2016 - MAZ LAHOOTI

Second Runner Up : NOMAD by Maziar Lahooti

This  year we’ve decided to check in with past Finish Line winners. Though we’re in touch with all our past winners and many semi-finalists, we’re choosing a few to, we hope, add insight, enthusiasm and substance to the life of a working writer.

2016: THE FIRST YEAR OF OUR COMPETITION

Grand Prize Winner: FREEDOM AIN’T FREE by Charlie Jones (Charlie is currently a film critic in the UK)

First Runner Up: COACHING CLASS by Adite Banerjie (Adite has published several romance novels via Harper Collins. She is currently writing for a multi-season TV show about Indian cooking and culture starring Sanjeev Kapoor. One of her Harlequin Books is being adapted into an international television series.)

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Hello Maz — What’s going on in your career now?

The actor’s strike, unfortunately, put a feature film we were casting – one I have written and am attached to direct – DIE WELL - into a holding pattern, which, if I’m being honest, doesn’t look like it will recover from. It’s still currently under option by the production company, but I’m not sure it will get up right now.

Otherwise, I was writing for various production companies for years, and even a studio. The script I got into Finish Line with – NOMAD – was under option by a prominent production company for a while, and it was further developed, but market priorities changed, and feature film crime drama – at least in Australia – lost appeal. I got the option back, kicked it around as a limited series for a while, but am now developing it as a feature film again, into something more personal.

I wrote for Warner Brothers studios for about a year and a half and did several drafts of a really cool science fiction piece, but then when the development executive who was overseeing the project left, interest in the project lapsed.

I spent years on another family crime drama for another prominent production company, with a great director attached, which did turn into a fantastic script, but unfortunately, the script’s themes were a bit too related to current events going on at the time, and they began to feel stale by the time the script was ready. So that didn’t happen either.

I’ve spent time in writer’s rooms in development for various shows, which I enjoy but I honestly don’t find that conducive to my own writer’s process. Unless everyone in the room knows each other well, there’s always weird politics going on. And there’s a lot of tokenization, which comes with weird expectations from brown people. A lot of people seem to have formed ideas about who we are, or who we’re supposed to be, and when the reality of how diverse we actually are among ourselves becomes evident, many of us who don’t fit certain criteria (I don’t know what they are), become less interesting. This is fine, because it’s disappointing to realize you’re not there for your writing, but because of something else that you have no control over.

I also directed a feature film called BELOW with Anthony LaPaglia in 2019, which, although it had a distributor, and can be found on Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube rentals and on DVD, was released literally when COVID hit, so that just utterly killed its chances, though it was on streaming for a while. We managed to get a handful of reviews, all of which were good, but its momentum was squashed. And the subject matter, at the time, was kind of sensitive so there was some controversy around it that the producers and distributor backed away from. I didn’t write the feature, I was attached purely as a director, and it was a tonally heightened, really dark dramatic comedy, with an absolutely fantastic cast, so I valued the experience. But I also learned a lot about the state of film marketing and distribution that I didn’t like. At least in Australia.

Good thing about all this relative failure, as I got paid for it, sometimes even well, and it’s improved my writing massively. And I’m also increasingly writing novels (novelizations of my simpler features, of which I have so many by now), which is a big learning curve.

I also got tired of waiting in option and development hell, so I’ve written a super simple pilot for a super simple series, orbiting themes I have the experience to know would get whittled out if I took it through the traditional development process. I recently shot it, planning to use it as a proof of concept for investors (the whole show requires such little resources, I can almost shoot it without compromise for the same costs as a podcast series), but also a short film.

It’s a freeing experience since after years of writing, essentially for others, I’ve a noticed a heap of themes and subjects and general story territory that every bit of industry incentive steers us away from. Doing it completely independently and having developed the writing and directing skillset to be able to write compelling low resource driven content I can shoot over a few weekends, is kind of healing. I’m just letting sound post do its thing before I put it out, which I’ll put into a pitch package for producers, but also put out to festivals.

It’s all designed around a template where each episode focuses around a high stakes interview/interrogation, so it’s dialogue driven. It’s an idea that actually took me years to develop since it’s incredibly difficult to make that compelling cause the content itself has to be really interesting, which usually means educational too. But the podcast boom, and my addiction to podcasts, feel like they infused me with an innovative way to integrate some of the really engaging aspects of those podcast conversational interviews into aspects of the dramatic dialogue – the result being this idea.

Anyways, that’s what I just did, and what I’m doing (I have a 2nd episode, which tags onto the first, the two as one acting as a feature length pilot – or just an indie feature), which I’ll shoot next year some time if I still find myself in this industry limbo option hell. I kind of don’t mind because I feel like I’m finally getting to utilize my skills to make what I actually want, and say what I want to say, which, oddly, for me, mostly got whittled away on anything I ended up developing with producers.

I’m also story producing observational documentary TV shows, right now, pretty much full time, which is great because it’s an easy pivot for a screenwriter/director, pays well, utilizes most of the same story skills, and is a crash course (for me) in a form that I can utilize for my own dramatic writing.

I feel like with the rise of AI, high cost content will become increasingly difficult to justify, so as I venture into what I’m thinking of as phase 2 of my independent filmmaking career, I figure I may as well master the resources and forms that will probably be the last ones to go (the documentary form that requires real subjects, that is).

If this sounds traumatizing. I mean... it has been. But nobody said the life of an artist is easy.

What happened between then and now to move you forward in your career?

Honestly, my career feels like it moves forward when I decide to just do my own thing. Write what I want. Make what I want. Then somehow the industry seems to find me, and coerce me back into that whole thing. And then it goes well for a while until I kind of stop doing my own thing because all my time goes to work I’m doing as part of the “industry”. Then the work dries up, and I go back to doing my own thing, which is the only reason I ever started doing this.

One noticeable difference is that when I do my own thing, things seem to get done, and get done well. When the industry gets involved, a big part of my creative energy goes to navigating whatever all that is supposed to be, which I’m not saying isn’t important... for “industry”, but it does get in the way of good film-making.

That said, I still have my manager, Josh Kesselman at Sugar 23 for American stuff, and I still have my agent Needeya Islam, at Cameron’s, for Australian stuff, and that whole time, I’ve been steadily improving my scripts by sneakily submitting all my WIP’s to the Finish Line Competition for their fantastic notes.  

Get those notes by entering HERE .

What to do when things are scary? Look for the helpers.

We all know anecdotally or personally that the entertainment industry, especially television, is going through some rough times. We have heard the hopes for 2025 and seen some uptick in the success of independent films, though this remains an incredibly hard facet of filmmaking to break into. Let’s face it – it’s all hard! But as Tom Hanks said, “If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great.”

When things are hard it makes one work with more energy, more passion and take more risks. All of these traits are what move us ahead in the industry and in life even in the easier times. Without these traits you’re simply lucky, and while that’s true of some people, it’s not what really shows us who you are.

What to do in times like this? Here are a few ideas:

Don’t give up. This is always a difficult business and there are few overnight successes. Keep working on your creative outlet without expectation. Just write for yourself or shoot a very low budget short film.

Connect with other creatives who are going through the same things you are. Collaboration is what this business thrives on so two and three and four heads are better than one and when you all get together, who knows what connections you can make.

Get in touch with your contacts in the industry and update them on what you’ve been up to. Everyone is feeling the struggle, not just writers, so discussing your work and what might come next year is imperative to keeping those contacts alive. If someone in the industry has offered to chat and said to stay in touch – DO IT! Do it when you have things to offer them because as writers often forget, EVERYONE is looking for good material. You have it – they want it. Don’t undersell yourself.

Look for the helpers and look for people who don’t take no for an answer. This is the key to living this life. We had one of our strongest years this year and in 2020 when Covid hit. Some competitions skipped that year (!!!!) but what was there to do but sit inside and read? Our winner Guy Rowland continues to reap the rewards of his brilliant script REVELATION, which is very much on its way to being made, a writer’s room being developed and his success in the industry solidified.

There is never a time to stop unless that’s what you want to do. And those who have access to the industry, like Finish Line and others, know that all time is a good time to be working with writers, developing projects and making sure they’re being seen by those producers and executives who can help take them to the next level. If you’re interested in those producer and executives, please check out our MENTORS section and see the level which we can be of help.

2023-2024 WINNERS

These three FINALIST scripts (listed in alphabetical order) have been chosen as the ‘Best of’ the 2023-2024 Finish Line Competition season via our judging panel but have not yet been put in ‘winning’ order. We need some more time but did not want to keep our semi-finalists waiting.

Congratulations to these three talented writers!

Always Forever by Sasha Siljanovic (1/2 hour television pilot)

The Fire Man by Pepi Kokab (feature)

Who is Amy Bock? by Jane Wilson (feature)

2023-2024 Semi-Finalists

FEATURES

Call me Frank by Graham Kosakdownoski

Daisy by Iain Anderson

Ελευθερία by Madeleine Parry

Five Tigers by Sheetal Vig

K-Town Blues by Kyung-Ja Lee

Rev by Dante Savion

Some Sins by Thomas Archer

The Deadhead by Justin Ballheim

The Fire Man by Pepi Kokab

The Mostly True Story of Amy Bock by Jane Wilson

Whispers from the Watchtower by Jai Brandon

Wojtek by Mick Levy

TELEVISION PILOTS & SHORT FILM SCRIPTS

7th Ward by Christian Cernauskas

Always Forever by Sasha Siljanovic

Remora by Jonathan G. Haller

Say Something by Emily Holleman

Street Knowledge by Greg Sawicki & Brian Miller

Terror and Virtue by Ernest Pysher

The Pod by Saraphina Redalieu

The Temp by Devi Snively

This is Jan by Robert Larriviere, Hunter Burke & Nick Lavin

Thursday’s Child by Sayan Kent

2023-2024 Quarter-Finalists

FEATURES

A Call from China by Ye Zhang

After the Exorcism by Zach Siegel

America’s Great White Hope by Raffael Enault

B.O.R.N. by George Brighton

Buffalo Creek by Vaughn Roste

Call me Frank by Graham Kosakoski

Clam Shack Blues by Michael Yocum

Climbing High by Bill Jordan

Comanche & Djinn by Maziar Lahooti

Daisy by Iain Anderson

Demanding an Answer from God by Kevin J. Howard

Down by Law by Rich Otto

Ελευθερία by Madeleine Parry

Eat the Rich by Myles Gann

ELLIS, D. by Scott Leger

Everything Falling Away by Julian Muller

Evie & Josh by Kim Witherbee

Exile by Jeronimo Klas

Exposed by Alan Schwarz

Falastini by Nader Salem

Five Tigers by Shiv B.

Flux by Shane White

Freedom by J.T. Hatley

Glimpse by Richard Martin & Josh Calvert

God Fearing Man by John M. Broadhead

Granger by Mary E. Sandell

Harming Prince Charming by Lyndal Simpson

Here, Somewhere by Austin Hanner

Hive by Logan Ayers

Hysteria by Jenna Payne

I’m Begging You to Date Me by Fiona Kida

I’m Digging a Hole by Noel Taylor

K-Town Blues by Kyung-Ja Lee

Karl the Bunny, My Dead Wife Lisa and Invisible Martin by Tomasz Pajak

 Nightmare Features by Christopher Haifley

Night of the Grizzlies by Katherine Cronyn, Adam Pitman & Todd McCullough

No Return by Devin Rydel Kelly

Onset by Laurie J. Gardiner

Other People by Francesco Giacomarra

Out of Water by Madi Stine

Parallel by Ryan Werner

Psychopomp by Jose Montalvo

Pure O by Gus Avila

Refuge by Kathy Li

Rev by Dante Savion

Ring Rats by Susan Crisci

She’s Not There by Jacob Staudenmaier

Shiny Penny by Dan V. Shea

Signature Photo by Michael Bucklin

Some Sins by Thomas Archer

Sundown by Eve Symington

The Animals by Nick McAnulty

The Best Mediocre Sex Ever by Lionesse Ward

The Chaos Without a Face by Henry Winnik

The Deadhead by Justin Ballheim

The Fire Man by Pepi Kokab

The Gradual Deterioration of Walter Twig by LS Garvey

The Mostly True Story of Amy Bock by Jane Wilson

The Secret Court by Phil Gillen

Time Frame by Nick Jones

Underdog by Logan Shaw

You Can’t Get Mad by Tristan Hostetter

Whispers from the Watchtower by Jai Brandon

Wojtek by Mick Levy

TELEVISION PILOTS & SHORT FILM SCRIPTS

7th Ward by Christian Cernauskas

Aberrant by Andrew Stone

Adams Colliding by Lira Kellerman

After the Ravagers by Joel Michalak

Alicia & I by Mariana Garcia & Nuno Soares

Always Forever by Sasha Siljanovic

Aris by V.P. Evans

Baby Steps by Julia Delmedico

Bad Soviet by Nik Syseuv

Ballerinas in Watt by Ebony Gilbert

Black Sunday by Coli Sylla

Burro by Hannah Lerner

Butch by Rae Binstock

Canary by Charles Rutter

Childhood Montage by Mark Yablonovich

Clash by Donna Bonilla Wheeler

Clicks by Ross Schneiderman & Nick Kendrick

Curses, LLC by Thomas R. Wood

Cut Time by Marcus Ostermiller

Decay by Sara Phoenix

Doomsday by Liam McKenna

Dreams and Memories by Parviz Saghizadeh

Gods & Monsters by Dan Portnoy

Growing Up Fabulous! By Dan O’Keefe

Gyre by Gina Lennox

Harbingers by Christine McVie

Hurt by Christian Krohn

I’ll Figure it Out by Ramona Robinson

Malocchio by Alex Knell

Pat and Matt Get Canceled by Zoe Miller

Penelope of Ithaca by Haris Levanti

Perfect Timing by Lindsay Grossman

Prey for Us by Zoe Kerr

Putt by Herb Lazar

Queen of Heaven by Lindsay Ripley

Remora by Jonathan G. Haller

Say Something by Emily Holleman

Second Nature by Melinda Saranchock & Chris Saranchock

Should I Still Claim to Have Mind Powers by Nicholas Sullivan, Steve Muckway & Tricia Buerke

Snowflake by Nick Lunsford & Evan Kaufman

Television Killed the Theater by Scott Patrick Wilson

Terror and Virtue by Ernest Pysher

That’s Not What I Meant by Katharine Rex

The Age of the Empath by Steve Brown

The Firedog Killers by Lit Kilpatrick

The Gateway by Ashley Lara

The Means by Nic Cohen

The Modern Age by Max Kemp

The Opossum by Joel Barragan

The Pod by Saraphina Redalieu

The Temp by Devi Snively

This is Jan by Robert Larriviere, Hunter Burke & Nick Lavin

Three Lakes by Barbara Gilmore

Thursday’s Child by Sayan Kent

Transplant by Tala Calil

Trauma by Rafael Peixoto

Waffle House by Jeffrey Charles Morgan

Wang and Da Rats by James Bylinsky

It’s Finish Line’s Awards Season!

It’s Award Season! Endless posts across social media by journalists, lists galore, night after night of screenings and for those nominated or hoping to be - selling their wares in various fancy dinners and in hotel press rooms, hoping to be put on a list that will change their career for the better – or at least, in reality, get them a bigger paycheck.

I have been in the Entertainment Industry since I was 19 when I got my first job at The William Morris Agency in NYC. I read script after script and broke them down for agents and I learned, from that job, from the Cinema Studies program at NYU and from the volumes of reading I did at home that I knew what good writing was.

Over the past several years, we at Finish Line have become producers on various projects we’ve found; very specifically and only when we and the writer felt it was appropriate. While most of these projects are in various stages of development, two short films that we found early and helped finance and set up have gotten some major attention AND WE’RE PROUD OF IT!!

In 2020, we stepped into producing a short film for the first time. Having received and loved the short script BIENVENIDOS A LOS ANGELES, written by Lisa Cole, we told her we wanted to get involved. We fought hard to get financing, worked with Lisa on the script and with her at the helm and a predominantly female  and BIOPIC crew, the film has now been SHORTLISTED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD in the Live Action Short category. Woah! Will we make it? Who knows and truly, it is an honor to be nominated to be nominated! Lisa is a true force, turning this true story about the power of women and immigration into a film that touches people’s hearts and  souls. It was a pleasure watching her direct. It has also won the Diverse in Cannes Grand Prize which is backed by the great Viola Davis and her production company Juvee Productions.  

In 2021, Alex Qin wrote a great screenplay called THIRSTYGIRL. We were the first competition that awarded it a prize (since then PAGE and many others have as well) and we have gone on to work closely with Alex. Looking to direct for the first time, we suggested to her that she create a “proof of concept’, turning the feature into a short film. The process of that; helping get the script in shape, raising money, getting her repped, and supporting the filmmaking as we can, has paid off with it getting into Sundance 2024! It premieres on January 20th and we couldn’t be more proud of Alex and the hard work of everyone involved. This is funny, poignant, sexy and personal story and is the start of something big for her. Sundance has always been her dream and is the place where we hope to find the people we need to make the best feature possible with Alex at the helm. That was always the goal and that’s what we will work towards for our dear writer and friend.

The future is bright, writers. When we believe in you, you can’t shake us and we will go on to help in any way we can, be through important industry introductions, financially and continuing to toot your horn all the way home – no matter what the medium you write in. Since we started selling writer’s work as literary managers and creating Finish Line just 7 years ago, we have been thrilled that the work we represent has gotten the kind of response it has. It feels good to have agents, manager, producers and other creatives know that when Finish Line calls, there is going to be a special piece of writing to read. We are committed to helping writers as we can and helping make your dreams (and ours!) come true.

2022-2023 Winners

 

GRAND PRIZE WINNER 

MEMORY PLAY by Jason Forbach (thriller feature)

An actor struggling with dementia retreats to a secluded cabin home to recover, but he soon begins to fear the nurse taking care of him to be a crazed fan intent on killing him.  

FIRST RUNNER UP 

SEDALIA by Lisa Jay (one-hour sci-fi pilot)

When a down-on-his-luck doomsday prepper in Sedalia, Missouri witnesses a UFO crash and holds the surviving alien hostage in his underground bunker, he discovers a deadly secret that could destroy humanity as we know it.  

SECOND RUNNER UP 

TIN KICKERS by Ned Farr (one-hour drama pilot)

Intrigue, suspicion, and conspiracy threaten to destroy the lives of a skilled group of NTSB agents investigating the crash of Air Force One.

2022-2023 Semi-Finalists

SCREENPLAYS

A MOST EXCLUSIVE EVENT by Clayton Jordan

A PRIEST IN BERLIN by Brian Mulligan

CLOSER TO FINE by Marisa Forrest

FILTHY by Lisa Cole

IMPALED: A LOVE STORY by Josh Litman

MEMORY PLAY by Jason Forbach

SEOUL ’88 by Nancy Stearns Bercaw & Jennifer Kircher

THE LOST BOY by Sean Harris Oliver

THE MOOR by Thomas Thonson

THE PULL OF MIDNIGHT by Drew Robinson

THE SILENT ROOM by David Schlow

UNLEASH YOUR INNER PSYCHO by David Amito

PILOTS & SHORT FILM SCRIPTS

ALMOST SIX by Suzan Mikiel

BAD INFLUENCER by Caroline Connolly  

FRAUDS by Laura Skopec  

LOVETT by James Ridley  

NEPOTISM BABY by Juli Del Prete  

PERSEPHONE by Tammy Olsen

PTSDEE by Hannah Petosa

RABBIT HOLE by Simon Kay

SEDALIA by Lisa Jay

THE TIDES by Paul Del Gesso & James Allerdyce

TIN KICKERS by Ned Farr

WE ARE THE DEAD GIRLS by Kylie Boersma

YELLOW HEARTS: SUGAR LAND by Tammy Lynne Stoner

2022-2023 Quarter-Finalists

SCREENPLAYS

A MOST EXCLUSIVE EVENT by Clayton Jordan

A PRIEST IN BERLIN by Brian Mulligan

CLOSER TO FINE by Marisa Forest

CRACK THE SKY by Monica Bleess

FILTHY by Lisa Cole

FROM ABOVE by Ben Tedesco

G.O.D. OS by David Christopher Loya

HATE IS HATE by Miguel Parga

ICEBOX by Jeffrey Field

IMMORTAL UPRISING by Lorenzo Diaz

IMPALED: A LOVE STORY by Josh Litman

INFINITE MONKEY by Laura Kindred

KEEPER by R.L. Hooker

KILL THE RABBIT by Rebekah Mueller

KISS OF DARKNESS by Michael McClung

KOSOVO by Timothy Guay

MAMA BEAR by Amy R. Rivera

MARCEL by David Soll

MEMORY PLAY by Jason Forbach

NARAYANA NEUROSIS by Sai Karan Talwar

ONE HIT WONDERLAND by Jack Caswell

OUR LADY QUEEN OF LOS ANGELES by Scott Leger

ROAD CLOSURE by John Cerrito

ROBOT PARTY by Elizabeth Arredondo

SEOUL ’88 by Nancy Stearns Bercaw & Jennifer Kircher

SOLICE by George Brighton

SUN NEVER SETS by Aashish Gadhvi

TASTE THE ROAD, JACK by Stefan Alexander & Eric Williford

THE HANDOFF by Ariel Palin

THE LIFE OF COCKROACHES by Gillian Croft

THE LOSS WE BEAR by Roberta Steve

THE LOST BOY by Sean Harris Oliver

THE MOOR by Thomas Thonson

THE PULL OF MIDNIGHT by Drew Robinson

THE SICKNESS by Joe Marino

THE SILENT ROOM by David Schlow

TRIUMPH OF THE WOLVES by D.B. Lloyd

UNLEASH YOUR INNER PSYCHO by David Amito

VESSEL by Sean Mogridge

X/WIND by Richard Pohl

TELEVISION PILOTS & SHORT FILM SCRIPTS

A LITTLE BIT OF YOU by Bianca LeRoux & Emily Crawczyk (short film)

ALMOST SIX by Suzan Mikiel

BAD INFLUENCER by Caroline Connolly

BLACKLAND COUNTY by Josh Taylor

BUCKET by Ryan Myers

CHICKEN WITH GUN by Andrew Mister

FORGETFUL by Kasi Meek

FORSYTH COUNTY by James Sasser

FRAUDS by Laura Skopec

GOD OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY by Zach Drummer & Tracey McClain

HIGHWAY QUEENS by Christine McVie

I’M NOT DEAD, I’M DREAMING by Peter Petralia

LOVETT by James Ridley

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH by Krystina Nellis

NEPOTISM BABY by Juli Del Prete

NICHE MARKET by Erick Buckley

PERSEPHONE by Tammy Olsen

PTSDEE by Hannah Petosa

QUEERDOS by Mark Moliterni & Vasilios Papapitsios

RABBIT HOLE by Simon Kay

SCATHACH by Daniel McNaught

SEDALIA by Lisa Jay

TERROR AND VIRTURE by Ernest Pysher

TIN KICKERS by Ned Farr

THE COMPLEX by Ben Carter Olcott

THE EXTRAORDINARY DISAPPEARANCE OF MORWENNA GRAY by Irene Jiang

THE GOETHALS PROJECT by Justin Lemond

THE GREAT INFILTRATION by Jason Jacobson & Michelle Trantina

THE LIPSTICK POSSE ON YOOHOO LANE by Kelly Jean Karam

THE TALKING ANIMALS by Andrew Gitomer

THE TIDES by Paul Del Gesso

VAMPIRES OF NEW YORK by April Creavin

WE ARE THE DEAD GIRLS by Kylie Boersma (short film)

WHERE’S MY SPAGHETTI? by Sasha Siljanovic

YELLOW HEARTS: SUGAR LAND by Tammy Lynne Stoner