christian Canterbury
• The Photographer  by Jennifer Raite & Chris Cullari
• The Reel by Adam D’Alba
• Static – “Someone to Watch Over Me”  by Keith Davidson
• Street Legal by Warren Hsu Leonard
• Thin Air  by Niceole R Levy
• Under the Law by Rebecca Omahen

Teleplay – Sitcom Pilot

• Blood Types by Adam Meyer
• The Doghouse by Greg Karber
• Fangirls – “I Love Aquaman” by Lillian DeRitter
• Funny Motherfuckers – “Dropped, Weak, and Horny” by Joseph J. Vargas
• Katie and Becca Grow Up by Leila Cohan-Miccio
• The New Twenty – “Esse Quam Videri” by Tony Sekulich
• Welcome to the Sh!t Show  by Robert Dearden

Teleplay – One-Hour Spec

• Dexter – “The Second Coming” by David Radcliff
• Justified – “Mama’s in the Graveyard; Papa’s in the Pen” by Courtney Kirkpatrick and Edward Kirkpatrick
• The Mentalist – “Cardinal Sins” by Julie Christie
• Parenthood – “How to Jew” by Nathaniel Orr
• Shameless – “Sleeping Dogs” by Jennifer Raite
• White Collar – “Face of Terror” by Bobak Esfarjani

Teleplay – Sitcom Spec

• 30 Rock – “Clinical Implantation” by Dayo Adesokan
• Bored to Death – “The Case of the Swinging Brewskee Ballers” by Lee Carlisle
• The Middle – “To Heck and Back” by Sheela Shrinivas
• Modern Family – “Earthquake Party” by Abi Wurdeman & Phil Wurdeman
• New Girl – “Schmidt Gets His Period” by Beau Henry
• Parks & Rec – “Ye Olde Pawnee” by Julie Benson
• Raising Hope – “Get Rich Quick, Boys and Girls!” by Kat Lombard

For the full list of this year’s Second Rounders, download the PDF below.

2012 SECOND ROUNDERS

Semifinalist scripts will be reviewed by an industry panel of judges including representatives from Oasis Media, Energy Entertainment, Mosaic Media, Brucks Entertainment, Paradigm Agency, Escape Artists at Sony, Fortis Films, Washington Square Arts, Tom Sawyer Entertainment, APA, Gross Entertainment, and many other influential decision makers.  Semifinalist, Finalists, and winners in this year’s competition will also be included in the Annual Producer’s Book which will be distributed to more than 400 production companies later this year.

Congratulations Everyone!

Screenplay submissions taking over Matt’s office

After several months of sifting through a record number of over 6500 entries involving unique stories, memorable characters, and exemplary dialogue, we have finally narrowed down the field to the celebrated Second Rounders (top 10%) and the Semifinalist scripts that are still in contention.  The full results will be posted on our website next week but in the meantime, notification letters should be arriving in mailboxes before then.  Regardless of the outcome, you have already taken an admirable step in your writing career by completing a story and putting it through the gauntlet.  Evaluating screenplays at this level is a complicated process that is, by nature, extremely subjective.  The measure of your success as a writer is not forecasted only by the outcome of a competition. Whether this was your first or nineteenth time submitting in AFF, rejection is never easy but it is an important part of growing as an artist.  Without rejection, there would be no incentive to improve and no reason to push further to succeed.  And when you do succeed, the rewards are far greater and the experience much sweeter.  To those of you who advanced in the competition this year, congratulations on receiving a distinction that is achieved only by few.  As a writer, you are of course only as good as your next work.  If writing is your passion, please continue to pursue it.

- Matt Dy

Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Director

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL RECEIVES RECORD ENTRIES FOR 2012 SCREENPLAY & TELEPLAY COMPETITION

OVER 6,500 ENTRIES FOR 2012, UP BY 12% FROM 2011

AUSTIN, TX (JUNE 13, 2012) – Austin Film Festival (AFF) is excited to announce record entries for their 19th annual Screenplay & Teleplay competition. The 2012 competition received a total of over 6,500 entries, up by approximately 700 entries or 12% from last year’s record of over 5,800. Entries came in from all over the U.S. and 42 other countries, and the records show the Competition has grown by over 62% since 2009.

This year, a significant rise in entries occurred in each category of the competition, including screenplay entries in Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi and the Enderby Entertainment Award; and teleplay entries in Sitcom Spec, One-Hour Spec, Sitcom Pilot, and One-Hour Pilot. Panels of judges, including some of the industry’s top writers, showrunners, producers and managers, will choose the winners in each category, who will accept their awards and prizes at the 19^th annual Austin Film Festival & Conference October 18-25, 2012 in Austin, TX.

Competition winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000; reimbursements for travel and lodging while at the 2012 Festival & Conference; access to and recognition by some of the most important writers, agents, producers and filmmakers in the industry; and will also be included in the annual Producers Book distributed to more than 400 production companies. Advancing writers in the Second Round (roughly top 10-12%), Semifinals and Finals will be given exclusive opportunities to attend special roundtables and panels at this year’s Conference.

AFF not only recognizes the work of writers for feature screenplays but also those for television. This year’s number of entries includes over 1,500 submissions in the Teleplay Competition, which is open to both spec scripts for existing shows and original pilots. For the first time, the winner of the Sitcom Pilot category will be given the opportunity to have his or her winning script read aloud and workshopped during a special Roundtable session at the Conference with a panel of industry professionals including Alec Berg (writer The Dictator, Eurotrip, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Kell Cahoon (writer/producer “Psych”, “NewsRadio”, “Just Shoot Me”), and Etan Cohen (writer Men in Black III, Tropic Thunder, “King of the Hill”), among others.

The Writer’s Guild of America, East, this year’s underwriting sponsor of the Drama Screenplay Award, will present the winner of the Drama category at this year’s Conference and have provided the following three WGAE writers to judge and choose the winner: Stephen Schiff (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, True Crime), Christopher Kyle (Alexander, The Weight of Water) and John J. McLaughlin (Hitchcock, Black Swan). Overall, 40 industry jurors have been confirmed to judge the Screenplay & Teleplay Competition including Herschel Weingrod (writer, Trading Places; producer, Falling Down), Kyle Killen (writer, The Beaver; showrunner, “Awake”, “Lone Star”), Craig Mazin (writer, The Hangover II), and representatives from Escape Artists at Sony, Oasis Media, Washington Square Arts and Paradigm Agency.

In its 19-year history, the AFF Screenplay & Teleplay Competition has served to jumpstart many writing careers. In the competition’s first year, screenplay competition winner Max Adams’ script Excess Baggage was optioned by Columbia and made into a film starring Alicia Silverstone and Benicio Del Toro. Rachel Long and Brian Pittman’s 2008 Semifinalist script Stranded was acquired by Enderby Entertainment (Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Rick Dugdale’s production company). The project is currently in pre-production with Petrie set to direct. Julie Howe, 2010 Comedy Screenplay Award Winner for Jasper Milliken, signed an exclusive deal with Experience Media Studios after the 2010 Conference with the help of an AFF judge and panelist. The producers of the film have officially signed on veteran director Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny, The Whole Nine Yards) to helm the film.

The 19^th annual Austin Film Festival & Conference will be held Oct 18 – 25, 2012 in Austin, TX. AFF has already announced the first round of panelists for this year’s Conference, including some of the top screenwriters, directors, showrunners and producers in the business. The full list of panelists can be found here. Stay tuned for announcements from AFF with this year’s awardees, film lineup, Conference panels and more panelists, and more. For more information on Austin Film Festival and to purchase passes or badges go to www.austinfilmfestival.com.

For regular updates, follow AFF on Facebook at facebook.com/AustinFilmFestival and Twitter @austinfilmfest.

ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL

Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established writers and filmmakers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships.

Austin Film Festival is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Austin Film Festival has assembled a panel of influential industry judges to read and determine the Semifinalists, Finalists, and winners of this year’s competition. We are proud to announce the following confirmed judges: