Jul 19, 2012
Artist Development, SFFILM
The San Francisco Film Society today announced the nine finalists for the fourth annual SFFS / Hearst Screenwriting Grant. The grant of $15,000 will be awarded to a mid-career screenwriter who has been a practicing writer for at least five years and who has previously written a minimum of one feature screenplay. The grant is open to writers residing in the United States whose project expresses both a unique personal perspective and an artistic approach to the subject. Priority is given to writers whose previous short or feature screenplays have been produced as an independent film. The finalists were selected from submissions received in response to a nationwide call for entries. The winner will be announced in mid-September.
The SFFS / Hearst Screenwriting Grant, supported by a gift from William R. Hearst III, is a component of the expanding grants program administered through Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s robust filmmaker services department. For more information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
FINALISTS
Lizzie Borden, Rialto
A soldier returns from the Korean War to his wealthy New England Republican family. Disaffected by politics, he becomes enamored with the mysterious woman who owns the local movie theater. As the Catholic Church targets her for showing condemned films, he stumbles across her secret and must summon the courage to fight the Church and his own family.
Sharon Greene and Logan Kibens, Operator
Joe designs personalities for Interactive Voice Response, the technology that automates interactions with telephone callers. When he convinces his girlfriend to be the template for a new IVR, their relationship is thrown into chaos. For information visit logankibens.com.
Darine Hotait, Symphony of a Flood
Awaiting a flood that will soon bury Beirut underwater, simultaneous stories of love, betrayal and fear come together to unveil one reality that reflects the city’s past and future.
Maryam Keshavarz and Paolo Marinou, The Last Harem
A battle between a young musician girl and the mother of the newly ascended boy-king for the affection of the new monarch and control of the palace’s extensive harem will determine who becomes the most powerful woman in the Persian empire.
Eric Lin, Burning Water
In a near future plagued with severe clean water shortages, an American water smuggler who is trying desperately to get himself and his pregnant wife across the border to Canada unexpectedly makes a discovery that forces him to choose between the welfare of his family and that of his entire town. For information visit eric-lin.com.
Kim Nunley, Home Sweet Home
Two young married couples that can’t afford to buy separate homes decide to purchase a house together and soon realize their incompatibility as roommates. For information visit kimnunley.com.
Musa Syeed, The Doctor
A lowly construction worker in New York City has managed to convince his family in India that he’s still a doctor. When they send his younger brother to live with him, he maintains the charade by working at the one clinic that will let him practice without a license. For information visit musasyeed.com.
Chris Teague, The Woods Are Burning
A tomboyish, rebellious teenager looking for a sense of belonging, falls for a charismatic and mysterious young man who draws her away from her logger father and deep into a world of radical environmental activism in Oregon. When he eventually abandons her, she must decide what she truly believes in. For information visit christeaguefilm.com.
Diane Weipert, Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights is the story of the 1974 class action lawsuit, Madrigal vs. Quilligan, brought against the Los Angeles County Hospital in Boyle Heights after it was discovered that Mexican-American women were being coerced into having tubal ligations,
Previous winners of the SFFS / Hearst Screenwriting Grant are Ian Olds and Paul Felten for The Western Habit (2011), Eric Escobar for East County (2010) and Mora Stephens for Made in the USA (2009).
For more information visit sffs.org/Filmmaker360/Grants/sffshearst-screenwriting-grant.