Women in Film & Video Screenwriting Awards

Women in Film & Video/New England (WIFV/NE) congratulates the winners of the 6th Annual Screenwriting Competition, co-sponsored by the Lesley University Writing for Stage & Screen MFA Program.

The event celebrating the winners took place on July 31st at University Hall Theatre in Cambridge.

This year's Grand PrizeWinner is Jessica DiGiacinto for her screenplay Me and Christian. A prominent Los Angeles literary agent will read her script for possible representation, and DiGiacinto will receive a $200 cash award. She will also receive professional script coverage by Inktip.com valued at $250.

In Second Place is Lonely Hunter by Sarah Schulman, and in third place is Wonder Drug by Caitlin McCarthy.

Each of the three finalists will receive a Final Draft software package, and a 6-month online script placement service by Inktip.com

"I was impressed by all three of the finalists," says Kate Boutilier (screenwriter of The Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys movies), who selected the two finalists and the grand prize winner.

"Each was compelling for different reasons, all were well-written and original." she continues. "Me and Christian was a very simple premise done in a very natural, original way. The loneliness and pain of the lead character was extremely well realized. There was humor and pathos to the script and an intriguing hook with the fantasy life. My congratulations to the author for a nice character study which felt fresh and contemporary, surprisingly moving in the end and very hopeful. A nice 'small' movie but with a very real heart."

Jessica DiGiacinto graduated this May from Tisch's (NYU) Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program, and currently serves as the Managing Editor for a website geared towards college women (collegecandy.com).

Sarah Schulman is a playwright (Carson McCullers), novelist (The Child), and nonfiction writer (Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America).

Caitlin McCarthy was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Emerson College. In addition to screenwriting, McCarthy serves as an English teacher at the high school level.

The WIFV/NE Screenwriting Competition aims to promote the work of women screenwriters and support the creation of worthy film roles for women. Entries must be authored or co-authored by a woman and/or feature a woman or women in prominent roles. Founded in 1981, WIFV/NE promotes the participation, education, and representation of women in the film, video, and media industry in New England. The non-profit organization is a member of the umbrella group Women in Film & Television International, a global network with over 35 chapters and more than 10,000 members. Membership is open to women and men who work in film, video, and related industries or those who aspire to work in these fields, as well as patrons of media arts.

For more information, about WIFV/NE, go to http://www.wifvne.org.