Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards is running a diversity initiative to bring greater awareness to marginalized groups who have historically been underrepresented in the film industry.
Winners will be endorsed by our Oscar & Emmy winning judges and earn an introduction to literary representatives at a bonafide literary management company.
Placement
Genre
Format
Representation Status
Winners
Winner
Feature
· Drama
· 101 Pages
After his brother is accused of murder, an eleven-year-old searches for truth while becoming the interpreter between his Spanish-speaking family and the American criminal justice system.
Los Angeles, CA
#calvarealism
Winner
TV Script
· Drama
· 59 Pages
When an entire community disappears overnight, it’s more than a missing persons case. It becomes a global justice effort of investigators from four countries banding together to take down a dangerous cult.
Los Angeles, CA
Wayward daughter of the valley. Writer for film/TV ad campaigns. Lover of comedy, sushi, and little dogs. ISA Development Slate for 2025, named one of their 25 Writers To Watch in 2025.
Finalists
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 95 Pages
A black singer struggles to make it and fights upstream against discrimination and white gatekeepers dominating the record industry in the 1950s and 60s.
Los Angeles, CA
Jacques Gravett is an American filmmaker. He is a writer, producer, director, and editor. He currently is an editor on the TV series Power Book IV: Force for The Starz network.
@iamjacquesgravett
Akata
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 57 Pages
An African-American girl from immigrant Nigerian parents grows up in the Bronx to find that there are two types of black people: the good kind and the American kind.
Stephanie Obadare
No bio available.
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The Last Bridger
Private
Finalist
TV Script
· Other
· 70 Pages
With his first child due in five days, Ben Creighton is a life-long loser and failed copywriter who is so obsessed with BACK TO THE FUTURE he is teetering between reality and psychosis in a mental hospital. That’s where he’s challenged by the “Spirits” of the film’s writer and director in a race against time to save his marriage and the world before...
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Zoe has a lot of voices in her head and they're all competing for air time.
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 111 Pages
In 1995, an Iranian family's life is uprooted when the government tightens its repression during an economic recession. Forced to flee, they embark on an impossible journey to Holland, in search of a better life.
Los Angeles, CA
Omid was born in Iran, and by the time he was 15 years old, he had lived on three different continents of the world. An immigrant out of necessity. He has been in the industry for over 18 years now and enjoys writing heavy dramas and raunchy comedies. He's a cinephile who loves a good tearjerker and is a student of the game.
Finalist
Feature
· Horror
· 112 Pages
While investigating a string of missing men, Detective Sylvia Bloom discovers they were ritualistically murdered by a supernatural blow-up Doll for sex crimes that her police department failed to investigate. Now, to stop Doll from hunting her down too, Sylvia must confront her own past of complicity.
Los Angeles, CA
Actor, Writer, and Video Essayist. Born with crooked teeth and overcompensating ever since. Featured in "Forbes Under 30," "Film School Rejects," and "Polygon's Best Video Essays of All Time." Previously written for Cracked, College Humor, Channel Frederator, Jash, DreamworksTV, and PeacockTV's "Matty Paz is a N00b."
Finalist
TV Script
· Comedy
· 25 Pages
On Coronado Island, the Watsons, a wealthy African American family, live a life of luxury. But when their patriarch becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, they must navigate the darker side of paradise to clear his name, all while juggling their own personal secrets and scandals in this comedic whodunit.
Los Angeles, California
Meet Koboei (pronounced ko-boy), a first-gen Liberian, standup comedian, and screenwriter. His name, meaning "Chief," is a tribute to his roots. Growing up in Detroit surrounded by storytellers, he absorbed the richness of Liberian culture through his father's vivid tales.
Koboei is focused on creating great content and providing positive opport...
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Cutting Edge
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 98 Pages
A strong willed young teen finds her own life slipping away after coming out in hopes her peers will follow. Self-harm and suicide attempts seem to be the only way out for this beautiful young spirit. This young warrior will have to decide if her life is worth saving. Will she become a warrior or a statistic.
Port Charlotte, FL
No bio available.
Finalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 91 Pages
After a gang begins terrorizing his family to prevent him from testifying against them, a middle-class black father finds himself forced to begin his own carefully orchestrated campaign of vengeance to keep those close to him safe. DEATH WISH meets STRAW DOGS.
Annapolis, MD
Michael Elliott was born to entertain. First as a professional musician, powering backlines with some of the most popular bands in Maryland which lead to working as a much sought after studio musician.
Later he became a popular stand-up comic, working clubs and colleges in the East, South and Midwest for 12 years, highlighted by opening for st...
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Finalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 20 Pages
1940, Philadelphia, PA. Irish Tommy (20) from Kilkenny City, Ireland, street-fights for money bare-knuckles by night outside the local pub. By day, he sings opera across the rooftops from the scaffold of his construction job at the Bancroft residence. Tommy and his best friend, Spud Murphy (21), are caught across a class division, and face a moral c...
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London, GB
No bio available.
HOLY HELL IN CUBA
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Unknown
· 108 Pages
Three young boys desperately try to escape from Cuba in a home made raft. one of them is killed while the other two ar sent to a juvenile jail where they have to face all kinds of tortures, corruption from a broken prison system during the worst horrendous years of Fidel Castro's regime
I was born in show business. I also have participated in more than 300 television program ad an actor. Have won 50+ awards with my screenplays in international film festivals.jist won best horror screenplay award in Anne's festival
Finalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 104 Pages
Seeking revenge on a white criminal gang, a black homeowner lures them into a home invasion attempting to disguise murder as self defense. "Death Wish" meets "The Usual Suspects".
Annapolis, MD
Michael Elliott was born to entertain. First as a professional musician, powering backlines with some of the most popular bands in Maryland which lead to working as a much sought after studio musician.
Later he became a popular stand-up comic, working clubs and colleges in the East, South and Midwest for 12 years, highlighted by opening for st...
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Finalist
Feature
· Drama
· 99 Pages
A young African American man must find a way to obtain enough money to pay his family's debt and gain their freedom from an oppressive system of servitude in the early 1900s.
Lenox, GA
After a 41-year career as a small-town banker, I wrote my first book, "Remembering Vietnam-A Veteran's Story." I was immediately smitten by the writing bug and the rest is history.
Finalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 55 Pages
Clairvoyance -- slavery, women's suffrage, romance, murders, debilitating, almost catatonic eye pain, this Hundred Years' War based in the late 19th century has it all, and so will the empire that monopolizes -- the aforementioned clairvoyance (ForeSight), an esoteric ability that bestows its possessors glimpses of their immediate future.
New York, NY
I spent my first fifteen years in Jamaica loathing the tropical weather as the heat-induced migraines, nose bleeds, and insomnia led me to adopt an unshakable preference for deep winter, blizzards, and shin-deep snow.
As winter endeavors to leave its mark each passing season, I create stories with similar intentions. To influence, move, and inspire....
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Finalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 58 Pages
Moving past tragedy and dealing with grief takes great strength but when the opportunity to gift revenge to others turns the Everyman into someone they didn’t know they had the strength be, they soon see a terrifying ghost that lives in all of us.
Los Angeles, CA
Kristy's a lifelong educator with a writing and publishing business as well being an adj. college professor. Being the first black family on the block, youngest of four, and the only girl gave her a different kind of perspective. Storytelling became her focus when she lost her brother and her voice is focused on telling honest stories. Not all endin...
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Finalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 58 Pages
In the heart of Park City, Utah, a group of winter Paralympic athletes must overcome physical and emotional obstacles as they strive for greatness in the highly competitive world of adaptive sports.
Santa Ana, CA
Heidi is an author, cancer survivor, and a mom of a (now adult) child with a physical disability. Her ability to take two steps back, keep calm, and see the stories others don’t (or won’t) gives her a unique perspective. And, for the love of God, will someone please make more shows highlighting older female-driven narratives and/or disability so s...
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Finalist
Pitch
· Drama
· 13 Pages
When a high school football star is accused of sexual assault by his girlfriend, he questions his reality.
Queensland, AU
A multi-talented individual, Hero of Hyrule, and Pokemaster, Criss Gidas is a passionate Greek-Australian writer/director and novelist committed to telling stories through narrative fiction blending action, heart, and a sprinkle of magic in everything she creates.
Criss was selected to be a part of the AFTRS/Screen Queensland Talent Camp and is a...
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The Adagio
Private
Finalist
Feature
· Historical
· 101 Pages
Samuel Barber struggles with alcoholism and depression, his complicated relationship with fellow composer Gian Carlo Menotti, and the rising violence towards homosexuals in Europe and the United States to write The Adagio for Strings.
No bio available.
Finalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 108 Pages
Ruth Lazlo, an out of work actor, disappears with a bagful of money which belongs to a hit woman, only to lead the hit woman to her daughter Amy whose father is a shapeshifter.
Sanford, Florida
I was a member of Miriam Colon’s Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre’s Professional Unit. The workshops were run by Allan Davis III.
I’ve written seven plays, nine screenplays, a television pilot and many unpublished poems and short stories. B.A. English St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York
The Lighthouse
Private
Finalist
TV Script
· Horror
· 58 Pages
What happened to the cast and crew of the film The Lighthouse?
lee meaden
No bio available.
Finalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 83 Pages
9-year-old Andy swears there is a young ghost trapped in the empty house across the street, but in his efforts to find the truth, he discovers the dark secret the house is really hiding.
Randolph, NJ
Although her accent isn’t too thick, Julia M. Sauder hails from New Jersey where she completed her first feature screenplay at age 14. After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, she spent several years working in film and TV production. Her true brand is horror, but she ventures out into other genres from time to time. Be careful, she’ll warm y...
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Finalist
Feature
· Action
· 112 Pages
Witness the Vietnam War that could have been; in an alternate 1962 where the Axis powers have won WW2, a Japanese corporation colonizing Vietnam hires a troubled foreign mercenary, who battles Marxist guerrillas, guilt, apathy, and the jungle itself.
Sacramento, California
College student dreaming of a career as a screenwriter.
Finalist
Feature
· Historical
· 106 Pages
Stolen by a Viking King and brought up as his son alongside his own children, an African boy struggles with his identity, and when they emigrate to his homeland to escape other Vikings allied against them, he must decide where he belongs.
New York, NY
I spent my first fifteen years in Jamaica loathing the tropical weather as the heat-induced migraines, nose bleeds, and insomnia led me to adopt an unshakable preference for deep winter, blizzards, and shin-deep snow.
As winter endeavors to leave its mark each passing season, I create stories with similar intentions. To influence, move, and inspire....
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Semifinalists
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 108 Pages
A network of government corruption is slowly unveiled through the lives of two different Philippine women trying to find justice for the mysterious deaths of their loved ones.
Wake Forest, NC
Mike Talplacido is a podcast host, writer, producer, actor and director. His podcast is called “Kiss My Mike,” and it’s primarily focused on topics related to LGBTQ issues, AAPI advocacy, increasing Filipino/x visibility in Entertainment, and uplifting other creatives. In 2021, Mike published his first book, also called “Kiss My Mike,” a memoir abou...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 99 Pages
Abe and Everett – Historical drama based on a true story
A retired soldier redeems himself when he honors a 50 year old debt.
After Abe, an African American soldier in WWII saves the life of racist soldier Everett, Everett attempts to have Abe properly honored, only to be thwarted by bureaucracy and the war itself. But fate offers Everett a sec...
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Corvallis, OR
No bio available.
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Abe and Everett
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Unknown
· 95 Pages
A young African-American soldier in a segregated Army saves the life of a prejudiced Southern white soldier by pulling him from a flaming plane wreckage in World War II, yet received no acknowledgement. Fifty years later, the two men are reunited on the eve of the hero’s death—which motivates the white soldier to change his life and confront his fam...
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alan sproles
No bio available.
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 80 Pages
In 1839 America, it is both radical and dangerous to stand against slavery. Philadelphia abolitionists risk building a convention hall to house their meetings, setting the backdrop for a young unmarried Quaker woman to explode social norms and form a bond with an emancipated slave that puts them both in danger. (Based on true events.)
Oakland, Florida
Former professor Amisha Patel is a writer and entrepreneur. Her writing has been featured in Third Coast, The Madison Review, New Letters, Cimarron Review, and the Georgetown Review, amongst other literary magazines. Her honors include the Harriet Collins Jaycox Prize, a Kundiman fellowship, 2017 American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition finalist, ...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 111 Pages
An NYC architecture graduate from China confronts the emotional abuse she suffered as a child after she takes guardianship of her 6-year-old half-brother (who has Hepatitis C, and needs to be treated in the U.S.) in order to obtain a visa.
New York, NY
Ran is an award-winning writer, director, who has crafted stories across various languages and mediums, focusing on themes of identity, immigration, and belonging. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, her debut feature, MODEL, was featured in Variety China and earned accolades at several Oscar-qualifying festivals. It received the Emerging ...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Comedy
· 102 Pages
In BETA DATE, hopeless romantic Colby agrees to help his friend Ryan beta test date ideas to impress the girl he likes, but as the lines of friendship blur, the dates seem more and more real.
Los Angeles, CA
Living and working between the US and UK.
Started in music, retrained in screenwriting during the pandemic. Been writing stories since I was a kid and scripts since 2019. Have won a couple of awards for my series pilot of 'New Town'. Member of the WGGB and Women in Film and Television.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 97 Pages
Two neighbors, one white, one black, work through a police shooting in their quaint New Jersey town.
Maplewood, NJ
I live in a world of truths, and I figured this is the best place to tell mine.
I was suicidal from the age of 12 to 42. In January of 2023, The Universe put me in circumstances to finally get help. As I cleared my pain, writing spilled out.
These are some of those stories.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Sci-fi
· 61 Pages
In a climate-ruined near-future America, two destitute refugee brothers are pulled into a conspiracy that could alter the course of humanity after their heist on an oil magnate ends terribly.
Brooklyn, NY
Robert’s unique worldview comes from growing up with hearing loss and being a Muslim with an Asian/Jewish background. These circumstances call for him to observe society differently, allowing him to make profound connections that act as the source of his storytelling.
Bound by Love's Freedom
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 113 Pages
"Bound by Love’s Freedom" is a compelling portrait of a woman, Julia, who discovers her own capacity for tolerance when her deep-seated contempt for free love is exposed as baseless fear.
Stockholm, SE
In the 80s and 90s, Mats attended art and film schools, and he has been working in the film industry for nearly thirty years. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to hundreds of films, including notable titles such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Control, Atomic Blonde, and Her.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Horror
· 43 Pages
An alliance of five families led by women secretly looks over and protects the public from a world of mysterious creatures living in the dark underbelly of southern Louisiana.
Tacoma, WA
After years of telling other people’s stories in courtrooms, Carolyn is bringing her own stories to life. Today's world and science fiction provide the backdrops for an unflinching look at people in all their messy, complex glory.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 59 Pages
Pilot: With the help of her Wiccan best friend, a true crime writer and medium connects with the spirit of a young autistic Black man who was killed by cops.
Dallas, GA
I work as a content marketing writer for Right Networks/Rootworks and I love it. I also write specs for a number of indie houses in GA and LA. Check out my website: http://www.luvmultimedia.com.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 50 Pages
A young women finds herself with a mysterious ability that can bring down the most powerful, corrupt figures in the city, making her a target to some dangerous
people.
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Comedy
· 105 Pages
Luther, a queer, black actor must navigate his precarious career, pitiful love life, and puzzled parents, all while constantly questioning if he is, indeed, the right "type" of black.
Central Islip, New York
Eric McKeever is a professional opera singer by day (well, night actually), a podcast producer, and a writer.
His scripts have received accolades from Scriptapalooza, Emerging Screenwriters , Stage 32, Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Competitions, the LA International Screenplay Awards, the Launch Pad Pilot Competition, WeScreenplay Dive...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Sci-fi
· 103 Pages
In the year 2135, AI corporations have replaced governments, removed religion and substance prohibition, creating freedom for the people, but freedom has a price.
A man must confront his original self and stop AI from controlling society.
Auckland, NZ
I have a 30yr career in technology providing future proofing for global organisations, thinking about the "what-if" scenarios of what is coming.
This insight provides me with a unique mindset of what is over the horizon, so I write of what the future will probably, might, could be; AI or future finance or destruction.
Eat It Up
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 105 Pages
2022, Shanghai with COVID-19. An unemployed chef kills her boyfriend, chops up his body with her new girlfriend, cooks the body parts to feed her neighbours, and eventually kills the girlfriend. Yet, believe it or not, she is the good person in this.
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 85 Pages
Inspired by true experiences, "Family" is a cultural horror film about a broken family experiencing horrifying episodes that they believe to be related to an evil presence coming from someone close to them. In order to protect themselves from the malevolent force that threatens to destroy them, they must confront their past secrets and fears. This i...
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Norman, Oklahoma
In his 20 years in the industry, Victor Caballero has worn numerous hats from acting in national commercials and studio released films. He's also an indie award-winning producer & director, but one thing that has remained consistent is being a storyteller. He’s written all of his projects and most currently completed his first feature screenplay, “...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 118 Pages
A frustrated Shoshone High School sophomore must awaken in herself the warrior spirit of her ancestors to unseat a racist school board and restore a divided community. With the help of an elder, Tashina discovers a historical Native American family that are some of America’s greatest unsung heroes. If successful, Tashina could re-write American hist...
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Yamhill, Oregon
Randy and Edith Woodley are a couple with a deep passion for creativity, Indigenous spirituality, justice, and earth empowerment. Their experiences have uniquely equipped them to bring about positive change in their communities for over three decades. They are unwavering in their contributions, especially as they empower Indigenous people. They are ...
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Semifinalist
TV Script
· Thriller
· 63 Pages
Logline: A Forensic Pathologist turns to Family Ancestry and DNA to solve crimes and other mysteries.
Season 1: In her final quarter at college in California, Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Kemah Cross was raped and left for dead. Two decades later she is involved in the investigation of a rapist on the campus of a Chicago University that is similar t...
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Flossmoor, IL
A family physician, I met my husband, a surgeon, in med-school in Toledo. Raised in Chicago, I now live in one of its suburbs, Flossmoor. I'm obsessed with , DNA, family trees, and generations. As a pre-med student at Stanford, while studying blood type, a fellow student having misunderstood the information, believed I was adopted. My anxiety over ...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 110 Pages
When a comatose teenage neo-Nazi lands in the ER with an alienated skinhead who can't live without him, a Jewish doctor on the edge of burnout risks everything to save them both - and himself.
Dublin, IE
Joseph began screenwriting when a particularly annoying character wouldn't take "I'm busy" for an answer. A chance encounter with an Irish writer and director led to a short, a second feature script, and a first experience with costume design and wardrobe for a British-Irish feature. He is currently writing one commissioned short, designing cost...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Thriller
· 120 Pages
After her sister goes missing during a road trip, a woman enlists the help of her girlfriend and best friends to retrace her sister's steps and stumbles upon a town harbouring a dark secret that could cost her everything.
Derby, GB
When I moved to LA for a short period & Mr Spielberg wasn't waiting with open arms, I realised I had much to do. Life took a left turn for a few years but the passion to write & make movies never left. Winning contests & directing my own short movies only fuelled the fire! Now I intend to maximise any opportunity, using my particular set of skills…s...
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Semifinalist
TV Script
· Comedy
· 36 Pages
A washed-up actress and single mom, jaded by years of Hollywood ageism and misogyny, cashes in on her Golden Globe-winning childhood role to gouge the Jesus crowd on the convention circuit and transform herself into a multimillion-dollar Christian lifestyle brand.
New York, NY
Frederik Ehrhardt is a writer & producer based in the US & Germany. He got his industry start as an associate producer for four-time Independent Spirit Award nominee Darren Dean. Most recently, Frederik produced the screen adaptation of Markus Potter’s Outer Critics Circle nominated Off-Broadway play STALKING THE BOGEYMAN starring Tony winner Santin...
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Journey to Babylon
Private
Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 112 Pages
In 1976, a 16 yr old South Asian boy goes to a wild party in suburban Long Island and while trying to integrate, learns about himself and his unique search for identity and home.
No bio available.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 45 Pages
The book club just turned deadly.
Sarah Rossmann is currently staffed as a TV Writer for a crime series in Germany, where she is a member of the Screenwriters Guild (Deutscher Drehbuchverband). Her unpublished debut novel, Murder in the Big Easy, which she adapted from her TV pilot, won Best Mystery / Thriller in the 2024 Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest. Sarah’s independent, femal...
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Semifinalist
Feature
· Drama
· 100 Pages
A closeted college wrestler falls for his shy roommate, but when his teammates bully the roommate and his abusive father resurfaces, he must choose between love and survival.
John Acquaviva has spent an alarming amount of time staring at blank pages, searching for the perfect way to break your heart and put it back together again. An award-winning screenwriter, his work has been recognized for its raw emotional depth and deeply human characters.
Semifinalist
TV Script
· Drama
· 70 Pages
A black and queer teacher and two black and queer students are forced to confront the intolerant underbelly of an elite Alabama boarding school after a hate speech incident.
Philadelphia, PA
Profoundly shaped by their Alabama upbringing as a student activist and community organizer during the first Trump administration, Alex Marsha Sylvia is a black and transmasculine writer who uses their art to explore the intersections of young people, trauma, and politics.