{"id":482715,"date":"2026-10-31T22:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T22:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482715\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T22:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T22:30:12","slug":"austin-film-festival-reveals-script-and-film-competition-award-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/482715\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Film Festival Reveals Script And Film Competition Award Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Austin Film Festival<\/a> has announced the winners of its script and film competition. The 33rd annual event received more than 12,500 submissions, with 78 scripts advancing to the finalist round before the festival selected 21 writers and writing teams as winners. Those honored received their awards during the Awards Luncheon on Saturday in Austin, Texas. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor more than 30 years, our competitions have been about recognizing great scriptwriting,\u201d Barbara Morgan, Executive Director of Austin Film Festival, said. \u201cWe want talented storytellers to leave Austin with more than an award. We want them to leave with new relationships, meaningful industry access and opportunities that can help move their careers forward. This year\u2019s winners represent exactly the kind of bold, original voices we are proud to champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThese awards aim to help emerging talent be discovered by agents, managers, producers, executives and other industry leaders seeking new voices. AFF connects competition finalists with industry professionals through its Writers Conference and Producers Book, which features finalist projects and contact information for writers. Many awards include tailored fellowship opportunities designed to provide mentorship, industry access and career development. Winners in the narrative, documentary and animated shorts competitions are also eligible for Academy Award consideration.<\/p>\n

\n\tA panel of showrunners, creators, producers, and writers with credits including \u201cWidows Bay,\u201d \u201cThe Bear,\u201d \u201cSuccession,\u201d \u201cParks and Rec,\u201d and more selected the winning projects. See the full list of winners below. <\/p>\n

\n\t2026 Script Competition Award & Fellowship Winners<\/p>\n

Drama Feature Award Presented by Writers Guild of America, East \u2014 \u201cSisters\u201d by Zenas Cao<\/p>\n

Comedy Feature Award \u2014 \u201cPure Intentions\u201d by Sarah Peele<\/p>\n

YMH Studios Comedy Fellowship Award \u2014 \u201cDerek Darling\u201d by Robert Barker and Jim Russo<\/p>\n

The Donners\u2019 Company Screenwriting Award \u2014 \u201cFilthy\u201d by Lisa Cole<\/p>\n

The William N. Collage Screenwriting Award \u2014 \u201cHelicopter\u201d by Keith Rubin<\/p>\n

The Enderby Entertainment Award \u2014 \u201cHelicopter\u201d by Keith Rubin<\/p>\n

The Valhalla Entertainment Award \u2014 \u201cDevilish\u201d by Eric Goldberg<\/p>\n

Horror Feature Award \u2014 \u201cDyscopia\u201d by Bobby Marino<\/p>\n

The Chronology Screenwriting Award \u2014 \u201cMethod\u201d by Matt Foss and Cora Vander Broek<\/p>\n

Sci-Fi Feature Award \u2014 \u201cLouis and Puck\u201d by Parker Rawlins and William Cowser<\/p>\n

The Roadmap Writers Representation Fellowship Award \u2014 \u201cI Want My Present Back\u201d by Haley Mancini<\/p>\n

Drama Teleplay Pilot Award \u2014 \u201cGay Harlem\u201d by Erin Williams<\/p>\n

The AMC One-Hour Pilot Award \u2014 \u201cHouse of Devlin\u201d by Michael Connors<\/p>\n

Comedy Teleplay Pilot Award \u2014 \u201cArkadelphia\u201d by Mac Alsfeld<\/p>\n

Adult Animated Comedy Teleplay Fellowship Award Presented by Starburns Industries \u2014 \u201cEvolved\u201d by Chase Norman<\/p>\n

Drama Teleplay Spec Award \u2014 \u201cDexter: Resurrection: The Gamblers\u201d by Laura Hunter Drago<\/p>\n

Comedy Teleplay Spec Award \u2014 \u201cHacks: Chicken and Egg\u201d by Dawn Cowle<\/p>\n

Short Screenplay Award \u2014 \u201cThe Semicolon\u201d by Aaron Roman<\/p>\n

Stage Play Award \u2014 \u201cBody of Work\u201d by Rigel Harris<\/p>\n

Fiction Podcast Award \u2014 \u201cThe Cold Plunge\u201d by Sunny Bleckinger<\/p>\n

Scripted Digital Series Award \u2014 \u201cOld Bogus Massacre\u201d by Matthew McFadden, Dawn Cowle and Baylor Knobloch<\/p>\n

\n\t2026 Film Competition Award & Fellowship Winners<\/p>\n

Narrative Feature Presented by Valhalla Entertainment \u2014 \u201cSweet Milk Lake\u201d Writer\/Director: Harvey Zielinski<\/p>\n

Comedy Vanguard Feature \u2014 \u201cPickpockets\u201d Writer: Lucy Green & D.C. Fairhurst; Director: D.C. Fairhurst<\/p>\n

Documentary Feature \u2014 \u201cStrange Ashes: The Untold Story of Elisabeth Elliot\u201d Writer\/Director: Laura Waters Hinson<\/p>\n

Dark Matters Feature \u2014 \u201cAll the Way Down\u201d Writer\/Director: Collin Davis & Matthew Valdez-Litwiller<\/p>\n

Narrative Short \u2014 \u201cPaper Plane\u201d Writer\/Director: Saoirse Ronan \/ Honorable Mention: \u201cDon\u2019t You Want Me Baby?\u201d; Writer\/Director: Gabriel Foster Prior<\/p>\n

Student Short \u2014 \u201cRabbit Heart\u201d Writer: Anna Leah Bolln; Director: Stella Fachinger<\/p>\n

Documentary Short \u2014 \u201cBuried Under Years of Dust\u201d Writer: Emily Grodin; Director: Sophie Sartain<\/p>\n

Animated Short \u2014 \u201cHow Not to Die on an Alien Planet\u201d Writer: Carlos F. Puertolas, Anthony Hodgson; Director: Carlos F. Puertolas<\/p>\n

Produced Digital Series \u2014 \u201cMatched\u201d Writer: Dominique Salerno, Director: Elvira Ibragimova<\/p>\n

Kilter Films Filmmaker Fellowship Award (Feature) \u2014 \u201cRated\u201d Cowriters: John Fortson & Christie Lynn Smith, Director: John Fortson<\/p>\n

Kilter Films Filmmaker Fellowship Award (Short) \u2014 \u201cAssembly Required\u201d Writer\/Director: Andy Volk<\/p>\n

Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award \u2014 \u201cSoul Heirs\u201d Writer: Harrie Hayes & Tom Machell; Director: Richard Turley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Austin Film Festival has announced the winners of its script and film competition. The 33rd annual event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,14001,134,133],"class_list":["post-482715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-film-festival","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}