Competitions

Capital Murder

by Chris Britton, Vancouver, BC
Capital Murder is based on the true story of the young lawyer who defended the last two men executed in Canada.

Mr. Britton is an actor working in theatre, film and television. Born and raised in Toronto, Mr. Britton now lives in Vancouver. Capital Muder is his first screenplay.

The Chump Brothers

by Hal Haberman, Los Angeles, CA
This caper film follows the hapless, pot-addled Chump Brothers as they face off against a ruthless French Canadian biker gang, a group of prepubescent Jenkem pushers, and an assortment of other offbeat adversaries.

Hal Haberman was born in Toronto and currently lives in Los Angeles. The film Special, which he co-directed/wrote with his friend Jeremy Passmore, premiered at the Sundance film festival, and is scheduled for a theatrical release from Magnolia Pictures in November 2008.

Golden Delicious

by Gorrman Lee, Vancouver, BC
When Jason, the "good" son of Chinese immigrants, meets his curious new Caucasian neighbour Alexis, a romance blooms and trouble starts.  Can he be true to himself when his two cultures, Eastern and Western, clash?

Gorrman Lee is a Vancouver based independent filmmaker who graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BFA in Film.  He has also studied feature film screenwriting at the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters.  His SFU grad film, Since Feeling is First, has screened at the Montreal World Film Festival, Leicester International Short Film Festival, and the BC Women in Film Festival.  He is currently forming a production company with fellow SFU Film alumni, and is paying the bills as a photographer.

Hiding Larry

by Tony Elliott, Toronto, ON
Hiding Larry is a thriller/black comedy about a reformed drug dealer, now blind, whose past comes back to haunt him.  "Murder is simple when you're blind.  It's getting rid of the body that's complicated."

Tony Elliott is a Toronto-based screenwriter originally from Saskatchewan. 2008 has been a very busy year for him ˜ his spec thriller HIDING LARRY is scheduled to go into production in LA in November; in September Tony was a participant in the Toronto International Film Festival Talent Lab; also in September, his sci-fi script TEN THUNDERS received development funding from Corus; and in April, his feature comedy STRANGER THAN YOU received the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize for Best Original Screenplay at the 2008 Writer‚s Guild of Canada Awards. Tony is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre.

The Shell

by Neil Every and Chris Donaldson, Vancouver, BC
A man who has lost himself to the facade of suburban living fights to save his dreams, his marriage and his life when a one night stand leaves him with a rash that transforms him into a monster... but fighting the monster errupting from his every pore is nothing compared to the monster that hides behind the fake smiles and materialistic shells of his strata council neighbours!

Between them, Chris and Neil have close to 20 years of industry experience, their skill-set spanning animation, storyboarding, writing, directing, story consulting and video gaming. Their writing work has included large-scale film projects such as Judge Dredd 2, an adaptation of the hit DC Comics graphic novel The Preacher, and video game titles such as Need For Speed 3 and SSX4. Smaller-scale film projects include the zombie flick The Undead (to be released in late 2008), the vampire-western Bloodrayne 2: Deliverance (recently released on DVD) and the 3D CG-animated features The Road to Honey and The Legend of Silk Boy (both in production in China). Currently, Chris and Neil are in development on a webisode series and companion Alternate Reality Game as well as a 1hr. Crime/Drama TV series with Tracey Boulton Productions (Flashpoint).

The Woods

by Gary Hawes, Vancouver, BC
The Woods is the story of one family's fight for survival in the remote wilderness of the Pacific Northwest as a mythical creature, long presumed to be a figment of over-active imaginations, methodically stalks them.

Gary Hawes is a Vancouver-based filmmaker that was named one of 'Ten Short Filmmakers to Watch for' by Screen International.  His short films have featured the likes of Ioan Gruffudd and Tony award winner Alan Cumming, as well as top Canadian performers Alisen Down, Thea Gill and Genie award winner Vincent Gale.  He also works as an Assistant Director, where his credits include X-Men 2 and 3, the Fantastic Four films, and the Oscar-nominated Juno.

The following projects have been selected as semifinalists and will be each awarded a detailed Praxis Reader's Report:

• Amalia's Journey by Ryan Copple, Vancouver, BC
• The Call by Melva McLean, Vancouver, BC
• Hold The Sky by Roslyn Muir, Burnaby, BC
• Long Version Beer Commercial by Brent Mikkelson, Victoria, BC
• Of Ash and Ice by Doree Olson, Kelowna, BC
• The Realm of Mist and Gloom by David Stetson, Missisagua, ON

Honorable Mention:

• A Man Like Me, or Lost Baggage by Florence Gibson, Toronto, ON