BOPA announced the winners of the 2024 Baltimore Screenwriters Competition over the weekend at the 25th annual Maryland Film Festival.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) competition is now in its 19th year. It is a joint project between Baltimore Film Office and film programs at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and Morgan State University. Prizes are awarded in both feature and shorts categories to the top three scripts set or able to be filmed in Baltimore.
Awardees received all access passes to the Maryland Film Festival and monetary prizes. For Feature Category, first prize winner receives $1500, second prize receives $750, and third prize wins $350. For the Short Format Category, first prize winner receives $500, second prize wins $250, and third prize wins $125.
This year’s winners are:
FEATURE CATEGORY
First Place — L.T. Woody, “A Better Chance”
When Larry Woody, who is Black, earns a scholarship to a primarily white boarding school in New Hampshire he suddenly finds himself pulled between his old life in Baltimore and his new life at St. Paul’s.
L.T. Woody grew up in Baltimore’s Harlem Park neighborhood, attending Baltimore City Public Schools. At 13, he received a scholarship to attend St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Woody graduated with a BS from Temple University, and is a long-time member of SAG/AFTRA. “A Better Chance” is the cinematic adaptation of Woody’s memoir, “In Black and White.”
Second Place — Lee Connah, “Car BnB”
A college professor finds herself homeless and starts living in a car with three “roommates.”
Lee Connah is a carpenter living in Woodberry, Baltimore, and has been writing songs for 25 years. Connah also creates music videos and podcasts. “Car BnB” was originally conceived as a short web series featuring a cast of friends to be shot in and around Connah’s Subaru on the streets of Baltimore.
Third Place — Peter Kimball, “Champion”
A failed Olympic wrestler finds his whole life has fallen apart — but now might just have the chance to turn things around when he goes back to his hometown for his sleazeball brother’s shotgun wedding.
Peter Kimball is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. His short films have appeared at festivals like Slamdance, Vancouver, Calgary, DC Shorts, LA Shorts, and dozens more around the world. His 2022 film “My Brother is Deaf” won Best Short Documentary at the DC Independent Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the groundbreaking 2022 film “Millstone” — based on his own award-winning play — featuring an all-deaf cast and entirely in American Sign Language.
SHORTS CATEGORY
First Place — Harrison Demchick, “Shipping & Handling”
A boy who has recently lost his father begins communicating with him through novelty toys ordered from old comic books.
Harrison Demchick is an editor who’s worked on over 80 published books and published a novel and multiple short stories. His first film, “Ape Canyon,” won Best Feature at the 2020 Adrian International Film Festival and launched to streaming services in Spring 2021. His short “The Farmhouse” won Best Horror at Austin After Dark 2023.
Second Place — Felix Abeson, “Orchestra”
Trapped in a cycle of presence and idealization, two lovers grapple with the challenges of connection and individual aspirations.
Felix Abeson is a narrative filmmaker, documentarian, and artist from Randallstown, Maryland. He attended MICA, where he explored animation and sound. Abeson worked as a video editor in commercial media while directing and editing his own films, music videos, and collaborations with other artists. He is currently a photojournalist in Baltimore.
Third Place — Evan Balkan, “An Incredibly Stupid Idea (That Just Might Work)”
Roger and Kenneth are about to be evicted from their Penn North apartment, but their jobs at the Baltimore Museum of Art present a possible opportunity. Will their scheme to steal a rare painting be the solution they need?
Front Row, from the Left to Right: Dale Eban, panelist (professor, Morgan State University), Lee Connah, second place winner, features category, Harrison Demchick, first place winner, shorts category.
Evan Balkan is the author of three novels, one of which was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner prize, along with many short stories, essays, and eight nonfiction books. He is an award-winning screenwriter and was the inaugural recipient of the Mark McColloch Endowed Teaching Chair at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). Balkan coordinates the creative writing program at CCBC. He is writing the biopic, “I’m Possible,” about tubist Richard White, the first African American to earn a doctorate in tuba instruction.
This year’s competition received 62 scripts for judging. During the first round, scripts were read by students from the JHU and Morgan State writing and film programs. After a second and third round of judging, winners were selected by industry professionals Nina K. Noble, Ken LaZebink, Annette Porter, and Dale Beran.
Noble is a freelance producer and works with David Simon. LaZebink is a film and television writer who also directs Long Island University’s MFA in Writing and Producing for Television. Porter is a producer at Nylon Films and co-director of the JHU MICA Film Centre. Beran is a Baltimore-based writer, journalist, and artist who teaches screenwriting and animation at Morgan State University.
“Congratulations to our winners this year — we are looking forward to reading more work from each of you. I also want to thank all who submitted,” said Debbie Dorsey, director of the Baltimore Film Office. “It was a year for great scripts; we encourage everyone to keep telling their stories!”
