RIIFF ANNOUNCES 2010 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

327 submissions received from throughout the United States and across the globe

(PROVIDENCE, RI) • William Torgerson from Stratford, Connecticut was the Grand Prize Winner for this year's 2010 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. The awards announcement was made Monday by George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director. The winning screenplay “Love on the Big Screen” chronicles a college freshman whose understanding of love has been shaped by late-eighties romantic comedies. It is a story of friendship, dangers of romanticized love, and what happens to one young man as he finds out that life is nothing like the movies he loves.

“It was an exceptional year with some truly amazing stories that made up this year’s competition,” said J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director. “The outstanding quality of this year's submissions and the level of creativity, made for difficult decision-making on the part of our international group of judges.”

According to Demetria J. Carr, RIIFF Managing Director, “Screenplay judges read 327 screenplay entries this year, the largest entry base in the competition’s history. Each submission was analyzed and scored according to a set of five criteria, including Character, Dialogue, Setting, Plot and Technique.

“After extensive reading and deliberation among the judges, ten prizewinners were chosen in five different categories: Main Competition, Gay and Lesbian (GLBT), Local (New England) Focus, Horror, and Short Screenplay,” she added. “Each will come with its own set of awards.”

“We could not be more pleased with the selection of this year’s winners,” noted George T. Marshall. “This competition continues to grow and expand, giving us access to some of the world’s up and coming writers in the craft. The quality that we have seen this year makes for a truly inspiring and exciting competition. Additionally, we have set up an online entry portal through our partner, Withoutabox.com, so that this competition has gone green with the majority of entries being submitted in a digital format. This has allowed us to expand our adjudication committee, bringing in more industry professionals.”

THE 2010 PRIZE WINNERS:

GRAND PRIZE:

Love on the Big Screen

Written by William Torgerson (USA)

FIRST PRIZE:

Grain

Written by Alejandro Seri (USA)

(Tied with)

The Darkness In Their Eyes

Written by David Williamson (Australia)

SECOND PRIZE:

Freedom at Midnight

Written by Jeffrey Ryback (Thailand)

HONORABLE MENTION:

Seven Years of Winter

Written by Marcus Schwenzel (Germany)

BEST LOCAL:

Memoria

Written by Michael Dyer (USA)

BARREN BRANCHES GLBT COMPETITION:

GRAND PRIZE:

Chance Meetings

Written by John Woodard (USA)

FIRST PRIZE:

Outed First

Written by Rick Bauer (USA)

BEST SHORT SCRIPT:

Up & Down

Written by Douglas Gordon (USA)

BEST HORROR SCRIPT:

GRAND PRIZE

Cull

Written by David Gilbank (UK)

FIRST PRIZE:

Lighthouse

Written by Michael Gallagher (USA)

Prizes awarded to the winners of the screenplay competition include: web placement services from Inktip.com, a free year of screenplay promotion services to the winners, through ScreenwriterShowcase.com; a 1-year Writers Database membership from Script Pimp; Full Script Delivery to over 3,000 industry professionals comprised of studio executives, producers, agents etc. through ScriptDelivery.net; Final Draft Screenwriting Suites from Final Draft software; books from Michael Wiese Books, and passes to the 2011 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival and the ScriptBiz™ Screenwriter’s Workshop.

The Grand Prize winner from the main competition will be flown to Providence to attend the 2011 ScriptBiz™ program, where actors will give scenes from their screenplay a live reading plus a script consultation. Lodging will also be provided.

The 2010 Semi-Finalists:

46 Burnham Street, Written by Sam Small (UK)

A Warrior's Spirit, Written by Tracy King-Sanchez (USA)

Actionable Secrets of the Past, Written by Daisy Weaver (USA)

Ameriqueño, Written by Angel Nunez (USA)

Automaton, Written by Nick Padley (UK)

Chance Meetings, Written by John Woodward (USA)

Circling, Written by Bradley Kaye (USA)

Cull, Written by David Gilbank (UK)

Dance of the Spike, Written by T. Steed (USA)

FLY AWAY, Written by Janet Grillo (USA)

Frankie & the World's Fair Pear, Written by Debbie Klaar (USA)

Freedom at Midnight, Written by Jeffrey Ryback (Thailand)

Grain, Written by ALEJANDRO SERI (USA)

Lechuza, Written by Nancy Cuellar (USA)

Lighthouse, Written by Michael Gallagher (USA)

Love on the Big Screen, Written by William Torgerson (USA)

Loyal Americans, Written by Margaret Dane (UK)

Memoria, Written by Michael Dyer (USA)

My Dirty Secrets, Written by James Tuverson (USA)

nuestras voces, Written by Danny Mendoza (USA)

Outed First, Written by Rick Bauer (USA)

PEARS AND SINGLES, Written by Catherine Hall (USA)

Seven Years of Winter, Written by Marcus Schwenzel (Germany)

Southern Justice, Written by Harris Freedman (UK)

THE CURSE, Written by VASILIOS BOUZAS (Australia)

The Darkness In Their Eyes, Written by David Williamson (Australia)

The Hartford Senators, Written by Rick Telesca (USA)

Up & Down, Written by Douglas Gordon (USA)

Validity, Written by Debra Haller (USA)

Wanderlust, Written by Blaire Baron-Larsen (USA)

White Lace and Promises, Written by John McCrite (USA)

ABOUT THE RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The mission of the Rhode Island International Film Festival is to discover and empower filmmakers. Held in Providence, and at locations throughout the state, RIIFF is one of only 63 film festivals worldwide that is a qualifying event for the Oscars. It is also New England’s largest film festival. Its innovative programming, cultivated industry ties, and loyal audiences have made the Festival a strategic and desirable platform for film premieres, drawing hundreds of independent filmmakers from around the globe. The next Festival will take place August 9-14, 2011.  For more information about the festival, please visit www.rifilmfest.org.

As part of the awards for the RIIFF Screenplay Competition, top winning contestants will receive from Ink Tip™ (Writers' Script Network):

1) An e-mail announcement about your winning screenplay to about 6,500 industry professionals.
2) Placement of at least your logline and synopsis on our password protected web site. You may also place the treatment and/or script.
3) Placement of a second script on the site.
4) Include a logline (pitch) for your winning screenplay in our printed publication, which is snail-mailed to about 5,000 Industry Professionals. http://www.inktip.com/