Awards

Congrats to VSF’s 2024 Contest Winners!

VSF is celebrating another commendable year of our members winning screenwriting contests, fellowships and residencies as well as official film festival selections and awards. Please join us in congratulating the talented writers of the VSF:

Robin Farmer

  • Awarded a 2025 Château d’Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency in Champagne-Ardenne, France.
  • Awarded a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) residency
  • Selected by Women in Film & Video for an eight-month Narrative Script Development Fellowship
  • Short screenplay on the United Kingdom Film Festival’s Best 3 Minute Script Longlist
  • PAGE Screenwriting Contest Feature Screenplay Quarterfinalist
  • The Writer’s Lab Feature Screenplay Quarterfinalist
  • Athena Film Festival Writer’s Lab Feature Screenplay Semifinalist

Adam Lapallo

  • Launch Pad Feature Competition Top 50
  • Atlanta Film Festival Quarterfinalist
  • ScreenCraft Spring Film Fund Semifinalist
  • Filmmatic Screenplay Horror Awards Quarterfinalist
  • Horrific Hope Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Indie Short Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Fredericksburg Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Richmond International Film Festival Official Selection (short film)

Rachel Weatherly

  • Launch Pad Feature Competition Top 50
  • Indie Short Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Awesome Con Film Festival Official Selection (short film)

Terry Menefee Gau

  • Ocean City Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Indie Short Film Festival Official Selection (short film)
  • Richmond International Film Festival Official Selection (short film)

Bob Eason

  • Selected Script from the VSF Producer’s Pitch Day, to be produced by the Northern Virginia Motion Picture Co-Op in 2024
  • Richmond International Film Festival Feature Screenplay Semifinalist

Karen Lanning

  • Richmond International Film Festival Short Screenplay Top Official Selection
  • Fade In Awards TV Pilot/Web Series Semifinalist
  • Finish Line Script Competition Honorable Mention (2)

Vicky Dupuis

  • Frights! Camera! Action! Horror Screenplay Contest Honorable Mention

Kristofer Haase

  • Chicago Short Film Festival Finalist (short film)
  • Independent Shorts Awards Best Thriller Short Nominee (short film)
  • NY Shorts Official Selection
  • LA Thrillers Official Selection

Eric Carlson

  • Richmond International Film Festival Short Screenplay Top Official Selection

David Patrick Whittle

  • Richmond International Film Festival Feature Screenplay Quarterfinalist

Paul Schutte

  • CineStory Feature Screenplay Semifinalist

 

 

February 8, 2024 Awards 0 Read more >

VSF Celebrates the Holidays With Our First-Ever Producer Pitch Session!


It was a wonderful time at VSF’s year-end Holiday Party! Members participated in a potluck and a three-page Feedback Frenzy. VSF capped off the event with our first-ever pitch session, where writers pitched their short screenplays to a panel of indie film producers for the chance to have their scripts produced in 2024. It’s an exciting time to be a screenwriter in Virginia!


Congrats to (L to R) Adam Lapallo, Robin Farmer, and Eric Carlson for being voted the top scripts of Feedback Frenzy! Eric took third, Adam took second, and Robin was the grand prize winner.

December 3, 2023 Awards, Contests, Film Makers 0 Read more >

The 2023 VSF Short Film Showcase was a Smashing Success!

The 2023 VSF Short Film Showcase was a night to remember. With more than 200 moviegoers in attendance and seven outstanding short films written and produced by members of the Forum this year, VSF’s second annual showcase nearly filled the historic Ashland Theatre for an afternoon of film screenings, Q&As, and award presentations. Legendary casting director Erica Arvold (Dopesick, House of Cards, Black Adam) came to announce the winner of this year’s First Act, First Look Screenwriting Contest, 36-time Emmy-winning director Jesse Vaughn (Juwanna Mann, Living in a Food Desert) announced the Audience Choice winner, and Swagger Executive Producer Joy Kecken recorded a special video appearance to announce her award selections for the films.

2023 VSF SHORT FILM SHOWCASE AWARD WINNERS:

Best Picture
Wisteria by Adam Lapallo

Best Director
Lucas Krost for Put Him Down

Best Screenplay
Brian Weakland for Handsy

Best Actress
Ashley Thompson for The Downline
Runners-up Seleste Cowie for Wisteria and Ramsey Hanchette for Put Him Down

Best Actor
KaVon Gitten for Disconnected 
Runner-up Christopher Glick for Wisteria

Audience Choice
Disconnected by Robin Farmer

First Act, First Look Screenwriting Contest Winner
Daredevil by Mark Andrew Ricche
Runner-up In Tarnation by Jenn Weatherly
Honorable Mention The Finish Line by Bob Eason

August 27, 2023 Awards, Contests, Film Makers 0 Read more >

VSF Announces the Lineup of the 2023 Short Film Showcase!

VSF is proud to unveil the seven short films written (and in most cases, directed) by our members, to be included in the Second Annual VSF Short Film Showcase:

A Batmobile for Charity (Documentary, 12:20)
Written and Directed by Tom Sanchez Prunier
From the SPORK SYNDICATE YouTube channel, this chronicles
the customization of a Hot Wheels remote-controlled Tesla
Roadster into a Batmobile for a charity auction.

Handsy (Comedy, 3:34)
Written by Brian Weakland and Directed by Tom Sanchez Prunier
A superstar hand model, whose career depends on the untouched
beauty of her hands, suppresses her inner diva to promote the sale
of a lab-created ruby necklace on a television shopping network.
A technical glitch wrecks everything – until it doesn’t.

Put Him Down (Thriller, 15:58)
Written by Kristofer Haase and Directed by Lucas Krost
When co-owners of a local diner fall out of love, they make
plans to improve their lives—without each other.

Kissing Frogs (Comedy, 4:36)
Written by Terry Menefee Gau and Directed by Brendan Riley
What was your worst kiss – ever?

The Downline (Drama/Thriller, 12:51)
Written and Directed by Rachel Weatherly
A top-earner in a multilevel marketing company struggles to
maintain her sanity after one of her recruits commits suicide.

Disconnected (Comedy, 15:52)
Written and Directed by Robin Farmer
A young techie discovers artificial intelligence is no match
for real human emotion.

Wisteria (Horror, 16:35)
Written and Directed by Adam Lapallo
When three adult siblings vote to sell their childhood home
after the death of their mother, an ancient family curse
returns to restore the balance.

The showcase will be held August 26 from 12pm-3pm at the Ashland Theatre and will feature a Q&A with the filmmakers and an Audience Choice Award vote.

July 22, 2023 Awards, Contests, Film Makers 0 Read more >

Celebrating 2022!!

Virginia Screenwriters’ Forum wrapped up an exciting year with its first in-person holiday potluck party that included mimosas, meatballs and pie following prizes awarded for Feedback Frenzy. Terry Menefee Gau won the holiday themed contest, which required the opening pages of a new script.

2022 End of Year Celebration!

Tom Sanchez Prunier takes Honorable Mention, Robin Farmer as Runner Up and Terry Gau as the winner of this year’s Feedback Frenzy!

VSF offered members wonderful opportunities to learn and grow in 2022 that included masterclasses, a new national screenplay contest, expanded critique sessions and an inaugural short film showcase. Onward to more enriching and innovative possibilities in 2023!

January 6, 2023 Awards 0 Read more >

VSF Announces Winner of First Act, First Look Contest

CONGRATULATIONS to Andrew Carnwath of Richmond, Virginia, the winner of the 2022 First Act, First Look Screenwriting Contest!  Andrew’s script, “Somewhere Between” was selected for the top prize of $500 and a script analysis from our panel of award-winning writers.

Andrew was presented with his prize by celebrated filmmaker, Jesse Vaughan and VSF Director, Robin Farmer, during the recent 2022 Short Film Showcase!

August 19, 2022 Awards 0 Read more >

Rachel Weatherly Wins Virginia Screenwriting Competition!

Big news to share!  VSF member Rachel Weatherly took the top prize in the feature film category at the Virginia Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition with her script “Take Off.”  Virginia Film Office director Andy Edmunds announced the winners last month, at the 2021 Virginia Film Festival, in Charlottesville.  Her script depicts a baggage handler, having defaulted on student loans, recruiting a group of airline workers to help her rob a flight and use the money to pay her debts.  Rachel is the fifth VSF member to have won this competition in the past ten years.  Congratulations to Rachel on this fantastic accomplishment!

November 24, 2021 Awards 0 Read more >

Creative World and Santa Barbara Wins!

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Three of Virginia Screenwriters Forum members have hit it big in the preliminiary finals of the 2021 Creative World Awards!!  Rachel Weatherly’s comedy feature, “Amy and Zoe Take the Long Way”, Bill Brock’s script “Where’s Grace” – short, and Eric Carlson’s drama feature “Stealing the Moon” are all medal contenders.

Additionally, Bill Brock also has an official selection at the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards with his script, “James Dean:  Crossing the Finish Line.”  Congratulations to all our writers for the outstanding work!

 

August 6, 2021 Awards, Contests 0 Read more >