SEASON 6
This season’s 7 awards are:
Best Script
Best Character Arc
Best Genre Script
Best Concept
Best Technique
Bonus: Best Adaptation
Bonus: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script
Live Robbery
Nominated: Best Genre Script
“With a short page-turning runtime, this script enjoys the heist genre with relish. There’s a faint feeling of a sort of jazzy feeling to it, especially with genre appropriate dialogue that provides the kind of banter which actors would love to chew on.”
The Tides
Winner: Best Genre Script, Nominated: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script
“Though unusual in terms of its length (can it be shorter for short film festivals to love or a script that could be made into a feature?), the script writer’s core use of genre to unpack the psychological state of its characters is spot on. There’s lots to explore here with a screen adaptation, one could really indulge with the art direction. Lots of meat on this bone of a script.”
Praying Mantis in a Jar
Nominated: Best Character Arc
“This script displays a lot of understanding concerning the arc an actor can perform within. There’s a lot of physical acting, as well as the more theatrical dialogue based performance which a well trained actor will enjoy as it allows for character specific exploration regarding costume and delivery. The pacing is also very naturalistic, and recalls a bygone era of script when people spoke more than they acted.”
Blood Money
Nominated: Best Technique, Nominated: Best Script, Nominated: Best Character Arc
“The script is well paced, well developed and well written. For an indie film it feels as if it might be a bit of a challenge to see produced, just due to sheer size… but it has a slickness about it that recalls the Breaking Bad and Nip/Tuck era of violence mixed with a moral average joe gone wild.”
The Ride
Winner: Best Character Arc
“This little bombshell of emotions is a lovely example of simple character exposition. These beings bond, share with each other and in turn, change each other. A real delight – and cinematography wise this is a delight – daylight, dust and cars windows… lots of lensing can be explored with the right budget.”
Birdhouse
Nominated: Best Script, Nominated: Best Concept
“Alluring with a bold character and a fairly unusual concept, this project could easily be a Jaques Tati film – or one of those fun animation films. It has a great awareness of texture and locales, which adds to the charming effects of the script.”
Athletic Withdrawal
Nominated: Best Character Arc, Winner: Best Concept
“Deeply understanding towards circumstances and the shift of people’s mindsets as their life faces certain adjustments, this short carries a similar class to the writing of Andre Dubus II. It might be a pricey one to produce, just due to locations and so on, this script has a lot of room for intricate details in the production side of things. Highly recommended.”
One Lousy Mistake
Nominated: Best Genre Script
“There’s a great sense of comedy in this script. The pace and the caricatures all fit in really nicely, and it almost recalls the sort of genre blend that Joe Dante would provide in several of his big hits. Highly recommended for entertainment value.”
Donavan Emery, The Android & Himself
Winner: Best Adaptation
“Bursting with fun ideas, Donavan Emery, The Android and Himself is a bit of a sleeper script. It is reliant on an IP – but does so with a fresh coat of paint. There’s plenty here for a director to love, and the addition of the sci fi genre really allows for a lot of different elements of the film – sound, editing etc., to burst with creativity. This is a very smart adaptation indeed.”
509th Radio Research
Nominated: Best Concept, Nominated: Best Technique
“A flood of nostalgia comes out of this script. It is very moving, and the buddy plotline is delivered with a freshness that’s quite unusual. For a short film which uses confined places, this is a well thought out project that appears big and flashy, whilst at its heart carrying a lot of soul.”
Keys
Nominated: Best Technique
“Delivered with a strong awareness for efficiency and minimalism, this little single act film feels very intimate, personal and direct. The characters and the use of texture in terms of the locale are great. This is a micro budget dream… and the choice of setting is unusual and fresh.”
Baby Blue
Nominated: Best Character Arc, Nominated: Best Script
“Fresh and full of well thought out character motivations, this project just screams to be made right away! It’s actually spot on, and topical.”
The Pickleball Killer
Nominated: Best Character Arc
“Carrying a strong understanding of the sports genre, as well as the subset of thrillers, this interesting mix recalls the recent hit Yellowjackets. Much like Yellowjackets, this is a commercial project, one that has strong leads and an impressive sense of direction that would appeal to several audience demographics. This script is also somewhat perfect for the glossy production look, which always gets distributors very excited.”
Against The Wind
Nominated: Best Genre Script
“Nicely assembled, and capturing a variety of genres well (in particular the sort of adventure film no longer made), this project’s greatest strengths is in showing off the writer’s ability to create well rounded characters with a strong identity and purpose. The pace is rather grand, and almost feels like a sibling adventure that harks back as a sub-genre to films like The Night of the Hunter – only redelivered as a more contemporary narrative device.”
Bloody Mary
Nominated: Best Adaptation, Nominated: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script
“Though not based on a text, this script is largely inspired by a pre-established historical figure… and it blooms with great pleasure as the project unfolds. This would be a great project for a genre director, especially one able to navigate comedy and Gothic elements, as this feels like an Adams Family tone. Really great fun.”
Cardboard Coffin
Winner: Best Script, Nominated: Best Genre
“Comical, original… almost scarily believable… this script has all the ingredients for a fun indie dramedy. The characters are a joy to spend time with, and the genre mix means that a lof of music can be used to keep it feeling fresh and engaging. It’s a fun project, recalls Jamie Babbit’s sense of comedy – especially the likes of Fresno from 2015.”
The Dead World
Nominated: Best Genre Script, Nominated: Best Character Arc
“With an awareness for inner-personal connections, and the tension of reliance on others for survival, this genre script arrives at the peak of genre indie film releases… it is on point for the market, feels emotional and also entertaining – it is a good commercial script for production.”
The Forgotten Five
Nominated: Best Technique
“Written with great detail and awareness of the time period and social norms of the past, this project is a bit of a mammoth task for an indie project… but – it has a lot of interesting detail in it, and would perhaps even make a great paperback. The world of funding these kinds of projects is increasingly complicated, and though it would be amazing to be seen being made, it feels more like the kind of film that would have been produced back in the 90’s.”
Charlie Safe Home
Nominated: Best Script
“Written with care for the period, this project walks on a familiar ground of the war genre, but it does so with an awareness for the class divide of a particular British military group… it is this element which provides us with a new world view of the situation, and much like The Lost City of Z, insight into a piece of a very large puzzle that still unfolds 100 years after the events of WWI.”
The Burial
Nominated: Best Technique
“Blending genres, and tones, this particular script carries a great sense of self awareness in terms of how an audience can experience the situation and characters of the world it is presenting. All in all, with the right director at the helm, this would be a very moving and impressionable project. One which could provide insight into a social worry.”
Memtec Vol. 1
Nominated: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script
“Turning up the volume on genre, this project screams out from the abyss and highlights the ever growing fears of technology and globalisation. Though rather pricey to produce, this is a great adventure – and even has a slight cyberpunk feeling about it…”
Who Wrote the Book
Nominated: Best Concept
“Amusing and entertaining, this script fits nicely into the growing ‘projects written for A Listers’ subgenre. It feels like a fun project, one which has a sense of cinephilia to it, and is very breezy to read. It would make for a nice comedy. Cue the pop songs!”
The Belly of the Serpent
Nominated: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script, Winner: Best Technique
“Perhaps a tad long, this project is a great genre exercise in minimalistic psychological horror, with strong period Gothic elements that a production company (with the right resources) could have a lot of fun with. Occasionally violent, and even bold with its character interactions, the project is definitely something of a serpent – it is a dangerous emotional ride for the viewer (and a lot of fun for those who seek thrills like it). Thinking of a genre lean would enhance the film’s marketability.”
They Smell Dead
Nominated: Best Script, Winner: Best Horror/Sci Fi Script
“Ah what a genre joy! This project is a fast shooting fun-filled ride that has a great sense of pleasure within itself. There’s a lot of comedy and character to the way with which scenes and personas reveal themselves. An 80’s throwback of style could really add to the production value, if a producer saw it as part of the appeal of this project.”