2026 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Finalists Announced!
ATLANTA, GA (March 9, 2026)—The Atlanta Film Society is pleased to present the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition Finalists. Chosen from 632 submissions, the following 29 feature film screenplays, 10 pilots, and 10 shorts represent the top 49 scripts 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 Semifinalists, 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
"Even the Brightest Girls" by Vivian Ip
"Expectations of Living" by Katherine Dixon
"Filibusta" by Ross Weinstein
"Ghost Mountain" by James Taing & Brian Kazmarck
"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
"Placage" by Qiana Bailey
"Potter's Field" by Lincoln Reed
"Rainbow Wish" by Ashley Nwogugu
"SANKOFA" by Fordang Nibalum
"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
"Who's The Dummy?" by Dwayne Colbert
Pilots:
"Almost Broken" by Brian Kurlander & Edwin Dasso
"Cracked" by Elizabeth Hickey
"Helmet Hair" by Faith Dismuke
"IMPOSTER" by Kalos Chu
"Jane Austen's Juvenilia" by Dana Wall
"Medusa: An Animated Series" by Ruby Mainieri
"New Karen" by Kim Richardson
"Qualia" by Art Blount
"The Last Asshole" by Warner Wood
"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
"Last Man Standing" by Alex Dauphin
"Lizzie Bell" by Charles Gay
"Olivia Colman Says My Farts Don’t Stink" by Lisa Marie Tedesco
"Pith" by Joyce Liu-Countryman
"The Harvest" by Suzanna Toole, Josefina Boneo, & Kate Dailey
"You Don't Say" by Juliet Colyer