ISA SPOTLIGHT

Exciting ISAConnect Member Success Stories

These are the top success stories listed by ISAConnect Members. If you're an Industry Pro and interested in viewing the work of these emerging writers, please request Industry Pro status. 3343 Success Stories Listed.

2019 Second City’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival

By: Kimberly Truong
Official Selection for Original Pilots. This script was given a live table read at the festival.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Impact
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was selected to be a part of a small, exclusive group of writers who are showcased on the Imagine Impact Creative Network and Marketplace.
Tags: Sister Mom,

2018 CBS Diversity Showcase
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was a Staff Writer for the live, annual CBS Diversity Showcase. She had two sketches into the final show.

Shopping Agreement with Production Company
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong is working with a production company to pitch her concept to various studios in the US.
Tags: Sister Mom,

Beasts Undiscovered optioned & in development

By: Jeremy Dehn
This film is in development and scheduled to shoot in 2021, with the Jim Henson Creature Shop attached to create creature effects, some of which are already completed. The production has raised a significant amount of initial investment, and partnered with a renowned producer/sales agent currently working on casting, pre-sales, and completion of financing. Co-writer Jeremy Dehn is attached to direct.

THE REAPPEARANCE and THE TAR Make the Cut in Big Contests

By: Beth Hanna
Beth's post-pandemic supernatural thriller THE REAPPEARANCE is currently a quarterfinalist in Final Draft's Big Break Screenwriting Competition, which puts it in the top 3% of submissions. Beth's psychological thriller THE TAR was a Second Rounder in the Austin Film Festival's Screenplay Competition, placing it in the top 20% of submissions.

Horror-Thriller Script Scores Dev Slate Writer Big Meetings
By: Beth Hanna
Beth's feature script THE TAR was positively evaluated and then invited to be part of ISA's Development Slate. Since then, Beth has scored a general meeting with Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour, and the Development Team has sent Beth's scripts to other prestigious companies such as Margot Robbie's LuckyChap and Prospero Pictures in Toronto. Beth recently signed with literary manager Matt Prater at Citizen Skull Productions.
Tags: The Tar,

EMPATH Earns Award

By: Steven Michael
Steven's newest script EMPATH earned semi-finalist honors in the 2020 StoryPros International Screenplay Competition.

OUR BETTER ANGELS Garners Another Award
By: Steven Michael
Steven Michael's screenplay, OUR BETTER ANGELS, was named a quarter-finalist in the 2020 Screencraft Drama competition. This is the fourth major placement for this touching story.
Tags: Our Better Angels, Capital Fund Screenplay Competition(Semi Finalist), Screencraft Drama Screenplay Contest(Semi Finalist), SHOOT YOUR SIZZLE(Semi Finalist), StoryPros Awards Contest(Semi Finalist)

SWIRL CITY -- A STORYPROS INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION SEMIFINALIST

By: Larry Coleman
Larry E Coleman's screenplay SWIRL CITY, a dystopian sci-fi drama and social commentary about life after the race wars advances in the StoryPros International Screenplay Contest.
More SuccessDown Aroow

SWIRL CITY -- A FINAL DRAFT BIG BREAK QUARTERFINALIST
By: Larry Coleman
Written well before the pandemic and the George Floyd murder, SWIRL CITY is a dystopian sci-fi script about the catastrophic race wars which came on the heels of protest and how an interracial couple with the help of an AI helped saved humanity.
Tags: Swirl City, Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest(Quarter Finalist)

THE ABYSSINIAN: A Big Apple Film Festival Semi-Finalist
By: Larry Coleman
Larry E Coleman's period war drama, THE ABYSSINIAN, is a Big Apple Film Festival Semi-Finalist in the Historical/Biopic category. This script brings new life to World War II dramatic film-making because its' backdrop doesn't focus on popular settings like Normandy, but instead, on the invasion of Africa, and is seen through the lens of an African, an Ethiopian POW.
Tags: The Abyssinian, Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition(Semi Finalist)

THE ABYSSINIAN: A Top 10 Historical Script
By: Larry Coleman
Larry E Coleman's period war drama, THE ABYSSINIAN finished in the top 10 in the Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Competition in the Historical/Biopic category. This script brings new life to World War II dramatic film-making because its' backdrop doesn't focus on popular settings like Normandy, but instead, on the invasion of Africa, and is seen through the lens of an African, an Ethiopian POW.
Tags: The Abyssinian, Creative Screenwriting UNIQUE VOICES Screenplay Competition(Top 10)

THE ABYSSINIAN Advances
By: Larry Coleman
The period war drama, THE ABYSSINIAN, advances as a semi-finalist in the Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Competition in the Historical/Biopic category. This script brings new life to World War II dramatic film-making because its' backdrop doesn't focus on popular settings like Normandy, but instead, on the invasion of Africa, and is seen through the lens of an African, an Ethiopian POW.
Tags: The Abyssinian, Creative Screenwriting UNIQUE VOICES Screenplay Competition(Top 10)

YA-thriller Pilot Script Commission for Oliver Warren

By: Oliver Warren
One of the ISA's 'Top 25 Screenwriters in 2021', Oliver Warren, was recently commissioned to write an original pilot script for LA-based Euramco Pictures, a YA-thriller series called ICARUS SQUAD. Producer Renato Romano is keen for the series to enter production in 2021, and Oliver can't wait to see it brought to life.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Oliver Warren commissioned to rewrite romance feature LOVE IS ALWAYS YOUNG
By: Oliver Warren
LA-based production company EURAMCO PICTURES has commissioned Oliver Warren to rewrite the romance drama feature script LOVE IS ALWAYS YOUNG, set on the Italian island of Ischia, a story that deals with nostalgia, lost love and the long-lasting damage of a broken heart.

THREE DATES WITH BEN selected to take part in Stowe Story Lab
By: Oliver Warren
Oliver Warren was invited to join the Stowe Story Lab at the Sidewalk Film Festival with his dark gay romance feature script THREE DATES WITH BEN, in Summer 2020.
Tags: Three Dates With Ben, Stowe Story Labs(Official Selection)

Oliver Warren invited on Nostos Screenwriting Retreat with THAT'S ME TRYING
By: Oliver Warren
Oliver has been invited on the three-week intensive screenwriting retreat on Elba Island, in Italy to develop his feature script THAT'S ME TRYING into a limited series pilot script. Oliver joins a hand-selected group of writers this October.
Tags: That's Me Trying,

Coverfly Endorsed Writer

By: Lisa Jay
Lisa Jay has been recognised by Coverfly, and has been sent out as an endorsed writer to their industry contacts.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Final Draft Fellow for Stowe Story Labs 2020
By: Lisa Jay
Lisa Jay's screenply THE DOMOVOI was chosen as the Final Draft Fellowship winner for Stowe StoryLabs Fall 2020.
Tags: The Domovoi, Stowe Story Labs(Official Selection), Final Draft Awards

Cassian Elwes Sundance Fellowship Finalist -&- WIF Blacklist Labs Finalist

By: Lisa Jay
Lisa Jay's Horror Feature THE DOMOVOI was a finalist for both of these fellowships.
Tags: The Domovoi,

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Impact

By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was selected to be a part of a small, exclusive group of writers who are showcased on the Imagine Impact Creative Network and Marketplace.
More SuccessDown Aroow

2018 CBS Diversity Showcase
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was a Staff Writer for the live, annual CBS Diversity Showcase. She had two sketches into the final show.

2019 Second City’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival
By: Kimberly Truong
Official Selection for Original Pilots. This script was given a live table read at the festival.
Tags: Legal Aliens,

Shopping Agreement with Production Company
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong is working with a production company to pitch her concept to various studios in the US.
Tags: Sister Mom,

2018 CBS Diversity Showcase

By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was a Staff Writer for the live, annual CBS Diversity Showcase. She had two sketches into the final show.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Impact
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was selected to be a part of a small, exclusive group of writers who are showcased on the Imagine Impact Creative Network and Marketplace.
Tags: Sister Mom,

2019 Second City’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival
By: Kimberly Truong
Official Selection for Original Pilots. This script was given a live table read at the festival.
Tags: Legal Aliens,

Shopping Agreement with Production Company
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong is working with a production company to pitch her concept to various studios in the US.
Tags: Sister Mom,

HBO Short Film Competition

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin was chosen as a finalist for the HBO Short Film Competition.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Ryan Murphy Half Fest Initiative

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin shadowed the directors on Season 6 of American Horror Story through Ryan Murphy's Half Fest Director's Program.

Sundance New Voices Lab
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin, Thomas Wright, and Trey Moe were accepted into the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab.

Film Pipeline Short Film Competition - finalist
By: Xavier Burgin
Olde E, a script directed by Xavier Burgin was chosen as a 2020 finalist for Film Pipeline's Short Film Competition. 

Commercial Directors Diversity Program

By: Xavier Burgin
The Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP), created by the AICP and the Directors Guild of America to bring women and other under-represented directors into commercials and marketing communications, has announced the five Fellows and 15 Finalists for the program’s 2021 cycle. They were chosen from a group of over 400 applicants, all of whom started their directing careers in other media--documentaries, dramatic shorts, music videos, among other formats. https://www.shootonline.com/news/commercial-directors-diversity-program-sets-lineup-5-fellows-15-finalists

Film Pipeline Short Film Competition - finalist

By: Xavier Burgin
Olde E, a script directed by Xavier Burgin was chosen as a 2020 finalist for Film Pipeline's Short Film Competition. 
More SuccessDown Aroow

HBO Short Film Competition
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin was chosen as a finalist for the HBO Short Film Competition.

Ryan Murphy Half Fest Initiative

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin shadowed the directors on Season 6 of American Horror Story through Ryan Murphy's Half Fest Director's Program.

Sundance New Voices Lab
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin, Thomas Wright, and Trey Moe were accepted into the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab.

Commercial Directors Diversity Program

By: Xavier Burgin
The Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP), created by the AICP and the Directors Guild of America to bring women and other under-represented directors into commercials and marketing communications, has announced the five Fellows and 15 Finalists for the program’s 2021 cycle. They were chosen from a group of over 400 applicants, all of whom started their directing careers in other media--documentaries, dramatic shorts, music videos, among other formats. https://www.shootonline.com/news/commercial-directors-diversity-program-sets-lineup-5-fellows-15-finalists

Ryan Murphy Half Fest Initiative

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin shadowed the directors on Season 6 of American Horror Story through Ryan Murphy's Half Fest Director's Program.
More SuccessDown Aroow

HBO Short Film Competition
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin was chosen as a finalist for the HBO Short Film Competition.

Sundance New Voices Lab
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin, Thomas Wright, and Trey Moe were accepted into the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab.

Film Pipeline Short Film Competition - finalist
By: Xavier Burgin
Olde E, a script directed by Xavier Burgin was chosen as a 2020 finalist for Film Pipeline's Short Film Competition. 

Commercial Directors Diversity Program

By: Xavier Burgin
The Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP), created by the AICP and the Directors Guild of America to bring women and other under-represented directors into commercials and marketing communications, has announced the five Fellows and 15 Finalists for the program’s 2021 cycle. They were chosen from a group of over 400 applicants, all of whom started their directing careers in other media--documentaries, dramatic shorts, music videos, among other formats. https://www.shootonline.com/news/commercial-directors-diversity-program-sets-lineup-5-fellows-15-finalists

Sundance New Voices Lab

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin, Thomas Wright, and Trey Moe were accepted into the inaugural Sundance New Voices Lab.
More SuccessDown Aroow

HBO Short Film Competition
By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin was chosen as a finalist for the HBO Short Film Competition.

Ryan Murphy Half Fest Initiative

By: Xavier Burgin
Xavier Burgin shadowed the directors on Season 6 of American Horror Story through Ryan Murphy's Half Fest Director's Program.

Film Pipeline Short Film Competition - finalist
By: Xavier Burgin
Olde E, a script directed by Xavier Burgin was chosen as a 2020 finalist for Film Pipeline's Short Film Competition. 

Commercial Directors Diversity Program

By: Xavier Burgin
The Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP), created by the AICP and the Directors Guild of America to bring women and other under-represented directors into commercials and marketing communications, has announced the five Fellows and 15 Finalists for the program’s 2021 cycle. They were chosen from a group of over 400 applicants, all of whom started their directing careers in other media--documentaries, dramatic shorts, music videos, among other formats. https://www.shootonline.com/news/commercial-directors-diversity-program-sets-lineup-5-fellows-15-finalists

THE ADVENTURES OF WILLOW & OLIVER - Honorable Mention for Best MG Fiction

By: Rain Story
Rain Story's book THE ADVENTURES OF WILLOW & OLIVER,  has been awarded an Honorable Mention for Best Middle Grade Fiction by the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (2020).
More SuccessDown Aroow

THE ADVENTURES OF WILLOW & OLIVER Released as a Children's Book

By: Rain Story
Rain Story's story THE ADVENTURES OF WILLOW & OLIVER was released in book form on September 25, 2020. It's available on Kindle and as a paperback. "What a great little read!" quoted from a review on Amazon.
Tags: The Adventures of Willow & Oliver,

GUNS & GOD: LINES IN THE SAND - TV Series, Season 1 Released as Novel
By: Rain Story
Screenwriter and actor Rain Story has released her novel titled GUNS & GOD: LINES IN THE SAND based upon her original TV pilot by the same name. An Arkansas native and veteran of the entertainment industry, Rain shares her expertise on what it is like living in a Southern gun culture via the adult crime-thriller genre. GUNS & GOD: LINES IN THE SAND takes an electrifying look into the Southern gun culture and its connections with the gun industry's local, national, and international tentacles. This narrative shines light on what makes gun-toting Southerners tick and creates understanding so that we can work together to find compromise and resolve around gun violence in the U.S.
Tags: Guns & God: "Lines in the Sand", MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival Screenplay Competition(Semi Finalist), AFIN International Film Festival(Semi Finalist)

Austin Film Festival WINNER

By: M. Rowan Meyer
M. Rowan Meyer's screenplay LEMONLIGHT won Best Comedy Pilot at AFF this year, and his feature DEATHLESS was a Second Rounder.
More SuccessDown Aroow

NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge 3rd Place
By: M. Rowan Meyer
Out of an original pool of 2600 writers, and after 3 rounds of challenges, Development Slate writer M. Rowan Meyer placed 3rd overall in this year's Screenwriting Challenge. 
Tags: NYC Midnight

TV Pilot PATIENT Produced!
By: M. Rowan Meyer
After two years of shooting, editing, and producing, Rowan's first TV pilot is finished. PATIENT won Best Teleplay at Cinequest Film Festival, Creative World Awards, Great American Script Contest, and Moondance International Film Festival, as well as being a Finalist or Semifinalist in over 25 others. Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/394101155/feca903752
Tags: Patient,

Short Film CARE PACKAGE Produced!
By: M. Rowan Meyer
In response to the global pandemic, Rowan wrote, directed, and produced a short called CARE PACKAGE. It came in 1st at Live Read LA and was in the Top 8% in the BBC's InterConnected Film Challenge. Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/414349173
Tags: Care Package,

NYC MIDNIGHT Screenwriting Challenge Top 15
By: M. Rowan Meyer
From an original pool of 1700+ writers, Rowan took 14th place in NYC Midnight's 2019 Screenwriting Challenge. Three rounds, three new scripts: MOSS, a horror, MIYAMOTO, a historical fiction, and SPAZ, a fantasy.
Tags: Moss , NYC Midnight

Shopping Agreement with Production Company

By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong is working with a production company to pitch her concept to various studios in the US.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Impact
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was selected to be a part of a small, exclusive group of writers who are showcased on the Imagine Impact Creative Network and Marketplace.
Tags: Sister Mom,

2018 CBS Diversity Showcase
By: Kimberly Truong
Kimberly Truong was a Staff Writer for the live, annual CBS Diversity Showcase. She had two sketches into the final show.

2019 Second City’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival
By: Kimberly Truong
Official Selection for Original Pilots. This script was given a live table read at the festival.
Tags: Legal Aliens,

Rachel Leyco Lands Attachment to Feature Script Based on a True Story

By: Rachel Leyco
Award-Winning Writer/Filmmaker/Actress Rachel Leyco closed a deal as sole writer on an upcoming undisclosed independent feature film screenplay based on a true story.

Writer/Actor Rachel Leyco's Series Going Into Production
By: Rachel Leyco
ISA Development Slate writer, Rachel Leyco will star in the trans-led romantic comedy "Re-Live: A Tale of an American Island Cheerleader". The project won the Inside Out LGBT Pitch Please! contest last year in Toronto. "Re-Live" is a heartfelt romcom that she co-wrote with Primetime Emmy nominated actress, Rain Valdez. Fae Pictures has partnered with Now>Ever to finance and produce. "It's been incredibly fun writing this together (many laughs and tears shed) during the writing process. I'm so excited to bring this to life on the big screen because we are spotlighting our underrepresented communities in order to change the narrative in cinema -- that women, Asian-Americans, and LGBTQ+ folx belong in these spaces." - Rachel Leyco

MOTHER optioned

By: SONALI MEHTA
Sonali Mehta's screenplay MOTHER has been optioned by RUND FILM in Vienna.

Associate Writer - Wonderstorm

By: Paige VanTassell
Paige VanTassell has just been hired as an Associate Writer for Wonderstorm, the company behind the Emmy award-winning animated fantasy show, The Dragon Prince.

Graf Selected Second Time For Bahamas Screenwriter Residency Program

By: Michael Graf
Michael Graf's quirky coming of age sports story, THROWING HAMMERS, was one of five screenplays selected as part of the Screenwriting Residency Program at the Bahamas International Film Festival. It's the second script for Graf to receive the honor.
More SuccessDown Aroow

Michael Graf wins Screenwriter's Residency Program in Bahamas
By: Michael Graf
Michael Graf was one of five feature screenwriters to win the Screenwriter's Residency Program at the Bahamas International Film Festival for his inspirational true story, THE LAST INDIAN WAR.
Tags: THE LAST INDIAN WAR, Bahamas International Film Festival(1st Place)

Graf Named First Writer In Residence at the UW Institute For Discovery
By: Michael Graf
Screenwriter and Director Michael Graf was named the very first Writer In Residence at the University of Wisconsin's Institute For Discovery as part of their Science To Script program. The program promotes STEM in the arts to encourage young people to pursue science and math related fields.
Tags: PICKET CHARLIE,

THE LAST INDIAN WAR Optioned to Nonesuch Pictures
By: Michael Graf
"We think the market has caught up to this amazing script," says Producer Darin Dusan when he optioned screenwriter Michael Graf's historical sports drama about a group of Native American children that are kidnapped by the US Army and go on to invent the modern game of football. "This is an amazing story and it needs to be told." The screenplay has been making waves around the world, winning dozens of awards and accolades. It also has been a part of the ISA Development Slate.
Tags: THE LAST INDIAN WAR,

Won Best Screenplay at Paris Arts & Movie Awards
By: Michael Graf
Michael Graf's screenplay based on true events, was the only category that won an unanimous vote by the judges. At the Awards Show, the founder of the Festival said, "THE LAST INDIAN WAR is an important work that needs to be shared with the world."
Tags: THE LAST INDIAN WAR, Paris Arts and Movie Awards(1st Place)
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SPOTLIGHT

These are the top success stories listed by ISAConnect Members only. Many come from ISA Writing Gigs, the ISA Fast Track, the ISA Development Slate, the ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters To Watch plus other ISAConnect Members who have demonstrated additional success throughout the industry. This includes but is not limited to winning or placing in contests, receiving a fellowship, a writing assignment, representation and/or getting a script produced, optioned or sold. We welcome posting your success from any part of the industry!

Anyone can upgrade to ISAConnect. Upgrade to the Yearly Membership on any contest page and you’ll receive a free contest entry! If you are an industry pro and interested in viewing the work of these emerging writers, please request Industry Pro status.

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