2026 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Semifinalists Announced!
ATLANTA, GA (February 27, 2026)—The Atlanta Film Society is pleased to present the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Semifinalists. Chosen from 632 submissions, the following 35 feature film screenplays, 13 pilots, and 16 shorts represent the top ten 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 wishing them well as the programming team continues to narrow the list down to Finalists, and, eventually, 5 Winning Scripts!
Feature Films:
"24 Hours From Tulsa" by Louisa Rorschach
"Adventures in Serial Killing" by Jack Warner
"Amen & Ameen" by Susan Polk
"American Fairy Tales" by A. S. Templeton
"BENEATH THE UNDERCURRENT" by Helen Alexis Yonov
“Crack’d” by Greg Emetaz
“Even the Brightest Girls” by Vivian Ip
“Expectations of Living” by Katherine Dixon
“Filibusta” by Ross Weinstein
"Ghost Mountain" by James Taing and Brian Kazmarck
"Haines Code" by Paul Baker, Ellis Stump, and Neeta Thadani
"Home Bound" by Tijuana Ricks
“HUNTSMEN” by Fred O. Dery
"It's What He Would've Wanted" by Samantha Goldklang
"June, Friday" by Han Liang
"Let's Talk Tacheles" by Matthew Danciger
"LYNCHIN'" by Izayah Davis
“Picnic At Gettysburg” by Pearse Lehane
"Placage" by Qiana Bailey
"Potter's Field" by Lincoln Reed
"Rainbow Wish" by Ashley Nwogugu
"SANKOFA" by Fordang Nibalum
"SHE DONE IT" by Betsy Nagler
"Stormrunner" by Jack Padgett
"Sweet Jesus" by Greyson Wyatt
“ThA Brethren” by Stephen Neely
"The Age of Elijah" by H. Philip Owens
"The Fourth Psalm" by John Martins III
"The Makings of You" by Jon Vaude
"The Phrogger" by Joel McElvaney
"Those We Leave Behind" by Amanda Keener
"Until Nightfall" by Lou Blackmon
"Wander" by Raymond Wood
"What Have I Done to Deserve This?" by Ethan Harding
“Who's The Dummy?” by Dwayne Colbert
"Your Friend" by Jason Kesse
Pilots:
"Almost Broken" by Brian Kurlander and Edwin Dasso
"Cracked" by Elizabeth Hickey
“Helmet Hair” by Faith Dismuke
"IMPOSTER" by Kalos Chu
"Jane Austen's Juvenilia" by Dana Wall
"Mad Color" by Annique Arredondo
"Medusa: An Animated Series" by Ruby Mainieri
"New Karen" by Kim Richardson
"Qualia" by Art Blount
"Sixty Nine" by Ksenia Tolmazin
"The Last Asshole" by Warner Wood
"The Soul Scouts" by Carter Glace
"The Urning - Life and Times of a Gay Rights Pioneer" by Chris Halligan
Short Films:
"A Fighting Chance" by Shane Starr
"Bleed" by Tristin Thompson
"BYOB (Bring Your Own Body)" by Taylor Winters
"Hanout (herbal embalming)" by Hossein Soleimani
"Keeling" by Ken Schwarz
"Last Man Standing" by Alex Dauphin
"Lizzie Bell" by Charles Gay
"Monsters" by Alex Dauphin
"Olivia Colman Says My Farts Don’t Stink" by Lisa Marie Tedesco
"Pith" by Joyce Liu-Countryman
"The Harvest" by Suzanna Toole, Josefina Boneo, and Kate Dailey
"The Rest is Silence" by Aayushi A. Shah
"The Road to Zoar" by Jomo Merritt
"The Shepherd" by Stephani Ouzts
"We'll Be Safe Here" by Erin Copen Howard
"You Don't Say" by Juliet Colyer