After weeks of careful deliberation, The Edge and SUSUtv are delighted to announce the winner of our screenwriting competition.
Of the dozen entries we received from eager students at the University of Southampton, three screenplays stood out for their originality, creative content and written accuracy.
The judging panel, comprised of representatives from each society, judged the scripts blind – ranking their top three among the entries to determine which script was best received. Below are the results, revealing the winner of our screenwriting competition, as well as two screenplays which were also so good that we couldn’t let this moment pass without deeming them highly commendable.
Winner: ‘Papercut Quarantine’ by Jonny Rogers
The winner of our competition, who has won the opportunity to see their script produced and reviewed by us, is Jonny Rogers, who thoroughly entertained us with his wonderfully meta screenplay, ‘Papercut Quarantine’. Following four filmmaker friends’ humorous deliberations on what makes the perfect film, the script impressed the judges with its self-referential wit, dark humour and twist ending.
Highly Commended: ‘Focus’ by Sophie Trenear
Written by one of our very own writers, Sophie Trenear, ‘Focus’ is a bleak but engaging drama about two estranged sisters who come together in a diner to discuss their past quarrels and reveal their inner demons. This script also impressed the judges with its engaging dialogue, interesting characterisation and surprise twist ending.
Highly Commended: ‘subtle’ by Wasa Sitali
Written by Wasa Sitali, ‘subtle’ is a dark and surreal comedy, following the exploits of two guys who struggle to cover up an accidental incident involving a girl’s dog. This script impressed the judges with its humorous dialogue and plot and its hilariously surreal end sequence.
Speaking of the competition, one of our judges, Ashleigh Millman (Deputy Editor of The Edge) commented:
“We’re really thrilled with the quality of submissions and range of conceptual pieces. After much hard deliberation, ‘Papercut Quarantine’ has come out on top, reflecting the high standard of work that was sent over to us – and we can’t wait to see it brought to life! The next step for the Edge is to review the final product; one that will be submitted to various competitions (including our very own Student Film Festival) further down the production line. The Edge is so excited to be working with SUSUtv in this capacity and looks forward to seeing more in the future!”
Speaking on behalf of SUSUtv, Original Exec, Tom Pethick said:
“The quality of all the submissions was really high – they all had wonderful concepts. ‘Papercut Quarantine’ was no different, a brilliant concept, that was executed with such originality, humour and visual excellence that it was a submission we couldn’t ignore. I – and SUSUtv – are really excited to get this fantastic project off the ground and fulfil its amazing potential. We look forward to working with the screenwriter and The Edge in making a short film that is like it’s script – impossible to ignore.”
Production on ‘Papercut Quarantine’ will begin in January 2017.
Congratulations to our winning and highly commended entrants, and thank you to everyone who submitted a screenplay! Look out for the short film and our subsequent review in the near future!
