Jessica Sinyard Takes Home Slamdance Grand Prize For Television Pilot “The Peak”
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LOS ANGELES, CA (October 11, 2018) – Slamdance today announced the winners of its 2018 screenwriting competition, awarding its Grand Prize to writer Jessica Sinyard for her television pilot “The Peak.” Additional prizes were awarded during a ceremony hosted by Writers Guild of America West across feature film, horror, TV pilot and short film categories. Upwards of 3,000 submissions were received for this year’s contest, and more than $16,000 was awarded to 2018 winners across all categories.
“The Peak” is a psychological survival thriller that follows a team of eight overachievers in their attempt to climb Mount Everest. When a team member goes missing on the peak, paranoia and altitude sickness corrodes the reliability of survivor accounts. With a dual narrative that interweaves both the team’s ascent and descent, “The Peak” reveals a complex central mystery that explores the choices people make when they believe no one is watching.
“This year's competition proved that wherever you come from in this world our judges are waiting to discover and honor great new writing talent, especially if you are Jessica Sinyard from Saxby All Saints village in the north of England, “ says Slamdance President, Peter Baxter. “We are proud to award Jessica Slamdance's 2018 Screenplay Competition Grand Prize for her pilot ‘The Peak,’ a pulsating psychological survival thriller that is primed for production.”
“Slamdance is such a vivacious, distinctive and inimitable festival, it is such as honor to be selected,” says writer Jessica Sinyard.
Slamdance recognizes four categories in its Writing Competition and congratulates the top three screenplays in each category. The top three 2018 Slamdance screenplays in each prize category are as follows:
Feature1st place:
The Innocent and the Vicious by Dominique Genest & Nick Kreiss
Three young women embark on a dangerous mission to exact personal revenge in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II.
2nd place:
Cancuncito by Carlos Alejandro Marulanda
Using gambling to escape from her social isolation, Valeria, a disabled woman with limited use of her hands, recruits a poor Afro-Mexican worker to help her play the casinos and attempts to seduce him. When her ultra religious mother threatens to destroy their burgeoning love affair Valeria must move beyond the limits of her disabilities.
3rd place:
Girls In Trouble by Brenna Perez
(1964) Based on historic events. A young, unmarried woman's pregnancy derails her college and career-track life when she gets sent to St. Mary's House for Unwed Mothers, where she is forced to secretly give birth and put her child up for adoption.
Horror1st place:
Candle by Jonathan Redding
When a demon stalks Manhattan, an ex-nun with a gift for the occult must return to protect the Sisterhood she left behind.
2nd place:
Wendigo by Mike Langer
In the near future, a young Native American mother and her twins, in the final stages of a terrifying genetic mutation, must survive the brutal American West while being hunted by a Man hell-bent on killing them.
3rd place:
The Causeway by Stanley Wong & Patrick T. Dorsey
When a zombie-like outbreak puts New Orleans under strict quarantine, a closed-off survivalist and a ragtag group of neighbors attempt to escape across the only road to safety -- the longest bridge over water in the world.
TV Pilot1st place:
The Peak by Jessica Sinyard*
Psychological survival thriller in which eight overachievers attempt to scale Mount Everest. But when a team member goes missing on the peak, paranoia and altitude sickness corrodes the reliability of survivor accounts. With a dual narrative that interweaves both the team’s ascent and descent, The Peak reveals a complex central mystery exploring the choices we make when we believe no-one is watching.
2nd place:
Darkened Room by Tamara Maloney & Maeve McQuillan
Set in 19th century London inside the darkened rooms of séances where everyone is a fraud, only Alma Havenswood, a dissident from the Victorian ruling classes, can truly connect to the beyond. When Alma's gift leads to the loss of her child, she turns her back on the spirit world only to discover that any hope of reuniting with her son rests in her ability to harness her talents and defeat the powers trying to destroy her both in this world and the other.
3rd place:
The Red by John Whitcher
A Cree prostitute helps a racist detective hunt a serial killer preying on Native sex workers –– only to uncover mounting evidence the killer is her Grandfather.
*Fun Fact: Jessica Sinyard actually submitted two TV Pilots that made it into the semi-finals. Her sci-fi investigative thriller 'Over The Rainbow' came in at a close 4th place.
Short 1st place:
Ami by Matt O'Connor
A young girl must navigate the perils of an isolated existence in a crumbling dystopian future, with the help of her AI assistant cube, AMI.
2nd place:
The Settlement by Nikolas Benn
A silver tongued salesman tries to con a grandmother out of what little time she has left.
3rd place:
Sundown County by Victor Ridaura
When the United States government passes a sunset law that eliminates all the constitutional guarantees and rights of any minority in the country after the sun goes down, a Latino interracial family try to make it to Atlanta, a haven city, before the sun sets down on them.
Feature
1st place: The Innocent and the Vicious by Dominique Genest & Nick Kreiss
2nd place: Cancuncito by Carlos Alejandro Marulanda
3rd place: Girls In Trouble by Brenna Perez
Horror
1st place: Candle by Jonathan Redding
2nd place: Wendigo by Mike Langer
3rd place: The Causeway by Stanley Wong & Patrick T. Dorsey
TV Pilot
1st place: The Peak by Jessica Sinyard
2nd place: Darkened Room by Tamara Maloney & Maeve McQuillan
3rd place: The Red by John Whitcher
Short
1st place: Ami by Matt O'Connor
2nd place: The Settlement by Nikolas Benn
3rd place: Sundown County by Victor Ridaura
Over the past 23 years, the success of the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and its winning writers continues to attract the attention of industry professionals searching for the best new independent writing talent. Slamdance Screenplay Competition winners that have gone to production include Maria Full of Grace from writer Joshua Marston and The Woodsman co-written by Nicole Kassel and Steven Fechter. Recent competition winners that have gone on to be produced include 100 Bloody Acres from co-writers Colin and Cameron Cairn and Jug Face written by Chad Crawford Kinkle.
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering emerging writing talent. Since 1995 the organization has established a strong track record for identifying and supporting new screenwriters, and they welcome screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world.
In addition to cash prizes, the top three screenwriters in each category receive prize packages that include Festival Passes good for all screenings and parties at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah (January 25-31 2019). Top three screenwriters in the Feature and Horror categories are eligible for membership in the Writers Guild of America West’s Independent Writers Caucus, and winners in both of these categories receive $2,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group, LLP. All winners also receive a collection of Slamdance merchandise and will be included in the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival program which is distributed to industry professionals in Park City and year round.
About Slamdance
By filmmakers, for filmmakers. Established in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work, Slamdance has proven, year after year, that when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, independent and grassroots communities can do it themselves.
In addition to the Festival, Slamdance serves emerging artists and a growing community with several year-round initiatives. These include the Slamdance Screenplay Competition, its educational program Slamdance Polytechnic, DIG showcase of Digital Interactive and Gaming art, distribution efforts through Slamdance Presents, worldwide screening series Slamdance on the Road, and LA screening series Slamdance Cinema Club
Notable Slamdance alumni include: The Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War, Welcome to Collinwood), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Interstellar), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Marc Forster (World War Z), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses), Lynn Shelton (Outside, Humpday), Sean Baker (The Florida Project), and Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche). Box Office Mojo reports alumni who first showed their work at Slamdance have earned over $17 billion at the Box Office to date.
For more information on Slamdance, visit: https://www.slamdance.com
Follow Slamdance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Medium.
LOS ANGELES, CA (October 11, 2018) – Slamdance today announced the winners of its 2018 screenwriting competition, awarding its Grand Prize to writer Jessica Sinyard for her television pilot “The Peak.” Additional prizes were awarded during a ceremony hosted by Writers Guild of America West across feature film, horror, TV pilot and short film categories. Upwards of 3,000 submissions were received for this year’s contest, and more than $16,000 was awarded to 2018 winners across all categories.“The Peak” is a psychological survival thriller that follows a team of eight overachievers in their attempt to climb Mount Everest. When a team member goes missing on the peak, paranoia and altitude sickness corrodes the reliability of survivor accounts. With a dual narrative that interweaves both the team’s ascent and descent, “The Peak” reveals a complex central mystery that explores the choices people make when they believe no one is watching.
“This year's competition proved that wherever you come from in this world our judges are waiting to discover and honor great new writing talent, especially if you are Jessica Sinyard from Saxby All Saints village in the north of England, “ says Slamdance President, Peter Baxter. “We are proud to award Jessica Slamdance's 2018 Screenplay Competition Grand Prize for her pilot ‘The Peak,’ a pulsating psychological survival thriller that is primed for production.”
“Slamdance is such a vivacious, distinctive and inimitable festival, it is such as honor to be selected,” says writer Jessica Sinyard.
Slamdance recognizes four categories in its Writing Competition and congratulates the top three screenplays in each category. The top three 2018 Slamdance screenplays in each prize category are as follows:
Feature1st place:
The Innocent and the Vicious by Dominique Genest & Nick Kreiss
Three young women embark on a dangerous mission to exact personal revenge in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II.
2nd place:
Cancuncito by Carlos Alejandro Marulanda
Using gambling to escape from her social isolation, Valeria, a disabled woman with limited use of her hands, recruits a poor Afro-Mexican worker to help her play the casinos and attempts to seduce him. When her ultra religious mother threatens to destroy their burgeoning love affair Valeria must move beyond the limits of her disabilities.
3rd place:
Girls In Trouble by Brenna Perez
(1964) Based on historic events. A young, unmarried woman's pregnancy derails her college and career-track life when she gets sent to St. Mary's House for Unwed Mothers, where she is forced to secretly give birth and put her child up for adoption.
Horror1st place:
Candle by Jonathan Redding
When a demon stalks Manhattan, an ex-nun with a gift for the occult must return to protect the Sisterhood she left behind.
2nd place:
Wendigo by Mike Langer
In the near future, a young Native American mother and her twins, in the final stages of a terrifying genetic mutation, must survive the brutal American West while being hunted by a Man hell-bent on killing them.
3rd place:
The Causeway by Stanley Wong & Patrick T. Dorsey
When a zombie-like outbreak puts New Orleans under strict quarantine, a closed-off survivalist and a ragtag group of neighbors attempt to escape across the only road to safety -- the longest bridge over water in the world.
TV Pilot1st place:
The Peak by Jessica Sinyard*
Psychological survival thriller in which eight overachievers attempt to scale Mount Everest. But when a team member goes missing on the peak, paranoia and altitude sickness corrodes the reliability of survivor accounts. With a dual narrative that interweaves both the team’s ascent and descent, The Peak reveals a complex central mystery exploring the choices we make when we believe no-one is watching.
2nd place:
Darkened Room by Tamara Maloney & Maeve McQuillan
Set in 19th century London inside the darkened rooms of séances where everyone is a fraud, only Alma Havenswood, a dissident from the Victorian ruling classes, can truly connect to the beyond. When Alma's gift leads to the loss of her child, she turns her back on the spirit world only to discover that any hope of reuniting with her son rests in her ability to harness her talents and defeat the powers trying to destroy her both in this world and the other.
3rd place:
The Red by John Whitcher
A Cree prostitute helps a racist detective hunt a serial killer preying on Native sex workers –– only to uncover mounting evidence the killer is her Grandfather.
*Fun Fact: Jessica Sinyard actually submitted two TV Pilots that made it into the semi-finals. Her sci-fi investigative thriller 'Over The Rainbow' came in at a close 4th place.
Short 1st place:
Ami by Matt O'Connor
A young girl must navigate the perils of an isolated existence in a crumbling dystopian future, with the help of her AI assistant cube, AMI.
2nd place:
The Settlement by Nikolas Benn
A silver tongued salesman tries to con a grandmother out of what little time she has left.
3rd place:
Sundown County by Victor Ridaura
When the United States government passes a sunset law that eliminates all the constitutional guarantees and rights of any minority in the country after the sun goes down, a Latino interracial family try to make it to Atlanta, a haven city, before the sun sets down on them.
Feature
1st place: The Innocent and the Vicious by Dominique Genest & Nick Kreiss
2nd place: Cancuncito by Carlos Alejandro Marulanda
3rd place: Girls In Trouble by Brenna Perez
Horror
1st place: Candle by Jonathan Redding
2nd place: Wendigo by Mike Langer
3rd place: The Causeway by Stanley Wong & Patrick T. Dorsey
TV Pilot
1st place: The Peak by Jessica Sinyard
2nd place: Darkened Room by Tamara Maloney & Maeve McQuillan
3rd place: The Red by John Whitcher
Short
1st place: Ami by Matt O'Connor
2nd place: The Settlement by Nikolas Benn
3rd place: Sundown County by Victor Ridaura
Over the past 23 years, the success of the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and its winning writers continues to attract the attention of industry professionals searching for the best new independent writing talent. Slamdance Screenplay Competition winners that have gone to production include Maria Full of Grace from writer Joshua Marston and The Woodsman co-written by Nicole Kassel and Steven Fechter. Recent competition winners that have gone on to be produced include 100 Bloody Acres from co-writers Colin and Cameron Cairn and Jug Face written by Chad Crawford Kinkle.
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering emerging writing talent. Since 1995 the organization has established a strong track record for identifying and supporting new screenwriters, and they welcome screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world.
In addition to cash prizes, the top three screenwriters in each category receive prize packages that include Festival Passes good for all screenings and parties at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah (January 25-31 2019). Top three screenwriters in the Feature and Horror categories are eligible for membership in the Writers Guild of America West’s Independent Writers Caucus, and winners in both of these categories receive $2,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group, LLP. All winners also receive a collection of Slamdance merchandise and will be included in the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival program which is distributed to industry professionals in Park City and year round.
About Slamdance
By filmmakers, for filmmakers. Established in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work, Slamdance has proven, year after year, that when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, independent and grassroots communities can do it themselves.
In addition to the Festival, Slamdance serves emerging artists and a growing community with several year-round initiatives. These include the Slamdance Screenplay Competition, its educational program Slamdance Polytechnic, DIG showcase of Digital Interactive and Gaming art, distribution efforts through Slamdance Presents, worldwide screening series Slamdance on the Road, and LA screening series Slamdance Cinema Club
Notable Slamdance alumni include: The Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War, Welcome to Collinwood), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, Interstellar), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Marc Forster (World War Z), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses), Lynn Shelton (Outside, Humpday), Sean Baker (The Florida Project), and Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche). Box Office Mojo reports alumni who first showed their work at Slamdance have earned over $17 billion at the Box Office to date.
For more information on Slamdance, visit: https://www.slamdance.com
Follow Slamdance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Medium.