2022 Screenplay Award Finalists

Shia LaBeouf's natural talent and raw energy have secured his place as one of Hollywood's leading men. Most recently, LaBeouf starred alongside Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Kornel Mundruczo's Oscar® nominated Pieces of a Woman. In the critically acclaimed film, a grieving couple (Kirby/LaBeouf

Charlene should have known she was destined to write horrors & thrillers. In Grade 2, she wrote about a disappearance/murder that got a big red WOW!; her mother was called in for a subsequent ‘meeting’. Now, teaching teenagers for the last 20+ years, she is engaged in horror of a much different kind

Jared studied Creative Writing at the University of Florida with the intention of entering medical school. He instead went on to Chapman University, where he received his MFA in Screenwriting, studying under Ron Friedman, who hired Jared to assist in the writing of his memoir: I KILLED OPTIMUS PRIME

Co-written with Robert Goldberg & James Goldberg and based on the book by Bill Foege, House on Fire is the true story of a young doctor battling to save millions from a terrifying virus. An Emmy® award winner, Donald Mitchell directed and co-wrote the feature documentary film, HILLEMAN – A Perilous

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Graduated from Drexel University in 2018 with a B.S. in Screenwriting and Playwriting. I've loved films ever since I could remember. The first films I remember seeing were X-Men and Gladiator. Growing up, going to the movie theaters was the thing my family did

Max's screenplays have, so far, received 24 awards and accolades at film festivals and competitions. Those scripts include comedies, dramas, and animation. His prose and poetry have appeared in a number of print journals and ezines. Max got to live in several European countries before returning to

Born Nov. 23 1985 in Vladikavkaz, Russia to Inna Tedeeva, who was just a freshman at the time in a Moscow University and Boris Basiev, an aspiring actor at the VGIK drama school. He has Ossetian and Alani ancestry. George spent much of his youth in Brooklyn and graduated from Grover Cleveland H.S.

I'm retired military, where I served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for 30 years. I have a passion for screenwriting and storytelling. I like to write stories about real-life situations with a twist of suspense and horror.

I grew up in crime-ridden Venezuela, where I survived a kidnapping at just 19 years old. After this traumatic event, I became obsessed with figuring out why it happened, which at the time ignited a fire that led me to become an attorney and seek justice. While pursuing a law degree, I kept active in

Allen is a Maine filmmaker who has been making shorts and features in his home state for over twenty years. He is the co-founder of Damnationland, a showcase of short dark genre films made by Maine filmmakers, now in its twelfth year. He produced Derek Kimball’s feature film debut Neptune which

Born in the Middle East, Oliver Silver is a British writer and storyteller who grew up between the U.K and the United Arab Emirates. After finding his passion for writing four years ago, Oliver has written six screenplays, a debut novel, and a pilot for a television series inspired by his own

Michael Ronca is a writer, actor and director who recently graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Michael has had staged readings for a number of his plays at Playwrights Horizons Downtown, was selected as a Nine Muses Lab fellow and has directed/written/acted in a number of independent

Alex Sobol is an award-winning screenwriter who grew up in Los Angeles. After a fruitful career in Advertising as Creative Director and TV Commercial Director/Producer, Alex decided to shape his future by writing twisted, dark, funny, unexpected stories, packed with characters so full of life that

Sophia Louisa Lee is a Latina writer working in Los Angeles, California. She is currently in preproduction for a contemporary "film noir" pilot she wrote, which she will also be directing. Sophia is the host of a video podcast on YouTube -- www.youtube.com/c/sophialouisassozoomin, and she does

I’m serious about writing funny things that say something important without being self-important. https://www.awriteousdude.com/

Jeremy Span is an award winning writer, editor and budding filmmaker who has developed a distinct and original voice in the worlds he creates, drawing from a huge pool of influences. He began studying film at 16 and graduated from the International FIlm School Sydney at 21 where he made several

Dru Bhattacharya is an author, poet, screenwriter, and aspiring novelist. His pilot feature, The Grey Eminence, has received numerous accolades, including placement in the L.A. International Screenplay Awards; The Film Empire Diversity Mentorship; Table Read My Screenplay Genre Screenplay

As a kid, Ella used to watch scary and bloody true crime shows with her mom. During the shows, they’d take turns screaming their theories about who the murderer could be and how they’d done it. She has always loved to be a puzzle solver. At 17, she moved from her home country of Brazil to the United

Jessica Rowlands is a screenwriter and director from London. Jess obtained two Law degrees from top Law Schools on both sides of the Atlantic before completing the prestigious Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA where she became the only person in history to win the UCLA Screenwriting

Dr. Samlaska is a former military physician with fascinating experiences in medicine and military attachments. He has published extensively in the medical literature, and has applied his knowledge and experiences to create vivid fiction in the form of thrilling books and screenplays. He enjoys

Drawn to the arts at a young age, Andrew quickly embraced his love of writing and film. The goal for all of his screenplays is to produce scripts with unique opportunities to showcase character development, extensive world building, and a balance between practical and digital effects. Above all, he

Cowriters, Robin Woldorf & Rik Center, are cousins who were inspired to write a screenplay from Rik’s unpublished fiction story “Arrow Of Honor.” Robin lives in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University in Radio-TV-Film. From her love for music and visual arts, she formed a music video

A South American writer and author from the suburbs of Washington D.C.. His writing credits include the TNT show Leverage and various festival films, including a collaboration with an Academy Award Winner. A graduate of Second City and former stand up comedian, he has also authored multiple books

The following is a true story. Long before I knew how to read and write, I already knew I wanted to create horror stories. I was a kid from Mexico City who was afraid of the dark but loved scary monster movies. So, horror films became part of my life. Probably I was the only 6-year-old who knew The

Bryan Lewandowski is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Although he's moved all around the country, he grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas where he started making movies with his family's video camera and never stopped. Throughout his school years, both in Pittsburg and Los Angeles, he

Jamie is a writer living in LA. She is a New Jersey native and proud Rutgers alum. Jamie is interested in exploring the complexity of human nature, and using that to create unusual characters. She currently works in the industry as a tv/video editor.

Matthew Breault and Alex George Pickering are an LA-based screenwriting team repped by Citizen Skull Management. Originally from Colorado Springs and Boston, MA respectively, Matt graduated from Stanford and Alex from Georgetown before meeting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where they earned

Andrew Nadeau is a Chicago comedian known for his one-liners and dry sense of humor. A writer for both The Dad and Netflix Family Social Media, he was named Funniest Person on Twitter by the Chicago Tribune and was runner up in the 2021 March Comedy Madness competition. His work has been featured in

The Careres are an award-winning, husband/wife writing team. Carlo was born in Naples, Italy and served as a Captain of the Carabinieri (the Italian equivalent of the FBI) for twelve years before switching to screenwriting full-time. An award-winning, published novelist in Italy and series regular

When the death of a family member ended my childhood way too early, I was convinced chasing dreams was for others. But while I was working on sets, rewriting my world in screenplays became the thing that saved my life. Today I live by “Bring light upon the face of the deep“, exploring themes of

Armed with a PhD in English Literature from the University of Rochester, I specialize in female-driven historical dramas that blend my literary expertise and research skills with an ability to tell compelling stories about women who push the boundaries of knowledge, gender, sexuality, politics, and

Bruna is a Portuguese Writer/Director based in London, UK. She has a Master's Degree in Film Directing from MET Film School London and has directed a number of successful and award winning short films. As a screenwriter she has been a winner and finalist in a number of competitions, including the

Jordan Miles explores how a character might define “home”. For Jordan, home is within her semi-dysfunctional family. Inspired by them, she writes coming-of-age stories about black female protagonists and their family dynamics, especially between mother and daughter. She currently attends NYU Tisch

Born in Birmingham, AL but raised in the DC area, today Chicago is the great city I call home. From the moment I received my first red circled "A" in grade school for a short story about a day at the beach, I knew I was a writer! However, I grew up in a family where writing was not seen as a viable

Adele Smaill writes thrillers and horror - mainly features. She started writing screenplays a year into the pandemic and has not yet come down from the high of reaching the 2022 Academy Nicholl Fellowship quarter-finals. Local to usually sunny Adelaide, Australia, she's also lived and worked in the

Chris lives by the sea in Narragansett, Rhode Island USA. He has written nine features, three television pilots, and a number of short screenplays. He enjoys developing the worlds in his dramas. His experience as a psychologist has been a great source for interesting characters, each with their

Raised in LA, Madison spent her time acting, writing, and pretending to be a dinosaur. She now works as an erotic romance writer, a fun way to stun people into silence at parties. In her scripts she showcases diversity in all its forms, fueled by the experiences of both herself and others. She

Sean Slater is an actor-writer-producer born in the UK and raised in California. His work includes the features “Empire Gypsy”, “Target: St. Louis” and “Target: Philadelphia” (available on Amazon and Tubi) as well as the forthcoming competitive eating documentary “ScarfFace”. He holds an MA in

Oconomowoc, Wi-based writer with an affinity for writing darkly comedic Neo noir contemporary westerns.

A business journalist with a creative writing minor, Zachary Phillips graduated from the University of Maryland in the Spring of 2019. In addition to several years as a professional writer and editor, he worked on the inaugural "Maryland Night Live" show at College Park, serving as the now-annual

British-Australian Kirsty Zane writes genre-blending dark comedy screenplays – from sci-fi to romantic comedy and crime. Accolades include Grand Prize (Short) at Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) Screenwriting Competition (2021) judged by readers from Gersh & CAA; Finalist 2022 Atlanta Film

Paul is a semi-retired attorney and mediator in Denver. He began writing screenplays in 2017 as a hobby and has won several competitions. His practice consists primarily of legal malpractice cases on behalf of plaintiffs.

The following is a true story. Long before I knew how to read and write, I already knew I wanted to create horror stories. I was a kid from Mexico City who was afraid of the dark but loved scary monster movies. So, horror films became part of my life. Probably I was the only 6-year-old who knew The

Bernhard is a writer, marketeer and carpenter with several years of experience as a screenplay editor, holding a BA in Screenwriting from Staffordshire University and an M.Litt. in Film Studies from the University of St. Andrews. Most recently, his award-winning short drama Tree o' mine was optioned

Mike Cymanski is a writer from Northern California, who grew up devouring classic Hollywood films. Mike had a successful career as a professional stage actor and later as an acting professor at San Jose State University. He’s a graduate of UCLA’s professional screenwriting program and writes Action

Sean Slater is an actor-writer-producer born in the UK and raised in California. His work includes the features “Empire Gypsy”, “Target: St. Louis” and “Target: Philadelphia” (available on Amazon and Tubi) as well as the forthcoming competitive eating documentary “ScarfFace”. He holds an MA in

After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, David Gluck moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career telling stories. For over twenty years, the last fifteen as a member of the Writers’ Guild of America, he has written and developed screenplays for a number of notable studios and filmmakers. He

Johnny is an Irish born Silicon Valley coder turned TV dirty cop turned grounded sci-fi screenwriter. He's an optioned screenwriter in 2022 that has 6 scripts in Coverfly's Top 1%, is a Final Draft Big Break Top 5 (2 x Finalist), a CineStory Runner-Up (2 x Top 3), 8/10 on Blcklst.com, a Page Awards

Brian Michaels, Actor, Composer, started his creative path in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Now residing in Los Angeles, Brian's current passion is screenwriting where his works have been nominated for a number of screenwriting awards.

Erial Tompkins is an LA-based genre writer with roots in television marketing as an award-winning copywriter and trailer editor. Her love of storytelling is rooted in strong, diverse characters, American history, spectacle, and hope. Before moving to Los Angeles, Erial studied at Emerson College in