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VISIONFEST

Screenwriting Competition 2024 Edition

CALL FOR ENTRIES IS NOW CLOSED.  IT WILL REOPEN FROM FEB. 1, 2025 thru NOV. 1, 2025

TOP HONOREES AT VISIONFEST 24 SCREENWRITING AWARDS ANNOUNCED! – by D. Sullivan

DANGLING KARATS tops Feature category and MAKING WAVES secures Short Subject win.

The Domani Vision Film Society has released the names and script titles of their top three honorees in each of their submission categories (Feature & Short Subject) for the 2024 Visionfest Screenwriting Competition. In an overwhelmingly noticeable trend that Visionfest producer, Jana Frindtova, described as “an evident return to a more traditional style of storytelling,” this year’s top scripts all seemed to lean into very personal and intimate stories, even when presented on larger, more epic visual scales. This year’s honorees explored themes in a very wide gamut of genre tropes. These included a classic heist comedy riddled with contemporary technology gone awry moments, a modern fantasy with unexpected twists surrounding an isolated young man; an epic sci-fi tale set completely in a single location; a bachelorette party drama that manages to unveil an epic family tale in just 10 pages; a WWII tale exploring the triumph of the human spirit against impossible obstacles; and a subtle ghost story surrounding an unusual theatre performance.

In this year’s winning Feature script, everything that can go wrong during a heist involving gold smugglers does, thanks to one participant’s incompetence in using his cell phone in DANGLING KARATS by Lanie Bryer. The lightning-paced comedy clocks in at just 89 pages and packs an ensemble of eccentric misfits who should have no business in the business at hand. I personally found myself laughing in places where it was probably inadequate to do so, but the script is deliciously dark and yet steeped in traditional sight gags. The author will receive a $1000 cash award, along with an InkTip prize package and the Visionfest Commemorative Certificate.

The winner of the Short Subject category, which consists of a $350 cash award, a Commemorative Certificate, and a sponsored InkTip.Com award, was MAKING WAVES by Drew Larimore. Visionfest Founder and Honorary Executive Director, Bruno Derlin, described the 17-page script as “an unsettling and haunting tale told with a sense of intimacy that makes the reader feel like they’re in on something too private. ” Bruno added that, “perhaps because of its setting and the taut relationships explored, I was reminded of a classic ‘70s film I once saw called THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH SEA, which remains a favorite of mine, but this script's author starts peppering twists and turns that are both delightful and somber.”

In the runner-up, 2^nd place positions, honors went to Don Stroud’s CONSUMED in the Feature category, a tale that explores marital woes in a claustrophobic, apocalyptic setting, and the chilling and very personal, BLUE SKY AT THE ORESTEIA, by Katherine Taylor in the Short Subject one. Singled out as the 3^rd place honoree in the Feature category was Aaron Huggett’s WWII epic THE DEAD OWE NOTHING. Peter Hardy rounded out the winning titles as the 3^rd place honoree in the Short Subject category for his thought-provoking theatre ghost tale, SIGHT SPECIFIC.

Domani Vision Film Society also proudly congratulates all the finalists, listed in alphabetical order by title (minus article):

FEATURE

ALTA CALIFORNIA - Lynn H. Elliot

CONFEDERATE GHOSTS - Robert Sherwin, Christopher Williams

CONSUMED - Don Stroud

DANGLING KARATS - Lanie Bryer

THE DEAD OWE NOTHING - Aaron Huggett

DEMANDING AN ANSWER FROM GOD - Kevin J. Howard

DON’T EAT PAPER - Julius J. Galacki

THE EGG AND I - Nicole Stuart

RED SEA - Rosalyn Rosen

THE SALESMAN - Adam Seidel

SHORT

BLUE SKY OUT OF THE ORESTEIA - Katherine Taylor

FUHGEDDABOUD BOB - Maria Rusolo, J Rusolo Ward

MAGIC TRICK - Gerald Teaster

MAKING WAVES - Joseph Drew Larimore

SIGHT SPECIFIC - Peter Hardy

ABOUT US

VISIONFEST is an annual screenwriting competition evolving from what began in 2001 as VISIONFEST: THE OTHER FESTIVAL (commonly referred to as VF) and founded by the Domani Vision Film Society LLC, an organization dedicated to bringing you tomorrow’s visionaries... today

As of February 1, 2024, we're accepting Feature and Short Subject Scripts in any genre: 3-30 pages for short scripts; 80-130 pages for feature scripts.  Awards consist of cash and sponsored prizes (InkTip.com is a primary sponsor of the Screenwriting Competition) and special Domani Vision Film Society Commemorative Certificates.

To learn more about VISIONFEST or to check out some past highlights, scroll down to view some of our video and audio content, presented by HowTube.