FEMALE PROTAGONIST CATEGORY

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:  Mother of Frankenstein by R. Ian Simpson

Logline:  A dark biopic that re-imagines how author, Mary Shelley, finds her true inspiration for Frankenstein.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Ian graduated from Vassar in 2005 with BAs in both Psychology and Film.  With a Burnam Fellowship, he wrote/produced/directed a short doc about the Underground Railroad during the summer of 2004, as well as wrote/produced/directed his thesis film for Vassar in 2005.  Ian has completed the first of two years of his MFA at the American Film Institute, concentrating on screenwriting. His writing reflects his interests in history, blurring the lines between 'fact' and 'fiction,' and providing strong voices for minority characters.

Second Place: Rememory by Brooke Sebold

Logline:  When her father falls ill, Sam, a detached 27 year old, returns to a home rife with memories, both tender and devastating.  She falls for a candy striper but in order to experience love, Sam must confront the memory that resulted in a loss of childhood forever. 

Third Place: The Door to Hades by Anne E. Arleigh Winter

Logline:  Young Jesse Flick skips out of a Chicago halfway house, travels south to Mississippi, and turns up on the doorstep of retired English teacher Edith Maeweather to claim she is the daughter the brittle spinster gave up for adoption 21 years ago.  This is not a soft, sepia-toned mother/daughter-bonding story.  Jesse is a thief.  Edith’s students dubbed her the “Terror of Turner, Mississippi.”  It’s a fair match.

MINORITY PROTAGONIST CATEGORY

GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Curse of the Precious Consort by Quan Lelan

Logline:  In feudal times the Heavenly Sword that built the Kingdom of Vietnam fell under the curse of the Precious Consort, whose legendary beauty drove kingdoms to wars.  When the Sword is once again unearthed, the terrifying Curse of the Precious Consort returns.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Quan Lelan graduated from University of California San Diego with a Bachelor degree in Visual Arts.  He also has a MFA from the University of Southern California Graduate School of Cinema-Television.  He is currently working in China and Vietnam writing and directing commercials. He was also the Casting Director & Assistant Director for "Three Seasons", the first American film to shoot in Vietnam and he worked as an adviser and assistant director for Phillip Noyces' "The Quiet American" during the Ho Chi Minh City shoot.  His script "Hill 66" was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2001 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.   

Second Place: Ball by Julian Breece

Logline:  Cast out by his family for being gay, a teen prodigy finds strength and survival in NYC’s underground world of gay vogue balls.

Third Place: Mr. In Between by Andrew Smith

Logline:  An undercover cop with a serious alcohol problem finds an unexpected relationship with a South American drug lord (who is also a recovering alcoholic).

Emerging Voice Winner: MSG Added by Susan Rossi

Logline:  After losing his job, a Chinese American man and his best friend open a restaurant as a cover for their gambling circuit sponsored by a group of zealous Chinese ladies.

FEMALE QUARTERFINALISTS

A Doll's Life by Kathy Drum

Abilene by Michael Raymond

Captured by Katrina L. Coombs & Susan Wescott

Catawampous by J.W. Levinson

Dusty by Mark Bankins

Finding Velma by Elizabeth Savage Sullivan

Mary of Scotland by Dana Osmundson

Mine by Anita Justice Skibski

On the Bayou by Sean Bridges

The Outlaw by Larry Whatcott

Preeti Girl by Todd Holmes

Stellunia by Jerry Jennings

Unfinished Business by Larry Maness