2006 Virginia Screenwriting Competition Winners

• Steven Zawack

  Northern Latitude

  A headstrong 17th century Scottish woman from a wealthy family wants to wed a penniless, outspoken theology student. Certain her family will never approve of her marriage, she decides to elope only to hear her love has been arrested and accused of blasphemy. Now, she must battle an intolerant church, her family, the conniving suitor they matched her up with, and two Machiavellian villains to save her love from the gallows. Her only allies are her wits, an aging philosopher and his timeless words of tolerance.

• J. Allan Moye

  Signs Following

  A faithless city photographer revisits his Appalachian hometown to document a community of snake-handling Christians led by his estranged father. As he confronts demons of his own past, he is unexpectedly drawn into this world of faith through emotional involvement with a charismatic female believer and her mute daughter and the dramatic events attached to their lives.

• Heather Cochrane

  The Tealeaf Sisters

  Small town life in the summer of 1960 in beautiful Blue Lake, Virginia seems as idyllic as a picture postcard.until the Tealeaf Sisters arrive. Without intending to, the Sisters, who practice something they call curative and predictive arts, spill out the fears and prejudices of their neighbors by helping an abused woman escape from her husband. In the process, the Sisters pick up the assistance of the sheriff’s 11-year-old daughter, Jo, who doesn’t understand why her father hasn’t protected the abused woman.

Finalists

• George V. Wills

  Christmas In Cahoots

  It’s 1966 in Cahoots, Virginia, and 12-year-old Trudy Simmons really, really wants a pair of white go-go boots for Christmas to impress her future husband, Paul McCartney. And she really, really hates dancing in the “boring” NUTCRACKER ballet. As these two storylines collide, Trudy enlists her talkative friends, the “Gab Four,” in schemes that turn the little town of Cahoots upside-down.

• Scott R. Norris & Emily Mohajeri Norris

  Expiration Date

  Dispirited dairy manager Ben Weathers thinks it’s a joke when he wakes with an expiration date on his neck. But as the date approaches and his life begins to unravel, he must reconsider its significance.

• Jeff Bridgman

  Hell: A Love Story

  Theodore and Meredith are soulmates who have never met. The problem is Theodore is in Hell, having just killed himself after finally giving up on love. Believing her soulmate is a different man who also committed suicide, Meredith makes a deal with the devil to journey into Hell and rescue him, only to find he’s not the man she imagined. As Meredith struggles not to give up and Theodore struggles to believe in love, they will need to find each other before they’re both stuck in Hell forever.

• Kevin Spielman

  Id10t

  Follow the humorous trials and tribulations of one computer engineer’s attempt to survive life in the cubical jungle. To persevere, he must battle office politics, deal with inept customers, and outwit a scheming boss, all while trying to maintain his sanity.

• Kathryn Kuhlen

  The Jesus Files

  It’s now 2021, and recreational time travel is all the rage. Georgetown University professor Nathan Stien takes his family on a viewing excursion to Jerusalem at the time of the First Crusade, where his rebellious teenage son sneaks out of the time travel pod and is captured by marauding Christian knights invading the Holy City. Nathan’s attempts at rescue becomes a hastily formed plan to travel even further back in time in hopes of stopping the Crucifixion, with the intention of preventing Christianity and thereby erasing the Crusades. But he finds that all actions have unintended consequences.

• Arturo G. Munoz & David L. Phillips

  Rahab’s Shadow

  Although Rebecca openly espouses anti-slavery and pacifist views, this idealistic young woman serves as a volunteer nurse for wounded Rebels in Civil War Winchester. After a Rebel soldier sweeps her off her feet and in defiance of her Quaker elders, Rebecca falls in love. Hoping to exploit the trust she enjoys among the Confederates, General Sheridan sends an old Black slave covertly to convince her to spy for the Union. As Sheridan prepares to attack Winchester, Rebecca must choose sides, the fate of the battle hanging on her decision.

• Marshall S. Ferrin

  Reenactment

  “Reenactors land in a Civil War battle and meet a ghostly woman that forces them to confront their make-believe lives as the price of returning home. What happens if you can live out your fantasy of fighting in a real war?”

• Tamar Datan

  Someplace Else

  A big city venture capitalist loses her mother and inherits a farm, where she learns the sad secrets of her mother’s past and the shocking truth about her father. Her fight to save the farm pits her against everyone she thought she loved, and helps her discover where she belongs.

• Eric Carlson

  True North

  After an eleven year absence, a terminally ill, rough around the edges father returns home to spend the summer with his shy and insecure sixteen year old son. Both learn to face life, and death, together.