We have come to a consensus and are excited to announce that Artesia by Emily Tomson has been selected as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2017 ScreenCraft Drama Screenplay Contest. It’s a deeply compelling and tense human drama that boasts two sharply-drawn female leads, weighty conflict, a bold structure, immersive cultural details and a resonant point of view. Here is the logline:
An ambitious corporate lawyer and stalwart single mother is forced to move to New Mexico to act as a litigator in defense of oppressed women hoping to seek asylum in the United States, but must overcome hurdles and obstacles in the form of corruption, xenophobia, and sexism the likes of which she's never seen.
We’re also proud to highlight Second Childhood by Clifton Koons II as the runner-up. It’s a bracingly original drama with cinematic flair and an unforgettable central character arc. It centers on a famed, spiraling children's story author who, to get over her mother's death and save her career, checks herself into an experimental rehab center that recreates her childhood with actors and trickery, but struggles to survive the treatment, with only a psychotic patient and her fictional animal characters by her side.
Both of these engaging scripts exude verve and exceptional storytelling instincts, as do the following finalists that comprise the top ten submissions:
3. The Boat by Robert Wooldridge Jr.
4. Someday, Ohio by Anna Hozian
5. Land That We Love by Julian Renner
6. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
7. Little Africa by Curtis Adair
8. The Heart of a Tiger by Dr. SreyReath Kuy & Dr. SreyRam Kuy and Ross Raffin
9. The Man in The Jungle by Shruti Swaminathan
10. Stan's Killing Himself by Billy Kirland
In addition to the ScreenCraft team, the jury consisted of: Manager/Producer Jewerl Ross, whose clients include Academy Award-winning writer-director Barry Jenkins, the filmmaker behind Best Picture MOONLIGHT, and Matthew Aldrich, writer of COCO and the upcoming OPENING BELLE for Warner Bros. and Reese Witherspoon; Manager/Producer Andrea Dimity, whose clients include Pete Barry, who recently sold his spec script MARIAN to Amy Pascal/Sony with Margot Robbie attached, and who is currently producing BURN RUN by Mitch Lafortune, which is set up at Thunder Road Pictures; George Heller and Kelsi Fleming at Brillstein Entertainment Partners, the company behind such renowned Hollywood talent as Amy Adams, Brad Pitt, Charlie Hunnam, Vin Diesel, Eva Longoria, Timothy Olyphant and many more; and Michael O'Sullivan, Director of Development at Broad Green Pictures, the financier and production company behind such award-winning and acclaimed films as 99 HOMES, SONG TO SONG, THE NEON DEMON and KNIGHT OF CUPS.
Grand Prize Winner Tomson will receive a $1,000 cash prize and hand-picked industry consultations, Runner-up Koons II will receive $500 and judge feedback, and the top three finalists will each receive ScreenCraft feedback and a free license to Final Draft 10.
Congratulations to these winning writers and finalists, and thank you to our judges and to everyone who submitted projects. View the quarter-finalists and semifinalists here.
