Video Contests, Film Festivals, and Awards

Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold from Brunswick, Maine was the Grand Prize Winner for this year's 2011 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. The winning screenplay "Raising Rufus: A Maine Love Story" is a tender and tragic love story about a childless older couple, their Newfoundland dog, and their passion for the coast of Maine. After forty years of a devoted, but troubled marriage, they adopt Rufus and embark on a series of heartwarming, heroic and ultimately healing adventures. "This screenplay is something that should be made. Reading it, you can literally envision the actual film," said J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director. "The outstanding quality of this year's submissions and the level of creativity, made for difficult decision-making on the part of our international group of judges," added Oberacker. "Our adjudication team read 364 screenplay entries this year, the largest entry base in the competition's history. Each submission was analyzed and scored according to a set of criteria, including Character, Dialogue, Setting, Plot and Technique. "After extensive reading and deliberation among the judges, prizewinners were chosen in five different categories: Main Competition, Gay and Lesbian (GLBT), Local (New England) Focus, Horror, and Short Screenplay," she added. "Each will come with its own set of awards." "We could not be more pleased with the selection of this year's winners," noted George T. Marshall. "As this competition continues to grow and expand, we have access to some of the world's brightest and most talented writers in the craft."

THE 2011 PRIZE WINNERS:

GRAND PRIZE:
Raising Rufus: A Maine Love Story
Written by Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold (USA)

FIRST PLACE:
Anderson Falls
Written by Giles Daoust (Belgium)

(Tied with)

Blood Relative
Written by Corey Bodoh-Creed (USA)

SECOND PLACE:
Dear Brother
Written by Kesav Wable (USA)

BEST LOCAL (NEW ENGLAND):

GRAND PRIZE:
Departed Harvest
Written by JoDa Hodge (USA)

FIRST PLACE:
Acrobat
Written by Pete Jones (USA)

BARREN BRANCHES GLBT COMPETITION:

GRAND PRIZE:
Sadie Hawkins Day
Written by Stacy Keane (USA)

FIRST PLACE:
As Luck Would Have It
Written by Anna Forsyth (UNITED KINGDOM)

BEST SHORT SCRIPT:

GRAND PRIZE:
Last Exit to Normal
Written by John McHale (USA)

FIRST PLACE:
Pass/Fail
Written by Caitlin McCarthy (USA)

BEST HORROR SCRIPT:

GRAND PRIZE:
The Portrait
Written by Matthew J. Marshall (USA)

(Tied with)

Painkillers
Written by Giles Daoust (Belgium)

Resources:

www.film-festival.org