BBFF Screenplay Contest press release

The finalists of the Byron Bay International Film Festival Screenplay Contest have been selected with the winners to be announced during the festival on Wednesday, October 17.Thirteen finalists were selected from a large field of entries from all around the world.“The diversity of the entries was quite evident this year,” said Contest Director, Pim Hendrix. “Last year the field was dominated by Australian scripts, but this year the field was far more international and diverse. The range of entries was really quite extraordinary.”The contest is open to feature length scripts and this year a large portion of screenplays were from the U.S. and Europe.“There was even an entry from Japan, surprisingly enough,” said Hendrix.The contest is one of the only film writing competitions in Australia to offer a cash prize.Hendrix said apart from the cash prize, being a winner in the contest would help screenwriters in a number of ways.“It certainly helps in attracting an agent/manager, and also helps pique the interest of producers looking for new and unique voices.”“In a business which is saturated with writing talent, it’s always good if you have something which helps make your project stand out from the others, and winning a screenplay contest goes a long way to doing that,” he said. The winner of the best screenplay will receive a cash prize of $1500 U.S., while the top three place getters will each receive the latest screenwriting software package from Final Draft valued at over $250 U.S.The winners will be announced on the evening of October 17 at the Byron Bay Community Centre in Johnson Street in Byron Bay. Local Byron Shire screenwriter and filmmaker, Clare Sladden, won the inaugural contest last year for her screenplay Broken Head.The finalists (in no particular order) are:Champs-Elysees - Serge AdamConquist - Dirk Strasser  Mary - Amanda DettrickMicrowave Me - Indianna BellBecoming Terpsichore - Susan PolkAfrodeutsche - Gabrielle GozoAll Night Joe’s - M.A. WilliamsFamily Secrets - Neda DavarpanahSardis the Merciful - Christian ThomasShilo - Robyn RavennaSomething Round - Nikhail AsnaniLast of the Burly Girls - John Pisano-ThomsenBlood Tartan - Anna Ray-Jones