The San Francisco Film Society announced today the nine finalists for the third SFFS/Hearst Screenwriting Grant and the grant prize of $15,000. The finalists were selected from 57 applicants, and the winner will be announced in early December.
FINALISTS
Chris Brown, San Franciscoland
A young Iraqi war veteran is forced to turn to prostitution in order to survive in San Francisco. For information visit fannyannieanddanny.com.
Jason Cortland, Lumberjunkies
In a small logging town in Northern Oregon, two brothers circumvent the decline of the timber industry by stealing trees off public lands at night. Following a series of accidents, they have a falling out. The youngest goes to work for their estranged father on a legitimate salvage logging crew. With loyalties shifted, a history of family betrayal leads to an explosion of violence.
Mark Decena, The Martyr
The apparent suicide of a peace activist has a galvanizing effect on global efforts to end war and conflict. When the activist unexpectedly turns up very much alive, his colleagues must decide whether the movement’s new momentum is more important than one man’s existence. For information visit kontentfilms.com.
Gabriel Diani, Etta Devine, Sorry, Wrong Planet
Sorry, Wrong Planet is a sci-fi comedy about an inept clone soldier named Dort who is accidentally teleported to Earth where he teams up with an illegal immigrant named Miguel to do day labor. He falls in love with a waitress who looks exactly like the empress he is genetically programmed to worship and saves Earth from an alien invasion. For information visit dianidevine.com.
Joshua Malkin, Both Hands
When Dora, an ambitious American college student studying in Montreal, spies on the mysterious tattoo artist next door, she ignites a passionate mutual obsession that threatens to destroy both their lives. For information visit smalldrama.com.
Jonah Markowitz, Falling Home
An urban and happily childless gay couple’s life is forever changed following a tragic accident. They become the caretakers of two teenagers and the owners of a rural family farm. Three cross-cultural, multigenerational families learn to carry on after extreme tragedy. For information visit logolite-ent.com/jmarkowitz.
Jean-Louis Milesi, Inland Sea
A group of kids survives on the streets in a country recently torn apart by a war. Among them is ten-year-old Mickey who never speaks and whose friends treat him like an idiot. While the others are focused only on finding food, Mickey has two goals in life: to find new batteries to light up the plastic blade of his light saber and to find, and kill, his father. For information visit jeanlouismilesi.com.
Chioke Nassor, How to Follow Strangers
A woman died alone in her apartment and a year later her body was found decomposing in a crisp Chanel suit. A young man becomes obsessed with this urban tragedy and disappears, wondering if anyone will notice. A young woman who shares his commuting schedule does notice, and when he resurfaces, she decides to follow him, setting off a chain of events that bind them together. For information visit chiokenassor.com.
Ian Olds, Western Habit
An Afghan journalist exiled from his war-torn home to a small, bohemian community in Northern California struggles to find a new life for himself while juggling a low-paying job on the local police blotter, a meddling avant-garde theater director and a sexually charged relationship with his roommate, who is also the town sheriff. For information visit fixerdoc.com.
The 2010 SFFS/Hearst Screenwriting Grant was awarded to Eric Escobar for East County, a drama set in the economic downturn in which a deputy sheriff who is drowning in debt moonlights for his brother’s eviction agency.