Winner
Parishad
Peter Haig
Peter Haig is a writer/director based in Los Angeles, California, who received his M.F.A. in Film & Television Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts (SCA). After spending two years in law school, Peter decided his passion resides in writing and storytelling. Through the vehicle of film, Peter found an outlet to explore unique personal experiences and connect with audiences. Since graduating from SCA, Peter has earned recognition from the Academy Nicholl Fellowships, NBC’s writers on the verge, the Cinestory Foundation, and the Austin Film Festival. He has been a Finalist in the ISA Fast Track Fellowship, the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, and the WeScreenplay Feature Contest. Most recently, Peter won the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition for his war drama Parishad.
Runner-up
#FreeBritney
Mishki Vaccaro
Mishki Vaccaro is a film and television writer splitting her time between Los Angeles, Toronto and Costa Rica — come visit, seriously, she’ll show you around. Mishki writes female-centric dark comedy that explores the deep fears and dilemmas of the human experience. Mishki’s writing walks the line between punching you in the gut with authentic emotion and making you laugh with a dumb joke. In 2019, Mishki’s mom passed away due to complications from dementia, which totally reoriented her priorities and set her on a journey of self-discovery that deeply influences her writing today.
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Mishki has dual US/Canadian citizenship, a B.A. in Cultural Studies from McGill University and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California. She’s worked in feature development at Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films (X-Men, The Martian, Deadpool) and television development and production at Jason Winer’s Small Dog Picture Company (Modern Family, Life In Pieces, The Big Leap). Highlights of Mishki’s time at Small Dog Picture Co. include working on the first season of Single Parents (ABC, showrunner J.J. Philbin) and Woman Up (ABC pilot, written and directed by Zoe Lister Jones). Mishki was also the writer’s assistant on Perfect Harmony (NBC, showrunner Lesley Wake Webster), where she co-wrote the season finale and was on set for her first episode of television. Mishki has been studying with the Joan Scheckel Filmmaking Labs since 2017. Last year, she developed and pitched a show to networks and streamers based on IP with Propagate Entertainment.
From a young age, Mishki understood the cathartic nature of storytelling and the power of harnessing your authentic voice. She thinks of screenwriting as “good magic,” accidentally has two dogs and will absolutely read your astrology chart.
Finalists
#FreeBritney
Mishki Vaccaro
Chemistry
Jacob Marx Rice
Dom
Anthony Alves
Gorby and Ronnie Do Reykjavik
Patrick Connelly
Just Add Betty
Jill Brennan
Parishad
Peter Haig
Pure
Catherine Schetina
Smile
Brendan O. Kelly
Sudden Dead
Frank Tremblay
The Chicken Murders
Nadia Osman
Semifinalists
(Li)thium
Red Davis
Big Girls
Jackie Cloud
Devil’s Tramping Ground
Chris Bowen
ESC
Katrina Kudlick & Mercedes Bryce Morgan
Friend Zone
Heidi Lux
Roy G. Biv
Sebastian Davis
Snack Wins the Apocalypse
Tony Prescott
The Art of Baseball
Anthony Rea III
The Parent Snap
Brendan O. Kelly
The Runner
Nathan Wilcoxen
Quarterfinalists
#TBT
Billy Kirland
Aloha Dreams
Jackie Perez & Ayesha Adamo
Anastasis
Simon Laurence Doyle
CoolGirl-3000
Samuel Ashurov
High Medium
Brendan O. Kelly
Mayfly
Alex Grossman
Muse
Carly Hebert
My Mother, Creator, Destroyer
Brandon Tyson
Old-Ass Zombies
Josh Barkey
Project Humbug
Justin Carter
Purify My Heart
Kate Hackett
Rage Against the Night
Akiva Cohen
S1TT3R
Ryan Austin
Scoundrels
Spenser Thelonious Harrison & Joe Rosenbloom
Slay House
Devon Kerr
Sonny is a God!
Scott Tinkham
Sons of Havana
Max Kaplow
The Art of Starving
Joe Favalaro
The Bone Woman
Rachel Coomes
The Murder (or Possible Political Assassination) of Santa Claus
Kory Orban
The Passion of Pauli Murray
Sean Slater
The Story of You
Helena Zhen
Thirst
Kim Peeler Callaway, story by Andrew Nixon