Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Competition - 2002
WINNERS
Brigid's Wake
by Ms. Laura Scott
Roanoke
Brigid Conway, a healthy 49-year-old woman adrift in the year after her beloved husband's death,
decides to plan her own funeral.
Otis Mooney's Resurrection
by Mr. Rex Bowman
Roanoke
Otis Mooney's Resurrection is a bluegrass comedy set in Virginia’s Appalachian region. It tells the
story of an aging and dying convict who returns to his hometown from prison, vowing to rise from the
dead if the townsfolk will place his coffin in the middle of Main Street. What folks don't know is
that Otis Mooney has something more interesting in mind than mere resurrection.
Chincoteague Run
by Ms. Rebecca Rogers
Orange
Francis Foster is a feisty NYC social worker who doesn't play by the rules. If you don't play by the
rules in the Bronx, people get hurt. Frannie and her charge, Travis Cooper, a big mouth, inner-city kid,
too smart for his own good, witness a drug deal gone wrong. Now, they must escape the drug lord and the
cops, as they flee to Chincoteague Island, a place known for nothing but its beautiful rugged landscapes
and a bunch of wild ponies. Here Frannie finds it's not too hard to come "back home" after all.
Finalists
Meredith's Wish
by Ms. Felicia Ansty
Alexandria
Career woman Meredith Montgomery was on her way to the top. Only one more account to secure and
the vice-presidency and all her career goals were within her grasp. There was only one problem:
her prospective client would only deal with married women and Meredith was decidedly single.
She needed a man, and fast. Enter Jim, a genie who lives in her cell phone with a career agenda
of his own and his life at stake. As both human and mystical forces conspire against them,
Meredith and Jim discover that when true love and magic collide, anything can happen.
What Are Friends For?
by Mr. Baron Blakley
Sandston
Rick leads a double life as a violent criminal whose closest companions are his lifelong,
law-abiding friends. When a tragic chain of events slam his two worlds together and friends on
both sides of the law cut down around him, Rick must decide where his true loyalties lie.
Distinguished Service
by Mr. Christopher Delli Carpini
Arlington
Once he was a decorated veteran, but now he's just a bum on the street. When he stumbles upon a
murdered bicycle courier, he's inspired to make some quick cash by impersonating the courier and
making his deliveries. The money doesn't come easy, though, especially with an organized-crime
thug out to intercept a certain package in the courier's bag. But in making his rounds our new
courier does aquire the dignity that comes from doing a good job well -- something he didn't
know how much he missed. By the end of the day, he’s ready to give his life for the job that
gave him a reason to live.
Out of Focus
by Ms. Anne McLaughlin
Midlothian
Public Defender Charlie Dormont witnesses a murder that never happened, then escapes a bullet
from his girlfriend's kidnapper. Tying the two events together, he must change his perception
of the most important people he knows in order to save his own life. But can a man who sees
only the good in people really understand the evil that comes so easily to others?
Bowzer
by Mr. David Rachels & Mr. Kurt Ayau
Lexington
Phillip Jenkins, an affable 30-something psychiatrist, is a man on a mission. Holding out against
the encroachment of the rapacious Tender Loving Care, Inc., the largest HMO in Virginia, he treats
the angry children of Richmond with his specialty: counting therapy. Faced with bankruptcy as the
HMO takes increasingly more patients from him, Phillip believes he has been saved when his rich
Uncle Cedric dies, but Cedric has left Phillip only one thing: an English Bulldog named Bowzer.
Thinking that Uncle Cedric is playing a joke from beyond the grave and that the dog must be some
kind of movie-esque test, Phillip accepts Bowzer and finds he has gotten much more he bargained for.
The soccer-loving, beer-guzzling bulldog can talk, and when he opens his sometimes foul mouth,
he turns Phillip's life upside down, with implications for his love life, his career, and the
treatment of Richmond's angry children.
Bite the Hand
by Mr. D. Kirk Richardson
Richmond
A fast food restaurant crew hijacks their restaurant and sells everything for themselves.
Once to Every Man
by Mr. Douglas Smith
Virginia Beach
Two foreigners arrive at a train station in the Shenandoah Valley, 1920: the Reverend Peter Denby,
a man bearing news of a paradise beyond the stars; and George Preston, a man bent on selling his
paradise under the stars. Each claims his own from the "Daughter of the Stars" until the government
seizes her by eminent domain.
