Emersonians Score in Script-Writing Contests

Emerson students and alumni made the final and semifinal rounds of a number of screenwriting competitions this summer and fall, including contests sponsored by the Austin Film Festival, the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, and the Blue Cat Screenplay Competition. 

Rebecca Mesple G’18 was a finalist in the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival with her short film script, Upside Down, and Dina Klein ’19 was named a finalist in the Screencraft Short Screenplay Contest for Plasticity. Klein’s script also placed last year as a finalist in the New York Short Film and Screenplay Contest, and as a second-rounder (quarterfinalist) in last year’s Austin Film Festival short script competition.

Mike Carrier ’08 had four scripts place in the Creative World Awards in the half-hour TV comedy pilot category. Carcas Star and Dead Body Access were finalists, Hockey Moms placed as a semifinalist, and Picking Up Strangers was a quarterfinalist. Carcas Star also scored as a second-rounder in this year’s half-hour TV pilot contest at the Austin Film Festival.

Rob Eckard G ’18 was a semifinalist in the Warner Brothers Writers Workshop competition with his spec script for the Hulu comedy, Difficult People.

In the Blue Cat Screenplay Competition, Warren Smith G’18 placed as a semifinalist with his short film script, Grey, and Tom Robothom G’18 was a semifinalist for his one-hour TV drama pilot, Crush. There were 1,075 submissions in the Blue Cat shorts category, and 1,380 in the pilot contest.

Robothom’s Crush also placed as a second-rounder in the Austin Film Festival’s one-hour pilot competition.

A total of 13 Emersonians – seven alumni and six students – scored at Austin.

In addition to Robothom and Carrier, Justin Shatraw G’18 was a semifinalist for his short film script, One-Way Trip, and Carolyn Johnson ’10 was named a semifinalist for her TV drama spec script for Black Mirror. Johnson also placed as a second-rounder in two other competitions at Austin, with a one-hour TV pilot, McCulloch, and a horror screenplay, Pure Verites.

Sam Sawyer ’13 was an Austin second-rounder for both his half-hour TV spec for Bob’s Burgers and his half-hour TV pilot, Huge Rude Sons. Both scripts also placed at the Acclaim Film & TV Script Contests earlier this year, with the spec script ranked a finalist and the pilot an honorable mention.

Rachel Crow ’16 placed in the second round at Austin for her half-hour TV pilot, Ghost Likely to Succeed, as did Amanda Eberhardt ’16 for her one-hour TV pilot, Year Without Summer. Three more Emersonians placed as second-rounders at Austin for their hour-long TV pilots: Margarita Martinez G’18 for Cymbeline, Angela Jorgenson ’08 for Hoax, and Maya Reddy ’17 for Upward Mobility.

In the shorts competition, Natalie DiCianna ’19 placed in the second round with How to Impress a Girl, as did Lindsey Dier G’18 for The Boulder Returns and Kylie Rolincik G’18 with Mother Mary.

Dier received recognition earlier this year when her script placed as a finalist in the Ivy Film Festival’s graduate student short film script category. Rolincik scored as an Acclaim finalist for her half-hour comedy pilot, Flying Tomato.

Also placing in the Acclaim contests were Matt Kenny ’13, who won for his Archer comedy spec; Brad Beideman ’16, a finalist for his Rick and Morty comedy spec; and David Stehman ’17, a finalist in the screenplay category for his dark comedy, Drive-Thru. Kenny also placed as a quarterfinalist in NBC’s Writers on the Verge program.

At the Ivy Film Festival, Sam Lichtman G’18 was a finalist in the TV pilot category for his one-hour drama, East Los, and Micah Stahl G’18 was a finalist in the graduate student short film script contest for The Waiting Room.