2014 Slamdance Screenplay Competition Announces Awards;
Winning Teleplay Search For Life by Andrea Janakas takes Grand Prize
October 16, 2014 — Search For Life, written by Andrea Janakas, has won the 2014 Slamdance Screenplay Competition Grand Prize. Search For Life tells the story of a widowed man who, when he investigates why his wife’s internal organs are missing, discovers that both she and other human beings are alive and being replaced! Janakas was awarded a total of $7,000 in cash prizes for her Original Teleplay at an Awards Ceremony hosted by the Writers Guild of America, West last night on October 15th, 2014.
Over 2,500 submissions competed for prizes in the 2014 Slamdance Screenplay Competition. Slamdance recognizes four categories; each top place received additional cash prizes, or in the case of best Short/Webisode, the option to
be produced and premiere at the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival. The top Slamdance screenplays in each category are as follows:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Search For Life by Andrea Janakas $5,000 cash prize
FEATURE:
1st Place The 3 Faces of Hunger & Thirst by HF Crum
$2,000 cash prize plus entertainment legal service award from Pierce Law Group, LLP
Based on a true story, the 116 minutes leading up to the assassination of a visionary Mexican presidential candidate told from the POVs of three wouldbe assassins.
2nd Place Tween the Ropes by Elizabeth Oyebode
3rd Place Southern Knights by Scott Bloom & Myra Turley
HORROR:
1st Place The Hounds of House Rearden by Sean Patrick Geraghty
$2,000 cash prize
A park ranger is recruited by his father and former senator to hunt a murderous creature which turns out to be nothing like anyone expected.
2nd Place The Chapel by Ben Botwick 3rd Place Monstrous by Melody Cooper
SHORT/WEBISODE:
1st Place Over the Line (And Far Away) by David Shushan
Option to be produced and premiere at Slamdance 2016, plus entertainment legal service award from Pierce Law Group, LLP
Ready to end his life, a man climbs on a building ledge only to discover he has to take a number and wait in line.
2nd Place ERAe by Ande Cunningham
Joint 3rd Place Parable From Calcutta by Thom Newell Joint 3rd Place Scallywags by Donna Mae Foronda
ORIGINAL TELEPLAY:
1st Place Search For Life by Andrea Janakas $2,000 cash prize
2nd Place Thread by Dane Anderson
3rd Place Chronology by Julie Restivo & Oren Kaplan
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is sponsored by Pierce Law Group, LLP and its Awards Ceremony is hosted by the Writers Guild of America, West. WGAW Vice President Howard A. Rodman states, “The WGAW joins Slamdance in supporting emerging writers. Slamdance’s annual Screenplay Competition has always found writers of talent and promise, and has helped expose their truly deserving work to the larger community.”
“This year’s screenplays stood out from the thousands of submissions and impressed us with their originality and strong storylines,” states Festival Director Anna Germanidi. “We are very excited to welcome these talented writers into the Slamdance family and follow their work to the big screen.”
The Competition has established a reputation for finding productionworthy screenplays written by emerging talent. Early examples include Joshua Marston’s Maria Full of Grace and The Woodsman written by Nicole Kassel and Stephen Fetcher. Every year finalists’ work is acquired for production, such as the Cairns brothers’ 100 Bloody Acres, Chad Crawford Kinkle’s Jug Face and Clayton Sakoda’s Swine. New York animator and Slamdance alumnus Wally Chung is currently in production with the 2013 Short Screenplay Winner, Think Ink by Emily Hu, which is set to premiere as a Special Screening at the 2015 Festival. The 21st Slamdance Film Festival will take place in at the Treasure Mountain Inn, from January 2329, 2015.
About Slamdance
Slamdance is a yearround organization and film festival that serves as a showcase for the discovery and development of emerging independent talent and innovative filmmaking. Slamdance is the only festival programmed entirely by filmmakers and is a fertile ground for new filmmakers to begin their careers. The film festival began as an alternative to the in Park City, Utah and they continue to run concurrently.
Notable Slamdance alumni who first gained notice at the festival include: Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Marc Forster (World War Z), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and Lynn Shelton (Humpday).
Slamdance’s On The Road events and Slamdance Studios’ developing commercial distribution platform continue to increase opportunities for filmmakers both internationally and domestically. Slamdance Studios released earlier in the year Nicole Teeny’s Bible Quiz theatrically and in partnership with Virgil Films on Netflix, other VOD platforms and DVD. In partnership with Vimeo On Demand, Slamdance Studios is developing Slamdance 20, a collection of twenty festival awardwinning and audience favorite films; titles include Matt Johnson’s The Dirties, Andrew Edison’s Bindlestiffs, and Daniel Martinico’s OK, Good. The 2014 On The Road tour was presented by CreativeFuture.
The 2015 Slamdance Film Festival submissions close on October 16th. Categories include Narrative Features & Shorts, Documentary Features & Shorts, Beyond Features, Animation & Experimental Shorts. Although the features competition is reserved for first time filmmakers only, the Beyond Features section is for filmmakers working beyond their first films. The festival program is selected entirely from blind submissions.
2015 Slamdance Film Festival Sponsors include The Fusion Doc Challenge, and ‘s BlueStar Juice Bar and Cafe. 2014 Slamdance Film Festival Sponsors included Blackmagic Design, Gawk, MixBit and Vimeo. Slamdance is proud to partner with sponsors who support emerging artists and push the boundaries of independent filmmaking.
