Slamdance today announced the winners of its 2019 screenwriting competition, awarding its Grand Prize to writers Tamra Teig and Michael Lipoma for their feature screenplay "The Fall." Additional prizes were awarded during a ceremony hosted by Writers Guild of America West across feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot and short film categories. Slamdance awarded more than $16,000 to winners across all categories.
"The Fall" is a historical drama taking place in East Berlin in 1989. A single mother is forced to become a spy to save her son when he's framed for murder. Her act of revenge, woven into historic events, leads to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"With over 4200 submissions this year, our judges were challenged by a wealth of exciting new writers to choose from. Many plugged into the passion and concern around socially conscious themes our world is currently dealing with in raw, fun and unique ways, " says Slamdance President Peter Baxter. "We are proud to award the incredibly talented writing team of Tamra Teig and Michael Lipoma with Slamdance's 2019 Screenplay Competition Grand Prize for their feature script "The Fall", a story about a single mother who brings down the biggest wall."
"The recognition of industry professionals validates our abilities as storytellers in a way that praise from a friend or relative never can." say writers Tamra Teig and Michael Lipoma.
Slamdance recognizes four categories in its Writing Competition and congratulates the top three screenplays in each category. The top three 2019 Slamdance screenplays in each prize category are as follows:
Feature: 1st place: The Fall by Tamra Teig and Michael Lipoma 2nd place: Margo & Perry by Becca Roth 3rd place: Cherries by Matthew Sadowski and Amelia Wasserman
Horror/Thriller: 1st place: Cherry by Jordan Prosser 2nd place: Into the Trees by Matt O'Connor 3rd place: They Live on Skid Row by R. J. Daniel Hanna
TV Pilot: 1st place: Bitterroot by Kayne Gorney & Maria Hinterkoerner 2nd place: American Infamy by Evan Iwata 3rd place: Devil's Garden by Steve Wang
Short: 1st place: Dig Deeper by Girault Seger 2nd place: Dunked by John Bickerstaff 3rd place: Hawk Bells by Kristian Mercado Figueroa
Over the past 24 years, the success of the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and its winning writers continues to attract the attention of industry professionals searching for the best new independent writing talent. Slamdance Screenplay Competition winners that have gone to production include Maria Full of Grace from writer Joshua Marston and The Woodsman co-written by Nicole Kassel and Steven Fechter. 2018 Grand Prize winner Jessica Sinyard has since signed with The Agency in the UK and Grandview in the US. Her Slamdance-winning TV pilot The Peak is now under option, and she has two new original television series in development with World Productions (Bodyguard , Line of Duty ) and Wild Mercury Productions (Humans , Troy: Fall of a City ) as well as a horror feature under option with Fable Productions (Stan and Ollie , Wild Rose ).
"The Slamdance Screenplay Competition honors the best work in truly independent screenwriting," says former WGAW President Howard Rodman. "The Guild is honored to host these awards, and proud to reiterate what we all should know: that the very best writing is at once more gorgeous and more insurrectionary than what is typically sold to us."
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering emerging writing talent. Since 1995, the organization has established a strong track record for identifying and supporting new screenwriters, and welcomes screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world.
In addition to cash prizes, the top three screenwriters in each category receive prize packages that include Festival Passes good for all screenings and parties at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah (January 24-30, 2020). The top three screenwriters in the Feature and Horror/Thriller categories are eligible for membership in the Writers Guild of America West's Independent Writers Caucus, and winners in both of these categories receive $2,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group, LLP. All winners also receive a collection of Slamdance merchandise and will be included in the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival program which is distributed to industry professionals in Park City and year round.
For more information on Slamdance, visit:
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About Slamdance By filmmakers, for filmmakers. Established in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work, Slamdance has proven, year after year, that when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, independent and grassroots communities can do it themselves. In addition to the Festival, Slamdance serves emerging artists and a growing community with several year-round initiatives. These include the Slamdance Screenplay Competition, its educational program Slamdance Polytechnic, DIG showcase of Digital Interactive and Gaming art, distribution efforts through Slamdance Presents, worldwide screening series Slamdance on the Road, and LA screening series Slamdance Cinema Club. Notable Slamdance alumni include: The Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame ), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk ), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity ), Lena Dunham (Girls ), Ari Aster (Midsommar), Josh and Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems ), Marina Zenovich (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind), Brian Knappenberger (Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press ) Lynn Shelton (Sword of Trust ), Gina Prince-Bythewood (Shots Fired), Seth Gordon (The King of Kong), Dana Nachman (Pick of the Litter) , Sean Baker (The Florida Project ), Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) . Box Office Mojo reports alumni who first showed their work at Slamdance have earned over $17 billion at the box office to date.
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