2026 LVIFSF Screenwriter Finalists
Action Adventure
Mixer – Samantha James
Sakura – Alexander Winter
Substitute Santa – Jack Warner
Talon of the Eagle – Mary Kurtz
Vortex of Shadows – Monica Hernandez
Animation
Beyond the Whispering Woods - Jonathan Elias Parker
The Adventures of Oliver Moon - Charlotte Mitchell
The Enchanted Starlight - Amelia Bennett
Biographical
A Legacy Written in Time – Rebecca Holloway
Against the Rising Tide - Christopher James Bennett
The Life She Dared to Live - Margaret Collins
Comedy
Dating Incorporated — Donna Keegan & Marian MiaoYin Sing
Roofies — Ben Eden
Marcus Spartacus and the Gods of Chaos – Blaine Clark
Crime
The Pig Farmer — Jesse Mattson
Tough Break — TJ Thomas
Unreasonable Doubt - Elizabeth Renee Rackley
Drama
American Dischord - James Elliott
Not Fore Long - Patricia Marshall
Park Closes at 10:00 PM - Ben Wild
Prison Dogs - Tobi Solvang
Surf City - Robert A. Breedlove
The Weight of Care - Joe Fishel
Faith-Based
Eternal Legacy - Sandon Yahn
From Mafia Princess to God's Princess - Barbara & Joe Cueto
The Corners of the Field - Matt Mogk
The Cross-Over - Lana Lekarinou & Ron Podell
Water – Air – Faith – Dave Emmons
Family
Chess Club - Micah Barber
Journey to Enlightenment – Tim Houghton
The Secrets of Thistlewood Castle – Robert Prescott
Fantasy
The In-Between - Victor Galmard
The Keeper of the Desert Sands – David Jennings
The Queens Knight – Kari Karl
Historical – Period Piece
4th and Going Home - Steven John Antouccio
Alta California - Lynn H. Elliott
Given - Scott Marcano & Samuel Johnson
Shadows of Liberty - Eric Halstead - & M.L. Curry
Horror
Checking Out - JJ Brent
Stalkers - Jack Warner
Sundown - Jessica Cloud, Maggie Colligan & Patrick Gough
The Black Abbey - Alex Klein & Michael Consiglio
The Wraith's Mercy - Michael Foster
Zandaya - Curtis Harrison
LGBTQ
It’s Between Us - Alexander Whitmore
Love Beyond the Lines – Rebecca Morgan
The Colors We Hide - Nathaniel Sullivan
Military
A Warrior’s Story – Tina Misrousky
Final Salute – Lance Morgan
Major General Maurice Rose: The Immaculate Killer of Nazis - Steven Antonuccio
Rexberg Hill – Eric Mack
Mob-Themed
East Side Hustler – Carson Nepali
Sonny Greene – Del MacDouglas
The Gang on 51st Street – Teri Taylor
Musical
Dancing Through the Rain - Victoria Rose Bennett
One Last Standing Ovation - Katherine Monroe
The Melody of Yesterday - Jonathan Alexander
Mystery
Shadows of a Forgotten Crime - Alexandra Grace Whitfield
The Last Witness - Benjamin Thomas Caldwell
The Secrets of Blackwood Manor - Caroline Elizabeth Prescott
Romance
A Queen's Story - Fabian Martin
Last Sunset – Carol Green
Mariachi Mornings - Debbie Doggett
No Kiss Goodnight - Ruzena Zatko
Science Fiction
Earth Darnell - Phillip McSween
Indian Springs - Jennifer Michelle Weber
Inertia – Nyah Gazda
NYX - Eduardo Rufeisen
The Resonant - J.B. Dunn
Sports
Goal – John Hernandez
In the Valley of Hoops - Benjamin Thomas Hopwood
Measure of a Man - Chad Michael Bruckner
Spease – Patricia Marshall
The Boat Race - Frank Mack
Thriller
Dog Shot - Jerome Pride
From Whence We Came - Charles Maxwell
Out Here - Jeremy Johnstone
Out of Time - Joe Calabria
The Long Game - Don Famularo and Don Wells
Vacuus - Leiter S Daniellson
Western
Burning Water – Loren Davis
Captain Jack (Nicaagat) and the Meeker Massacre — Steven J. Antonuccio
Dust and Thunder – Dean Rubio
Serpent’s Run – Erik J. Waldman
Trail of the Outlaw – Kurt Floyd
Stage Play
Fall of Paris – James Calister
Just Dance - Jan McNair
The Silence Between Us – Debra York and Thomas Mann
Uncommon Threads - Ronny Jay
When the Lights Go Out in Georgia - Louise Schwarz
Best Feature Screenplay
American Dischord - James Elliott
Burning Water – Loren Davis
Given - Scott Marcano & Samuel Johnson
Inertia – Nyah Gazda
Roofie – Ben Eden
Spease - Patricia Marshall
The Black Abbey - Alex Klein & Michael Consiglio
The Corners of the Field - Matt Mogk
The Long Game - Don Famularo and Don Wells
Unreasonable Doubt - Elizabeth Renee Rackley
Original TV Sitcom Pilot (1/2 Hour)
Blue Sky - Taylor Steele
Life Happens After Coffee - Michael Prescott
Lifeguards - Thomas Lewis
Strings - Jess Simpson
The Trouble with Tuesdays - Jennifer Caldwell
Existing TV Sitcom Spec (1/2 Hour)
Abbott Elementary – “The Substitute Situation” - Catherine Elizabeth Whitmore
Arrested Development – “Bluth Co. Blues” - Luca Palomaki
Ghosts – “The Haunting of Happy Hour” - Victoria Mitchell
Only Murders in the Building - “A Deadly Little Secret”- Alexandra Grace Bennett
The Simpsons – “Homer's Artificial Intelligence” - Jonathan Michael Prescott
Original TV Drama Pilot (1 hour)
12:37 — The Black Sabbath - Michael John Fedun
#madeinmuskegon - Jason Kolkema
Fly By Night - James Sutherland
Tell Me About It - Jack Maxwell
The River Rouge - Mark Philip Penberthy
They Will Know We Are Christians - Oliver P. Yandle
Existing TV Drama Spec (1 hour)
9-1-1 – “When the Sirens Fall Silent” - Matthew Prescott
Chicago Fire – “The Weight of the Flames” - Elizabeth Donovan
High Potential – “Idle Threat” - Charity Opalia Paniamogan
Law & Order: SVU - "The Silent Witness" - Katherine Montgomery
The Rookie - "A Badge of Deception" - Christopher Whitmore
Short Script
2 Minutes - Aliya Maryam Jackson
Bad Day - Glenna Goodman
DEAD EAST "Nippon Flight 319 - Paul Alan Gober
Peak Water — John Boal
Spiderpocalypse - Eugene Hattingh
The Revenge Club — Marla Naomi Eaton
The REVVER - Mike Hanson and Kelly Susan
