Grand Prize Winner
Fucking Robots by Emily McGregor & Sam Weller
Emily McGregor is a Tucson, AZ native who moved to California to attend the Chapman University film program and to escape the constant barrage of cheesy Kokopelli art.
Emily recently directed MiTu’s original pilot “Beauty School” which screened at CES 2017. She’s worked with Pepsi, Univision, and NickMom on multiple campaigns as writer and director. As VP of Production for Comediva, a production company laser-focused on female comedy, she wrote and directed hundreds of sketches, web series, and branded videos, many of which you’ve seen on HuffPost, NY Times, CNN, Good Morning America, Mashable, and Gizmodo. Emily has also sold a half-hour comedy series to Amazon Studios.
Sam Weller is a writer and comedian originally from St. Louis, MO who performs at The Pack Theater in Los Angeles, and you can catch him online making appearances on Project Alpha livestreams with Dick & Johnson. It’s easy to talk to him, just casually mention professional wrestling and watch him go!
Most recently, Sam was the Director of Audience Development for a major multi-channel YouTube network & digital services company, Bent Pixels. He has 7 years of experience in new media and content strategy, and has worked with brands like Participant Media, Super Deluxe, Mattel, Live Nation, and Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions. He’s also produced hundreds of podcasts and hosted extensively for CRAVE Online, Whiskey Media, and Whalerock Industries.
Emily and her husband Sam are an effective writing tag team currently working on new projects. Together, they wrote and produced “PARSER” in conjunction with Skybound Entertainment and YouTube Space L.A. The short was an official selection of the 2016 Arizona Underground Film Festival.
Runner Up
Jaggers by Greg Nye