Finish Line Script Competition Winners

2025-2026 Winners:

Grand Prize Winner: JANE GEIST - MIDNIGHT (feature romantic drama)

First Tier Winner: BOBBY ELLROY - THE OATH (one hour crime drama TV pilot

Second Tier Winner: DANE DRUMMOND - UNDISCOVERED GENIUS (feature social satire)

Result: SAM LAVENDER/UK producer of The Lobster, Killing of a Sacred Deer, has come aboard to produce this script.

2024-2025 Winners:

Grand Prize Winner: J. AUGUSTINE - MUSE (feature thriller)

Result: J. has signed with Anonymous Content and WME. His script is being packaged and has a female director attached

First Tier Winner: STEVEN LOWERY - KANGAROO (feature drama) Bruce Beresford is attached to direct Kangaroo. We are currently out to actresses for the lead role.

Second Tier Winner: DEVI SNIVELY - GOD SAVE THE PROM QUEEN (TV pilot)

2022-2023 Winners:

Grand Prize Winner:‍ ‍JASON FORBACH - MEMORY PLAY - (feature thriller/drama)

Result: Jason signed with Zero Gravity Management.RICHARD JOHNS and CHRISTINE VACHON is attached to produce MEMORY PLAY.

First Tier Winner: LISA JAY - SEDALIA (TV pilot)

Result: Lisa developed her horror feature, DOMOVOI for producer EMILE GLADSTONE. She has directed her first low budget feature, CUCKOO, which will be released Fall 2026.

Second Tier Winner: NED FARR - TIN KICKERS (TV pilot)

Result: BLUE MONDAY PRODUCTIONS optioned (and re-optioned) TIN KICKERS and will be pitching it to streamers in Summer 2026.

2021-2022 Winners:

Grand Prize Winner:‍ ‍MATTHEW WIXEY - 731 (TV pilot)

Result: MATT WIXEY, based in the UK, signed with The CW Agency and wrote a novel, BASILISK, which was published by Titan Books in June 2025.

Second Tier Winner: MATT THOMAS - DEBBIE (TV pilot)

Result: Actress GABRIELLE UNION is attached to star & produce DEBBIE with BRADLEY BREDEWEG attached as showrunner. The pitch of this script has been sold to HBO Max.

2023-2024 Winners:

no ranked winners this season

JANE WILSON - WHO IS AMY BOCK? (feature biopic/drama)

Result: ANDREW MARK SEWELL of British based B7 Media is producing what will likely be a US/UK/New Zealand co-production.

PEPI KOKAB - THE FIREMAN (feature drama)

Result: HUGO DIAZ is attached to direct, The script is currently out producers.

2019-2020 Winners

Grand Prize Winner: GUY ROWLAND - REVELATION (TV Pilot)

Result: GUY ROWLAND has signed with Echo Lake Entertainment. REVELATION is being produced by Echo Lake and CBS International. It is currently out to actors and directors.

Tirota/Finish Line Social Impact Competition Grand Prize winner: STEPHANE DUNN - CHICAGO 66 (Feature)

Result: CHICAGO ‘66 has been optioned by Sean Penn to produce. STEPHANE DUNN has signed with Gotham Group and her first YA novel, SNITCHERS was just published by Lee & Low.

Second Tier winner: JAMES WOODS - LION OF ENGIZAWA (Feature)

Result: Based off this sample, JAMES WOODS was hired to write a feature for Jason Statham.

2020-2021 Winners

Grand Prize Winner: MUKI THANGAMANI - FLOWERFIELD (TV PIlot)

Result: MUKI THANGAMANI, based in Sydney AUS, signed with Aussie management company, Paper Road, Ltd. and Fourth Wall in the US. His script FLOWERFIELD is being developed by Jon M. Chu’s Electric Somewhere with Matthew Carnahan attached as showrunner. His latest comedy feature is being packaged by CAA.

Tirota/Finish Line Social Impact Competition Grand Prize winner: ALEX QIN – THIRSTYGIRL (Feature)

Result: ALEX QIN signed with Atlas Artists and UTA. She directed a Proof of Concept short of her winning script, which Finish Line co-produced and was accepted at Sundance.. The script is currently being packaged for Alex to direct.

2017-2018 Winners

Grand Prize Winner: SEBASTIAN MAGIERA - FOLKLORE (TV Pilot)

Result: SEBASTIAN MAGIERA signed with manager Lou Pitt of The Pitt Group. He went on to work as a WA for Marvel’s, THE ETERNALS and Imagine’s WILLOW. h is based ii the UK & Poland, where one of his features is being developed.

Second Tier Winner: RYAN O'LEARY - THE CHOP (TV Pilot)

Result: RYAN O'LEARY is a writer and script supervisor for WWE's "Smackdown".

2018-2019 Winners

Grand Prize Winner: AVI GLICK - OLD DOGS AND STILL WATERS aka RICE WARS (Feature)

Result: AVI GLICK signed with Heroes & Villains Management and WME. His winning script OLD DOGS AND STILL WATERS is set up at A24 with producer Ben Shields Catlin and Spring Hill producing.

First Tier Winner: BARBARA NUNBERG - WILLFUL BLINDNESS (Feature)

Result: BARBARA NUNBERG signed with Authentic Management within one week of placing in the competition.

Second Tier Winner: CHARLOTTE ESSEX - CONTRABAND (TV Pilot)

Result: CHARLOTTE ESSEX signed with Independent Talent Group in London. She was then staffed as a Story Producer on KILLING EVE and consistently works as a TV producer in the UK.

2016-2017 Winners

Grand Prize Winner: R.B. RIPLEY – SUGARLAND (TV Pilot)

Result: ROB RIPLEY signed with Authentic Management. SUGARLAND has been optioned by several producers. He was accepted into the WB Discovery Access Program in 2021. He has written and is currently producing an original feature.

2016 Winners

First Tier Winner: ADITE BANERJIE – COACHING CLASS (Feature)

Result: ADITE BANERJIE, based in India, was signed by Mumbai based agent, The Story Ink and 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

Second Tier Winner: MAZIAR LAHOOTI – NOMAD (Feature)

Result: MAZ LAHOOTI signed with Sugar 23 & UTA. He won the Blacklist’s Script Opportunity with Warner Bros. in 2019 & 2020 and directed his first feature, BELOW in 2019. He is currently rewriting a script for First Option Pictures and is in pre-production on the film DIE WELL to be produced by 828 Media Capital Prods.

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