We are delighted to announce the results of this year's Festival Screenplay Competition.

This year's festival saw an unusally high number of submissions. Each screenplay was read anonymously by three student readers, with the top third going on to Columbia faculty for anonymous evaluation.

The following scripts have been chosen as this year's Faculty Selects and Faculty Honors screenplays.

Faculty Selects

"Woman at Point Zero" by Cherien Dabis

Forced to choose between the confinement of an arranged marriage and the freedom of the streets, Firdaus sets out to make it on her own. But societal rule proves to be more powerful than her fierce determination to live according to her own free will.


"Vanaja" by Rajnesh Domalpilli

A coming-of-age story in which 11-year-old Vanaja, the daughter of a poor fisherman, discovers that overcoming barriers of class and poverty are almost impossible in a tradition-bound society.


"Slipknot" by Nitin Madan

When the enigmatic Ingrid comes back from the dead, tabloid photographer Tony Toogood is drawn into a web of treachery, deceit, and murder.


"Hinged on Stars" by Jennifer Monn

Haunted by his dead parents, a teen physics prodigy confronts the part of life that science just can’t explain in this surreal coming-of-age drama.


"Eggs" by Averie Storck

An innocent NYC cab ride propels a caviar heiress on a comedic adventure involving three eccentric fellow passengers, Russian thugs, an overzealous Fish & Wildlife agent, and a mystery to which one person holds the key.

"Miranda Duran" by Rachel Vine

As part of her recovery, Miranda has to make amends with her estranged son. What better way to do that than to crash his wedding?

Faculty Honors

"Toe to Toe" by Emily Abt

At a politically correct prep school in Washington, D.C., two girls—one black, one white—go toe to toe.


"All's Fair in Love and Real Estate" by Caton Clark

Robbie Affra, 28, a real estate agent with the ability to place any client in the perfect home, can’t find a place for himself.


"Changing Uniforms" by Michael Connors

A teen comedy about a boy in a skirt.  Star quarterback Kyle Murphy rebels against his oppressive Catholic high school by quitting football and joining his furious sister on the girls’ field hockey team.  As his hairy-legged antics turn his family upside down, will he ruin his future or change the school forever?  


"Hustle" by Randall Dottin

Three generations of streetball players struggle with the legacy of a betrayal, a thrown game, and a murder as they prepare for the most important tournament of their lives.


"Jenny Anymore" by Rebecca Haimowitz

A mother falling in love with another woman, a family falling apart, and a 12-year-old girl trying to hold it all together.  In this bittersweet drama, a mother and daughter learn that “coming of age” can happen at any time – but it’s never easy.


"Normal Adolescent Behavior"
Beth Schacter

A darkly comic look at the politics of sex in high school.

Best Teleplay

The West Wing: "To Fight Another Day" by Stephanie N. Whallon

President Bartlet and his staff must decide if the needs of the many actually do outweigh the needs of the few.