Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition

2020 Competitions
US NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
winner

King of Knives

Directed by Jon Delgado
runner-up

Songs for a Sloth

Directed by Bradley Hasse
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
winner

Am Rande der Zeiten

Directed by Jörg Reichlin
runner-up

The Windmill

Directed by Arthur Moore
US DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
winner

The One and Only Jewish Miss America

Directed by David Arond
runner-up

Songs that Never End

Directed by Yehuda Sharim
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
winner

Peat & Diesel: That's the Way We Do It!

Directed by Daibhidh Martin
runner-up

The Rock'n Roll Dream

Directed by John Kaare Hoversholm and Finn-Erik Rognan
US NARRATIVE SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

The Lobbyists

Directed by Thomas Pace
runner-up

Good Counsel

Directed by David J. Levine
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

Accio Love

Directed by Joel Stephen Fleming and Melanie Hayward
runner-up

Stuntbot

Directed by Olivia Foa'i
US DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

Filterswept

Directed by Rosa Costanza
runner-up

Dear Johnny Reb

Directed by Philip H Scarborough Jr.
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

Capitaine

Directed by Johann Vorster
runner-up

Dance House Kogane 4422

Directed by Ryosuke Sato
STUDENT NARRATIVE SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

Kaddish

Directed by Razid Season
runner-up

My Name is Thomas Cain

Directed by Joseph Longo
STUDENT DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM COMPETITION
winner

Talking to Strangers

Directed by Lucy Rosenthal
runner-up

DACAmented

Directed by Samantha Campbell. Emma Greally and Kate Parker
ANIMATED FILM COMPETITION
winner

shadowland

Directed by bellopropello
runner-up

Icons

Directed by Ronnie Cramer
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION - ENGLISH
winner

Paper Jackets: Ghost of You

Directed by Mahala Gaylord
runner-up

Big Yellow Taxi

Directed by Matt Mahurin
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION - INTERNATIONAL
winner

Teleapàtic

Directed by Sito Ruiz and Esteve Puig
runner-up

I'm Here

Directed by Kateryna Tiurina
TV/WEB EPISODE COMPETITION
winner

The System

Directed by Michael Cruz
runner-up

Divorce School

Directed by Dana Marisa Schoenfeld
FILM/TV/WEB TRAILER COMPETITION
winner

End of Crows

Directed by RaeAnne Hadley
runner-up

¡Indestructible!: Baseball on the Isthmus

Directed by Eric Soussanin
COMMERCIAL COMPETITION
winner

Final Moments

Directed by Dax Phelan
runner-up

Pianocide

Directed by Brice Blanloeil
SOUNDTRACK COMPETITION
winner

A Royal Love Extended

By Guy Renardeau
runner-up

Keeping Christmas

By Raphael Fimm
ORIGINAL SONG COMPETITION
winner

My Amazing Grace

By Debra Gussin and Dale Effren
runner-up

The Terrorist

By Kesari Bhattacharya

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

This year’s stand out category has been the sweeping epic. Our winning screenplay spans a period of 94 years and though it is fiction, with references to some real events like the Kennedy assassination and the Salad Oil scandal, it tells a very believable story. In second place is a satirical take on the founding and dissolution of Brook Farm which perverts the lives of several historical figures. The pilot that ranked third follows the lives of three intertwined families.

Also of special note are a musical in three acts set in California during the tumultuous year of 1856 after the Gold Rush and an “epic” love story set in South India as the British Raj was coming to an end.

Judging the works of so many talented writers is truly hard. In the end our judges have to assign numeric scores in multiple categories to each screenplay and these scores are tallied up. So you may miss being included in the list of winners below by very few points but this is how competitions work.

Face Painters
Giovanni Sanseviero
Face Painters is a dual narrative, multi-generational epic set in two eras in the lives of the Gravetti family. The present is 1963 Brooklyn. Luca is losing his battle with dementia, and Buono, a masterful casket maker and full-blown illiterate, must juggle both the family’s ailing funeral home and his dear father. The past is 1928 Tuscany. Buono reminisces about his childhood and his family’s last days before immigrating to America. Luca finds a chance to finally gain his father’s respect by rebuilding a chapel for the impoverished peasants, but when a scheming bishop demands even more, a local strong-arm is rebuffed. Luca disregards his family’s dire warnings, seduced by the praise of the villagers and ignoring the ominous powers heading their way. This culminates in one of the most traumatic experiences Buono can remember as a child, a life-changing event that makes him and his family an even greater target for revenge and catapults him to manhood well beyond his grasp.
Brook Farm
Alexander Wake
On the cusp of American Civil War, a group of Boston intellects cast out to the countryside to establish a progressive society, but their ill-prepared nature sends them into historic disarray.
Blue Spice Queen
Dean Harakas
Blue Spice Queen follows three intertwined Chicago families connected to Giovanna Murphy, an enigmatic, dynamic and alluring art gallery owner.
Outstanding Achievement
(in alphabetical order by title)
Christians, The - Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile
Tony Gioutsos
Exploring the harrowing times of Christian persecution in history, a devoted present-day believer answers God’s call to greatness.
Elvenheim
Lawrence DeGala
"Elvenheim" is an action-fantasy feature about champion sorcerers of the Greater Elven Tribe and of the Ogre Nation vying for the Prophesied One from the human world who is no more than a high school girl leading a normal life. Accompanied by her stalwart friend Maggie Villeroy and lawman Deputy Blaze, Excelia "Eks" Rodgers must overcome both the Elven and Ogrish trials while battling a powerful and mysterious cult leader and his following of murderous occult fanatics.
In the Land of Angels
Rich Vincent
Ryan, a washed-up and alcoholic cop, searches for his wife, Sara, and their son who disappeared some time ago. In his hunt, he allies himself with the ex-wife of the man with whom Sara ran off.
Lajjawati
Sumathy Ram & Charles Leopardo
During the waning years of British rule, the timeless tranquility of a rural Indian village is shattered by a fateful encounter between a treasure-hunting Muslim journalist and an orthodox Brahmin lady, the wife of the Sanskrit Pandit.
Vigilance of San Francisco, The
Ronald Joseph Paquette
An epic three-part musical with the heart of "It's a Wonderful Life" about political ambition, artistic jealousy, and the redemptive power of brotherly love. The story is set during the remarkable events of San Francisco’s unbridled citizen’s revolt of 1856 when a populist Vigilance Committee overthrew the corrupt government only to turn the city into an Orwellian dictatorship.
What We Leave Behind
David Duty
After returning home from duty in Iraq, a troubled veteran is visited by the ghost of an Army Staff Sergeant and is tasked with looking after the dead man's widow and young child.
Honorable Mentions
(in alphabetical order by title)
Evening, The
Grayson Tyler Johnson
Dr. Catherine Sellers and two grad students arrive at the southern town of Davisburg to investigate an ecological anomaly amidst the bustle of a high school boys basketball tournament. Also, killer deers!
Hurricane
Mitchell Graham Colley
As a young girl navigates an unstable home, a chance encounter with a woman coping with the loss of her son creates an unlikely friendship.
Letters to Stephanie
Jo-Ann Bierer Wilhelm
True story - In 1983, society forces a man and woman to release their daughter for adoption. They and a grieving grandmother are permitted to write letters without identifiable information for the adoption file. Believing in miracles, the grandmother writes clues.
Milk Money
Charon Green
DJ, a 20 something stoner, goes to costly lengths to prove he is a good father.
Natalie Rising
Donna Wheeler
A prodigy musician fights to break free from patriarchal forces silencing her, and partners with a whacky singer/songwriter neighbor to battle societal pressures against women who seek greatness.
Quisling, The
Lynn Elliott
The Quisling is an action drama. When a suspected terrorist is arrested at the airport, his deportation defense is led by a young, inexperienced attorney. Gradually he unravels a series of twists and turns in the case, which lead back to his own family’s involvement in betrayal.
Runaway with Me
Lee Voelkel
Lee, a middle-aged teacher tells a true story to his teenage art students about a noteworthy week during his junior year in Savannah College of Art and Design film school.
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