Hanhai Studio in collaboration with Branches Interactive held the Final Pitch Competition for the 2020 Scripts Competition this past Monday on March 30th via online live stream. Due to the unexpected spread of COVID-19, the originally scheduled event that was supposed to take place on location in Los Angeles was moved online to align with the safety measures and the city’s regulations.
The Final Pitch Competition showcased the top 10 finalists selected from the scripts that were submitted during the entry period between January and February. These 10 finalists were given an opportunity to present their pitch bible to the competition’s esteemed panel of judges which included Mary-Jane Ruggels (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Tarzan, and The Emperor’s New Groove), Brandon Jeffords (Smurfs: The Lost Village, Hotel Transylvania 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Kung Fu Panda TV series), Brandon Violette (T.O.T.S, Stretch Armstrong & The Flex Fighters, Heroes of the Golden Mask), Celia Blundo, and Tonya Collier.
The pitch session spanned over the course of 3 hours and ranged from a variety of genres including romance, science fiction, horror, and more. Each of the judges then provided feedback for each of the participants after their pitch.
For the big finale and after careful deliberation amongst the judges, the winners were chosen based on their scripts and pitch presentation performance. First place and $5000 went to Keiko Sugihara with her script “Nikkei Curse of Yokai”; Helen Silverstein took 2nd place and $4000 with her script “Dwelling”; and Chance Kuehnel’s “Gemstone”, Raul Jocson’s “I.N.D.R.A” and Jane Miller’s “Lovebot” won 3rd place with $3000 each. In addition to the cash prizes, each of the winners received subscriptions to Writerduet and Screenwriting Staffing.
With months in the making and preparation by both the organization and the participants, the show went on without a hitch despite the sudden changes. This competition is the first of hopefully many that was organized to discover local talent in Los Angeles and promote Sino-US collaboration within the film and entertainment industry. In addition to the prizes, all the finalists received a chance to connect with the Branches Interactive team to explore further script development opportunities.
For more information about the competition, visit branchesinteractivesc.com.