TV Pilot 2023 Screenwriting Contest — WINNER & RUNNERS UP
The Filmarket Hub platform is delighted to announce the winner and runners-up of its 2023 Screenwriting Contest for English language TV Pilots!
For the fourth consecutive year, this initiative aims to discover great scripted series from fresh voices and connect them with the industry.
WINNER
‘UNCLEAN’
Written by Francesca Tasini
Italy
Drama · Comedy · Thriller
8 episodes x 50 minutes
Desperate for money and on the run from her toxic past, Penelope takes a job as a Web Cleaner for a well-known social media network; but instead of independence, she finds herself battling not only her own demons, but the insidious, conspiratorial intentions of her new employer.
Awards:
· US$ 1,000 cash award.
· A one off deep-analysis session with the Script Compass team (worth £1000).
· Script feedback from the contest Executive Partners: 108 Media, Bonafide, Wiip and Sayle Screen.
· ‘Logline Surgery’ feedback session with Lucy V Hay @ Bang2Write (worth $149).
· An invitation to join the next Filmarket Hub’s List — a curated online catalogue distributed to leading TV companies.
· An invitation to participate at FEST — Pitching Forum in Portugal.
· Final Draft screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
· Industry Access — On Ramp Programme (1 month) from Roadmap Writers (worth $95).
· A Writers Store discount (valued at $79.99)
· An invitation to be featured on the Filmarket Hub curated online marketplace.
· A mail out recommending the project to Filmarket Hub’s international database of TV companies.
FINALIST
‘THE ACCIDENTAL TERRORIST’
Written by Gary Lee Mahmoud, Amadeo Fusca & Josh Apter
USA
Comedy
8 episodes x 30 minutes
When two Syrian best friends, an introverted tech-nerd and a wannabe actor, lose what little they have, they jump at an opportunity to go to New York City and pursue the American Dream. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare when they realize they’ve unwittingly enlisted in a terrorist plot.
Awards:
· Script feedback from the contest Executive Partners: 108 Media, Bonafide, Wiip and Sayle Screen.
· An invitation to participate at the FEST FILM LAB organized by FEST.
· Final Draft screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
· Industry Access — On Ramp Programme (1 month) from Roadmap Writers (worth $95).
· A Writers Store discount (valued at $79.99)
· An invitation to be featured on the Filmarket Hub curated online marketplace.
· A mail out recommending the project to Filmarket Hub’s international database of TV companies.
SEMI-FINALIST
‘SHADOWLANDS’
Written by Russel D McLean
UK
Horror · Mystery · Thriller
6 episodes x 60 minutes
In a remote Highland village, a new-to-the-area police officer and a writer with a secret must join forces to confront deadly supernatural forces at play.
Awards:
· Final Draft screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
· Industry Access — On Ramp Programme (1 month) from Roadmap Writers (worth $95).
· A Writers Store discount (valued at $79.99)
· An invitation to be featured on the Filmarket Hub curated online marketplace.
·A mail out recommending the project to Filmarket Hub’s international database of TV companies.
TOP 10
More amazing scripts ranked in the top 10. They will join Filmarket Hub’s curated online marketplace!
‘BLOOD, WATER, DUST’ by Litza Bixler
UK · USA
Horror · Drama
10 episodes x 60 minutes
In a two stoplight town plagued by drought, the dried-up husks of men start to appear. When the local Sheriff investigates, she encounters a bi-racial Maya girl (15) who is haunted by a centuries old curse.
‘BOTTLED UP’ by Rob Cromwell
UK
Comedy · drama
8 episodes x 30 minutes
Bea is a husk of the woman she once was, her life dominated by a terrible sadness she will not talk about. Then she meets a man claiming to be a 5,000 year old opium addicted Genie with trust issues. Together they begin to tackle the world and embark on a journey that will help them both rediscover the joy of life and maybe even save one another.
‘GIVING UP THE GHOST’ by Grant Bright
UK
Horror · Comedy · Drama
8 episodes x 45 minutes
When a grieving ghosthunter is dragged from his cynical drudgery by an explosion of supernatural phenomenon in his home town, he must join his terrible friends to investigate the connection to his dead girlfriend and stop the hungry spirits desperate to return to the world of the living.
‘HOT SPRINGS’ by Adam J Mendez
Cuba
Drama
9 episodes x 60 minutes
A Wall Street failure dodges his debts and accepts a mysterious invitation to Hot Springs, Arkansas, a luxurious bathhouse city rife with gambling and bootleg liquor. When Mr. Wall Street accepts a bookkeeping job at the city’s most popular speakeasy, he finds out how hot the waters really are.
‘HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS’ by Sean Neumann
USA
Drama · Sports
8 episodes x 60 minutes
An obscure and reckless oil man wakes up drunk in a Mexico resort, sees that the Dallas Cowboys are for sale, and rashly sells all of his assets, buys the team, putting himself 40 million dollars in debt. But he has an idea, hire his old college roommate to coach the team.
‘REZBALL’ by Aaron Toronto & Matthew Toronto
USA
Sports · Drama
13 episodes x 60 minutes
Desperate and disparate worlds explode on impact when a talented but addiction-riddled NBA star begins coaching a team of marginalized, troubled high school ballers on The Rez.
‘THE COURIER’ by Gary J Hewitt
UK
Drama · Mystery
6 episodes x 60 minutes
After his brother’s death, a courier helps his estranged family escape a life of crime, only to find himself entangled in the same corrupt world.
‘THE KEEPER OF THE KING’S MENAGERIE’ by Judith Bunting
UK
Drama · Romance
6 episodes x 60 minutes
In 1820s London, a committed animal keeper is hired to reinvigorate King George IV’s Menagerie at the Tower of London. Before the keeper can save his beloved animals, he must navigate the noble, powerful world of high society and the nascent animal rights movement, while a national war hero threatens to destroy his life’s work.
‘THE SENSUALIST’ by Suzanne Griffin
USA
Drama
8 episodes x 60 minutes
In 1898 New York, a charming, hedonistic stockbroker on the verge of ruin must battle an onslaught of Antisemitism that threatens his family’s survival — even as his brilliant wife and bohemian lover forge daring new lives that challenge his privilege and upend his desires.
‘WHEN THE DEVIL CAME ASHORE’ by Pelé Hearne
UK
Thriller · Drama
6 episodes x 60 minutes
From Nigeria’s lush rainforests and the dizzying chaos of Lagos, to the urban jungle of London; a Nigerian mercenary named N’Kulu and his teenage companion, Mary, embark on a perilous journey of retribution. Their mission: to seek vengeance for their people entangled in the treacherous world of organized crime and the synthetic heroin trade. Armed with a formidable arsenal of fear, myth, and superstition, N’Kulu unleashes the Devil on the Quinn Crime Family and the unforgiving streets of London.
Many thanks to all who submitted scripts, and congratulations to the WINNER and RUNNERS-UP!
At Filmarket Hub, we are continually working to launch new calls and industry opportunities for your projects, so please stay tuned to our social media and regularly visit the Open Calls section on the platform.
Become now a Full Access member of Filmarket Hub to submit unlimited projects and enjoy a whole year of opportunities!
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