2023 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Quarterfinalists

The Atlanta Film Society is pleased to present the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Quarterfinalists. Chosen from 1,921 total submissions, the following 193 feature film screenplays, 110 pilots, and 82 shorts represent the top twenty percent of all entries. Their authors are competing for invaluable mentorship opportunities to help hone their craft and plan the next steps in their careers in addition to cash prizes. Please join us in congratulating these impressive authors, and wish them well as the programming team continues to narrow this list down to the Semifinalists, Finalists, and eventually to 5 Winning Scripts!

Feature Screenplay Quarterfinalists

93% CHANCE OF HAPPINESS by Jeff Bower
ACTAEON by Dustin Quinteros
ADA by Nora Jaenicke
(AM I) GAY FOR AMY? by Meghan Lennox
AMERICAN DREAMS by by Tricia Lee & Corey Brown
AN UNFAMILIAR LIFE by Toni D'Antonio
ANALYTICA by Paul Ingoldsby
APACHE by Adam Seidel
THE APPLICANTS by Justin Ballheim
ARACHNIFABULOUS by Brian "Crusty" Horgan
ARMSTRONG IN HANOI by Bryerly Long
ARROW OF HONOR by Robin Woldorf & Rik Center
(A)SEXUAL AWAKENING by Henry Jarvis
AUGUST BEAUTY by Elisa Greenberg
BAD ROMANCE by Chad Wellinger
THE BANNER by Ernestina Juarez
BEETLE BABY by Asya Segalovich
THE BELL WITCH IS JUST A LESBIAN by Cieara West
BILL, GOD OF WAR by Caleb Dillon
BLACK COMEDY by Matt Foss & James Dickerson
BLACK IVORY by Adisa Septuri
BLOOD by Aashish Gadhvi
BLOOD ON THE MOUNTAIN by Emett Casey
BLOOD TATTOO by Bruce Hickey
BLOOD THIEF by Winnie Soldi
THE BODY OF CHRIS by Erin Brown Thomas
BOUNDARIES by Asad Farooqui
BRAIN GAMES by Alan Schwarz
BREEDER by Alex Goyette
A BULLET FOR A BASTARD by Chris Allen Helton & Waleed Hassan
BURN PATTERN by Laura M. Kemp
BURY THE LEDE by Brianna Naderpour
CAGE LIFE by Keri Lee
CAPTAIN BLOOD by Kate Imy
CAVEAT EMPTOR by Ray Goldberg
THE CELESTIAL HIGHWAY by Kevin J. Howard
CHANCE BY UNFATHOMABLE FATE by Dmani Williams
THE CHANCER by Fiona Graham
THE CHANS & SCHWARTZBAUMS SAVE CHRISTMAS! by Tricia Lee & Corey Brown
CHESTER HOUSE by Elvira Ibragimova
CHUM by John Cicco & Nathan Krieger
CLOSE by Kristen Wade
CONTINUED CARE by Gretchen Hopkirk
THE CRICKET by Gabe Berry
CUFFING SEASON by Jon Bershad
THE DEADHEAD by Justin Ballheim
DEAD MOM FRIEND SUMMERTIME FUN CLUB by Alex Walker
DEEP BLUE II: KASPAROV'S REVENGE by Ben Gottlieb
THE DEMON JOB by Robert Husted
DETH KNELL by Merida Quinlan
DIAL IT BACK by Erin Elizabeth Keefer
DIMINUENDO by Paul Gross
DIVINE GIFTS by Hamidreza Rafatnejad
DO OVER by Sari Earl
DOG DAYS by Ryan Nielsen
DOPE FRIEND by Matt Ferrucci
DOWN IN THE HOLLER by Paul Rowe
EASTERN SKIES by Andrew Liou
EMERGENCY CONTACT by Erin Brown Thomas & Kelly Vrooman
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL by Suzie Bohannon
ENSIGN by Stephanie Maura Sanchez
THE EVERYTHING GAME by Ryan Gielen
EXODUSTER by Gunnar Garrett
A FAMILY AFFAIR by Tim Bartell
THE FATHERS by Kristina Zill
THE FINAL CUT by Chaseedaw Giles
FIND ME IN YOUR SMILE by Guilherme Viegas
FIREFLIES by Amanda Keener
FIRST BLOODED by Kenya Collins
FLAT PENNIES by Robert Ward
FOR PHILLIP by Rob Seyk
FORGETTING JUPITER by Jeff Hindenach
FOX HOLLOWS by Joe Osborne
FRAGMENTED SCARS by Yanatha Desouvre
FRANK'S HEART by Marilynn Loveless
FREAKNIK by Jon Vaude
FROM ABOVE by Ben Tedesco
THE GAME CHANGER by Jerry Reedy
GOOD CHANCE by Tricia Lee
GOODBYE EVERYBODY by Benjamin Lewis
GREEN BLOODS by Kevin Percival
GRIEF LEECH by Shayna Hack
GROW HOME by Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan
HAVE MERCY by Jason Ruscio
THE HAWK AND THE SUN by Edward Gadrix
HOMECOMING by Aadrise Johnson
HOUSE ON FIRE by Donald Mitchell, Robert Goldberg, & James Goldberg
HUNGRY LITTLE CUBS by William Winston
HURRICANE by Chris Willis
I AM THE DRAGON KING by Storm Choi
IBU (MOTHER) by Kanya Iwana
IF THESE WALLS COULD SHUT UP by Gina DeAngelis
IMPROV by Genet Hughes
INTERBLOOM by Ari Dassa
THE IRON LEECH by Neal O'Bryan & Chad Thurman
THE ITCH by Jeremy Bradford
THE JANITOR by Woting Cai
A JERSEY CHRISTMAS MOVIE by Laura Napoli & Brian Gene White
KABUL, TOKYO by Lila Wakili
KALI ON THE ROPES by Ali Choucri
KEEPER by R.L. Hooker
KEESHA GOES TO CAMP by Rebecca Jordan Smith
KILLER CROSSOVER by Brandon Burkhart
KISS OF DARKNESS by MICHAEL MCCLUNG
A LABOUR OF LOVE by Olga Holtz
LADY INTO FOX by R. H. Farrell
THE LAST INDIAN WAR by Michael Graf
LAZY DAZY by Rudy Jansen
LEGGY by Sierra Smith
THE LION MAKOI by Chad Mathews
THE LOCK - IN by Maalik Evans
MAKE BELIEVE by Brit Cowan
MEAN STREAK by Janette Danielson & Giovana Frediani
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S PLAY by Eric Johnson
MILES TO GO by Ken Viteri-Lynn
MINISTER SPEER by Sven Anarki
MISCHIEF NIGHT by Peter Macaluso
MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Matthew Gomez
MOJO by Joanne Bellew
NEEDLES by Bobby Sacher
NOT HAUNTED by Katie Ennis
ODE TO ORANGE by Catherine Delaloye
OFFSHORE REVENGE by Marie Etzler
OLD MA by Jonathan Maxwell Shander
OLD MAIDEN'S PRAYER by Grace Gao
ONE WAY by Meital Cohen Navarro
ORANGEBURG 68' by Calhoun Cornwell
ORDINARY LIFE by Charlotte Alexander
OUR LADY OF SORROWS by Karen Conley
THE PAINTING by Stefan Alexander
THE PEPPER by Christine Garver
PHILLY BOYS by Kevin Giles
POPCORN PROPHETS by Reynaldo Leal
THE PRECIPITATING EVENT by EmmaC.
PRISONER OF DECEIT by Gretchen Klein
THE PROSECUTION by Vir Srinivas
THE PURPOSE OF A LIGHTHOUSE by Gabe Berry
RAISED BY DOGS by Christin Finch
THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH by Laurie Ann Crompton
REASONABLE by Jeremy Lloyd-Styles
REDACTED by Alexandra Redwood
REDEEMER'S LIGHT by Toyi Elizabeth
THE ROCK N' ROLL BROTHERS by Guil Parreiras
ROSEBUD by Kayla Hardy
RUMSPRINGA by Finnegan Haid & Jake Haddock
RUNAWAY BOB by Victoria Spencer Smith
RUSH by Lauren Wright & Chelsea Murphy
RUT by David Zaccaria
SAINTS AND SINNERS by Brit Cowan
THE SCORCHED FACE by Pauline McAlonan
SCRAPS by Ryan Nordin
SEA LEGS by Ariel Mahler
THE SECRET OF THE SMILE by Robin Russin
SECURITY THEATER by Daniel Sole
SENIOR LIVING by Kaitlin Larson & Kyle Boynton
SHADOWBOXING by Tsoanelo Rantsho & Logan Mitev
THE SHIMMERS by Brendan Vogel & Ruth Sabin
SHOOTING by Nathan Cabaniss
SIMULATION by Peter Jang
SKI WEEK by Mike Gallagher & Holly Martinez
SMALL TOWN by Gemma Addy
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER by William Schreiber
SON OF THE OPEN ROAD by Winn Smith
SOUTH WIND COME by Ernestina Juarez
STACY, GOD OF PAIN by Benjamin Drew Thompson
STEPH by Oksana Prysiazhniuk
SUCKERS by Elena Welles
SWASHBUCKLE by William Moon
SWOOSH by Al Titkemeyer
TAKE MY HAND by Sam Pavich
TAKEDOWN by Mark Cooper
TARNISHED by Matthew Walker
TARO: LEGEND OF JAPAN by Blue Spruell
TASTE THE ROAD, JACK by Stefan Alexander & Eric Williford
THE TEJANO by Derek C. Block
TESSTOSTERONE by Erin Elizabeth Keefer
THAT TRIFLIN’ S.O.B. CARTWRIGHT JENKINS by Christine Burright
THIS LIGHT OF MINE by Quinn Martin
THREE HUSBANDS, PLEASE! by Mack Ogden
TRICE by Matt Foss & Carlos Washington
(TRUE) NORTH by HF Crum
THE VAIROCANA by Jason Jacobson & Michelle Trantina
THE VIBE by Jill Czarnowski
VIBRANT by Toni Cunningham
THE VICIOUSES by Homeless
VIENNA CALLING by Renate Grassmugg
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS OFF by Al Sophianopoulos
WHAT'S LEFT OF US by Rae Jones
THE WHISKEY FOUR by Menna Dosal
WHO LET THE WALLFLOWERS OUT? by Virginia Austin
THE WORTH OF WOMAN$ WORK by EmmaC.
WYATT by Stephanie Gaston
A Z-AXIS SUNSET by Pete Gomori

Pilot Screenplay Quarterfinalists

THE ACADEMY by Brit Cowan
THE AFFECTED by Shane Harbinson
AFFIRMATIVE by Andrew Quailes
ALL BI MYSELF by Adam Patla
ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID by Cynthia Mersten
ARTHUR & LANCELOT by Victoria Zeutzius
BACK FIRES by Alex Blumberg
THE BARBERS OF NEW ENGLAND by Nicholas Fowler & Scott Fowler
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ADULTING by Joenique Rose
THE BIG HOUSE by Kristofer Mikal
BLACK NERD by Jon Carr
BROWN COUNTRY by Asad Farooqui
BUFORD HIGHWAY by Jordan Watland & Bahar Atvur
BUTCH by Rae Binstock
CHERRY PARK by Joseph Hooten
CITIZEN DETECTIVE by Hillary Stringer & Matthew Davis
CRICKET CLUB OF CANON HIGH by Priya Mohanty
DEEP RIVER by Peter Forbes
DISGRACEFUL by Rachael S. Morgan
DOWNTOWN by Brian Stone
DREAM BOY by Hannah Melissa Scott & Jordan Watson
EAT WHAT YOU KILL by Leslie Lyshkov
EMERGENT by Alan Mah Baxter
ESSIE ROSENBAUM MUST DIE by Miles Kahn
EVERYTHING IS FINE by Mike Devore
FAIRVIEW by Mia Volta
FAST BREAK by Kathryn Elise Drexler
FERALS by M.R. Fitzgerald
THE GALLERY by Will Downs
THE GREAT DESIRE by Cassandra Rose
GREETINGS FROM THE FLOODGATES by Mary von Aue
THE HAPPIEST PLACE by Jon Davis
HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN by Dayton Swanson & Colton Smith
HARDY'S TRADE by Greg Beck
HARPOON by Ria Tobaccowala
HIRADO by Jennifer Wilton
HIT LIST by Faye Treacy
HONEY + LEMON by Kenny Mulfort
HONEY'S UNICORN by D. A. Jolivette
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN by Nicola Pittam
INTO THE ETHER by Steve Brown & Robert Rogers
JOOK by Mugs Cahill
JOYCE by Alexandra Comeaux
KANDLESTICK MEN by Frank Monteleone
KEITH SWEATS by Lexx Truss
THE KING OF THE CANNIBALS by Sam Watson
LADY OF THE LAKE by Estella Gabriel
LAST OF THE COWBOYS by Brent Minderler
LIFE DURING WARTIME by Mark Bowes
LINE OF SCRIMMAGE by Rachel Thundat
THE LIST: A SINGLE LADY'S GUIDE TO FINDING THE PERFECT BABY DADDY by Brit Cowan
LITTLE LEAGUE by Manuel Victoria
LOTS BREWING by Kenneth Daniels
MAN-MADE by Ryan Cunningham
MASS APPEAL by Del Potter
THE MATCH by Justin Ballheim
MIXED FEELINGS by Danny Rogers
MORASA POLO by Meital Cohen-Navarro
A MORE PERFECT UNION by Jonathan Weisbrod
MOSTLY VIRGIN by Baldvin Kari & Ana Lazarevic
MR. DIY by Michael Johnston
MR. PLEASURE by Nicole Kemper
MT. CLEMENT by Randy Hines
MURDER SHOW by Rosalind Grush
MY HAPPY PLACE by Angel Hilson
NIGHT DOGS by Linhan Zhang
THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by Thomas Gaunt
NOT SUPER LEGAL by Carrie Fishbane
ORAC ELLE by Frank Monteleone
PACT ARCANUM by Arshad Ahsanuddin & Toby Osborne
THE PARC by Morgan Grice
PATROL by Rick Rowley
PHANTOM BLACK by Tyler Pagan & Ben Engebretson
THE PIRATE QUEEN by Nora-Jane Noone
THE POD by Diogo Beltran
PRICELESS by Betsy Nagler
THE QUARTER QUEEN by Kayla Hardy
QUEEN OF WARDS by Shanice Williamson
QUEENS VILLAGE by Samantha Lavin
REALITY BITES by Jack Mayer
REBOOTED by Jamaal Pittman
RENEGADE by Logan Porter
THE REPEATERS by Patrice Williams Marks
REVERSE by Benjamin Lewis
RISE OF THE PROPHECY by Antoine Bonner
SADIST by Jennifer Anderson
THE SAINT by Kenya Collins
SCOUNDREL by Amy Quick Parrish
SEABROOK by Alex Hanno
THE SEAWARD by Benjamin Lewis
SECOND UNIT by Ankush Khemani
SINGLE PERSON by Matt Foss
SLIM & NUN by Brandon Burkhart
SOUTH OF NORMAL by Jake Thomas
THE SPACE SUITS by Landon Ashworth
SPEEDWAY by Jane Kelly Kosek
SPRINGTIME by Danny Newell
STALKY & CO. by Nicole Lynn Cohen
STORM by Kristy Thomas
SWEAT by Xavier Burgin
TAPPED OUT by Melody Herr
TAURED by Christian Maxwell
TEMPERANCE (AND OTHER VIRTUES) by Alexandra Hayes
TRENCH TOWN by Ricardo Sean Thompson
UNDER THE BRIDGE by Richie Lee Cunningham
WHEN MANGOES START TO TURN YELLOW by Harika Ganeshni Bommana
WOMAN'S WORK by Erin Beute
YOU ARE NOT A HERO by Josh Jacobs
YOUNG AMERICANS by Grace E. Ward
YOUNGBLOODS by Stacey Russell

Short Screenplay Quarterfinalists

2 - 3 YEARS by Sarah Polhaus
83 HUNT ROAD by Kimani Key
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LIBRARY by Kyle Casey Chu & Roisin Isner
AL'Z PILLOW by Daniel Taylor
ALWAYS by Sasha Das
APPARATCHIK by Morgane Ciot
APPOINTMENT FOR: by Kanya Iwana
ARC by Stephen Evans
THE ART OF ETERNAL LOVE by Dawn Reavis
AT NIGHT by Michael Wells
BABY LOVE by Kate Kelsen
BE MY BOY by Ethan Homen
THE BLOUSE by Ksenia Naughton
BLUE DREAM by Fray Forde & Catherine Dee Holly
BONESEED by Brett Brooks & Joshua David Matthews
BREATHE by Mark Labella
BRIEF ENCOUNTER by Ankush Khemani
CHOICE by Bernhard Riedhammer
THE DAY HE BLINKED THE WORLD AWAY (BLINK) by Joseph Vranas
THE DEADLINE by Mike Gallagher
DEVIL'S INSTRUMENT by Frederik Ehrhardt
THE DOOR IN THE MIRROR by Geoff Murillo
ESE DÍA (THAT DAY) by Alycya Magana
FIGHT LIKE A GIRL by Melody Herr
FIND ME by Li Lin
THE FUTURE REPORT by Elisabeth Hayward
GATSBY by Alec Seymour
GENERATION SERVICE by Kiwana Rose
THE GHOST OF PEMBROKE LODGE by Olga Holtz
THE GHOSTODIANS by Leila Murton Poole
THE GOOD SAMARITAN by Phil Vengrinovich
GOODNIGHT, GRACIE by Ryan Montanti
HAVE A MINT by Taylor McTague
HEARTSTRINGS by J.D. Zelman & Matthew Dushkes
HOLO by Alexander Maxwell & Ash Brandon
HOLY-DAYS by Laurel Gans
HOT TORTILLAS by Nicolas Jara
HOUSE OF WOLVES by Andrew Yeremeyev
I LOVE NANCY MEYERS by Narineh Tahmasebian
I SEE YOU by Faith Dismuke
IF YOU LEAVE by Emily Bingham
KILLING CHERRY JANE by Cassidy Rose Layton
KOUKLA by Jamie-Michelle Whalen
THE LAST CREATION by Brad Cooper
LASTING MARK by Shaun Radecki
LEAVE US WHERE WE LEFT IT by Krista Gallagher
LEFT & LEAVING by Michael Mau
LOVELY BIG BUFFALO (BUFALA GRANDE BELLA) by Tiffani Davis & Michelangelo Missoni
THE MAN IN THE CABIN by Robbie Lemieux
MAN UP FAIRY DUST by Christopher Schwartz
METAL BOX by Brayden Dalmazzone
MONSTROUS by Maya Ricol
MOON EYES by Alston Jones
MY FEET ARE STILL BLUE! by Shaun Radecki
MY WAY by Afton Quast Saler
NO VACANCY by Jay Sherer & Nathan Scheck
NO, DOUGHN'T! by Nicole Lynn Cohen
ONOURA by Chigozie Onyeaka
PAL by Michael Mau
THE PAPERS by Suzan Battah
PERIOD by Katherine Olson
PIETRA FREDDA by Matthew Nicholson
R.E.G.G.I.N by A. D. Smith
SAINT EZEKIEL by Michael Tannenbaum
SAY YES by Gabe Berry
SILENCE THE DEADLY by E.M.P.
SNAPSHOT by Jake Thomas
THERE'S A FROG ON MARS (IT'S TRUE!) by Shaun Radecki
THIS LIFE by Larry J. Allen, Jr.
TO THE MOON by Michael Dukakis
TODD KNOWS by Michael Buonocore
TROPHY by Ben Gottlieb
THE UNTAMED by Olga Holtz
VINYL TAPED MARY JANE by Angel Hilson
WALL by Erin Cantelo
WEEPING WALL by Mark Dollard
THE WELCOMERS by Matt O'Connor
WHO ARE YOU, NANU? by Anjini Taneja Azhar
THE WORTH OF THINGS by Jane Ballentyne
YA GHALBI by Yasmeen Albrahim
YOU DON'T EVEN SAY CUCKOO! by Shaun Radecki
ZEPHYR by Amy Allen