RIIFF ANNOUNCES 2021 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

.... 583 submissions received from throughout the United States and across the globe, 16 Winners and 65 Finalists Selected...

• Download the 2021 News Release

Rammy Park, winner of the RIIFF Grand Prize for Best Screenplay on stage at

The Vets for the 2019 Opening Night Gala where she received her award trophy

Photo by Mike Braca

(PROVIDENCE, RI – October 30, 2021) • Khara L. Campbell of the United States won the Best Screenplay Grand Prize Winner for this year's Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival
RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. Campbell’s winning screenplay is entitled “Seahorse.”

George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director/CEO, made the announcement of the 2021 awards that featured 583 entries in competition. From these, 65 scripts were selected as finalists and 16 scripts were selected Winners by an international team of adjudicators.

This year's winners included Patrick Clement, who received this year's Grand Prize in the RI Spotlight on New England category for his script "New Hampshire Boy," Lorenzo Guarnieri from Italy, whose screenplay "The Greek Passage" was awarded the Grand Prize for Best International Screenplay, and Zachary Tyler Vickers, whose screenplay "Broken" received this year's Grand Prize in the category of Best Television Pilot.

Khara L. Campbell's winning script, “Seahorse" tells the story of Caroline and Chris Shaughnessy, a couple who appear to have earned all they could ever wish for - including each other - but in private, their hopes of becoming devoted parents have been devastated by a series of miscarriages. Their fortune soon starts to change for the better, but at what cost? Caroline no sooner finds out she is pregnant when she is diagnosed with the unfathomable.

"Khara L. Campbell's moving script reminds us all of just how fragile and precious these moments we share with one another really are. "Seahorse" is an incredible tale of courage and perseverance that will leave a profound impact on its audience, said Shawn Quirk, RIIFF Program Director.

"It was a great year for storytelling which was reflected in our screenplay competition. This year's entries were inventive and represented a dynamic collection of voices from across the globe. They were scored on criteria that included character, dialogue, setting, plot, structure and technique," added Quirk.

"After extensive and careful deliberation, prize winners were chosen in eight distinct categories: Best Screenplay, Best International, Screenwriting Discovery, Vortex Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, Best LGBTQ, Spotlight on New England, Best Short Screenplay, Best Animation Screenplay, and Best Television Pilot," Quirk noted.

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THE 2021 PRIZE WINNERS:

BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
"Sea Horse" by Khara L. Campbell, Sudbury, MA

FIRST PLACE:
"Incarnations" by Albert M. Chan, New York City, NY

INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
"The Greek Passage" by Lorenzo Guarnieri, Italy

FIRST PRIZE:
"Chrysalis" by Alicia Albares, Spain

VORTEX HORROR/SCI-FI SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
"Graven" by Michael Clifton, Charlotte, NC

FIRST PRIZE:
"Hiraeth" by Stephen Laughton, United Kingdom

JAMES L. SEAVOR LGBTQ SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
"Sink or Swim" by Jeff Bretl, New York City, NY

FIRST PRIZE:
"Industry" by Jayce Baron, Woodland Hills, CA

RI SPOTLIGHT ON NEW ENGLAND
GRAND PRIZE:
"New Hampshire Boy" by Patrick Clement, Pratt, KS

FIRST PRIZE:
"Copal" by Kiki Tsakalakis, New Canaan, CT

BEST TELEVISION PILOT SCRIPT
GRAND PRIZE:
"Broken" by Zachary Tyler Vickers, United States

FIRST PRIZE:
"Grace in the Clutch" by Addie Talbott, Los Angeles, CA

BEST SHORT SCRIPT
GRAND PRIZE:
"Hawk Bells" by Kristian Mercado, New York City, NY

FIRST PRIZE:
"Musgrave" by Sean Patrick Higgins, New York City, NY

SCREENWRITING DISCOVERY AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
"The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair" by Ryan Mekenian, Montebello, CA

FIRST PRIZE:
"Kate's Ballad" by Rory O'Connor, New York City, NY

Prizes awarded to the winners of the screenplay competition (which vary with the specific screenplay category) include: 1 Script Listing from InkTip; Final Draft software featuring Final Draft Screenwriting Suites; and Passes to the 2022 Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival and the ScriptBiz™ Screenwriter's Workshop.

The Best Screenplay Grand Prize winner will be brought to Providence to attend the 2022 ScriptBiz program, where their screenplay will be a central focus of the program, plus receive a private script consultation and an official award on RIIFF's Opening Night Celebration on the stage of the 1,900-seat Vets located at One Avenue of the Arts, Providence. Lodging and transportation will also be provided.

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The 2021 Finalists Announced:

1Milkweed Manor | Writer: Alexia Kosmider, Marianne Messina, United States

A Free Evening | Writer: Karolina Przeklasa, Poland

A Kinder Sea | Writer: Addie Johnson Talbott, Alessandra Mesa, Daniel Talbott, United States

A Long Way Home | Writer: Steven Bogart, United States

A Rabia | Writer: Alberto Díaz Lópe, Ángela Andrada Gómez, Spain

A Thousand Miles | Writer: Nahla Zenati, United States

Adult Adolescent | Writer: Persia White, United States

Anomaly | Writer: Ricardo Moreno Jr, United States

Bombay | Writer: Luwa Falegan, United States

Broken | Writer: Zachary Tyler Vickers, United States

Can I Jog Your Memory. | Writer: John Pope, United States

Chrysalis | Writer: Alicia Albares, Spain

Cloud Forms | Writer: Anne Hollowday, United States

COPAL | Writer: Kiki Tsakalakis, United States

Currently Katie | Writer: Hannah Petosa, United States

Death is Only a Stranger Once | Writer: Larry Collins, United States

Death, Ghosts, & Other Stuff | Writer: Shannon Walsh, United States

Fever | Writer: Mikayla Baiocchi, United States

Grace in the Clutch | Writer: Addie Talbott, United States

Graven | Writer: Michael Clifton, United States

Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer | Writer, Mari SanGiovanni, United States

Happy Hour | Writer: Cynthia Mersten, United States

Hawk Bells | Writer: Kristian Mercado, United States

High Def Nine | Writer: John Kestner, United States

Hiraeth | Writer: Stephen Laughton, United States

HOW CAN YOU SLEEP? | Writer: Malaika Langa, United States

I am awake | Writer: Mihail Koptel, Svetlana Biryukova, Russian Federation

Incarnations | Writer: Albert M. Chan, United States

Industry | Writer: Jayce Baron, United States

Kate's Ballad | Writer: Rory O'Connor, United States

Les Museums Pilot | Writer: Manning Jordan, United States

Musgrave | Writer: Sean Patrick Higgins, United States

Natalia Rising | Writer: Donna Wheeler, United States

New Hampshire Boy | Writer: Patrick Clement, United States

One Way Out | Writer: Alyxandrya Prynce, United States

Our Child | Writer: Samuel Flückiger, Philippe Grob, Switzerland

Out Breaking | Writer: Priya Vashist, United States

Over and Out | Writer: Callie LeClaire, United States

Reparations | Writer: Marilynn Loveless, United States

Rhapsody | Writer: CJ Taglione, United States

Rich in Cleveland | Writer: Geoffrey James, United States

Salamoon | Writer: Ashkan Chavoshi, Iran

Seahorse | Writer: Khara L Campbell, United States

Second Crossing | Writer: James Howells, Canada

Seen | Writer: Isabel del Rosal, United States

SERENADE OF THE VULTURE | Writer: Joseph Dionisio, United States

SHE CREATURE | Writer: Maria Krovatin, Chris Krovatin, United States

Sink or Swim | Writer: Jeff Bretl, United States

Six Weeks of Summer | Writer: Serena Gardner, United Kingdom

Snow Strangeways | Writer: Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, United States

Southern Gothic | Writer: John Budge, Adam Davenport, United States

Spider's Web - Episode 1: Invitation | Writer: Leon Bell, United Kingdom

Stories I Told My Father | Writer: William Jody Ebert, United States

Stronger When She's Broken | Writer: SherLann D. Moore, United States

Sugar Babies | Writer: Molly Clark, United States

Super Turbo Overdrive | Writer: Peter Hsieh, United States

TAL JONES: "A BLACK OIL LEGACY" | Writer: Pamela J. Richardson, United States

The Arrangement | Writer, Kátia Kieling, United States

The Dark Days of Cassidy Krystian | Writer, Emily Troedson, United States

The Filmmaking Territory | Writer, Philip C. Sedgwick, United States

The Greek Passage | Writer, Lorenzo Guarnieri. Italy

The Listeners | Writer, Will Berry, United States

The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair | Writer, Ryan Mekenian, United States

Turning Pointe | Writer, Bridget Bell McMahon. United States

Winter Bird | Writer, Stephen Delos Treacy, United States

ABOUT THE FLICKERS: RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), has secured its place in the global community as the portal for the best in international independent cinema, earning the respect of domestic and foreign filmmakers, filmgoers and trend watchers. This confluence of art and commerce brought together world-class celebrities, award-winning filmmakers, new talent and audience members in record numbers last year. Ranked as one of the top 10 Festivals in the United States, RIIFF is a qualifying festival for the Live Action, Animation and Documentary Short Film Academy Awards through its affiliation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the Canadian Screen Awards. There are only 10 film festivals worldwide that share this distinction and RIIFF is the only festival in New England. The Festival takes place every August.

The next Festival will take place August 8-14, 2022. 

2021 Sponsors:

• InkTip Script Listing: A listing of your script on InkTip so that producers and reps can find you.

• InkTip Magazine: Publication of your logline in InkTip's magazine sent to nearly 15000 producers and reps.

• InkTip helps writers sell their scripts and get representation. Producers have made more than 200 films from scripts and writers they found through InkTip.