Tobin Addington, an assistant professor of media writing at Ramapo College, recently won two prestigious awards for a film script that he wrote entitled “The Unraveling.”
Addington’s script won the Grand Prize at PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and the first place in the “Horror/Thriller” category at the Slamdance Writing Competition for 2012.
“That’s a lot of love for my psychological thriller/horror script, and I am overjoyed and thrilled and humbled and shocked. Amazing,” Addington said on his website.
“The Unraveling” is a psychological thriller about a “young woman who survives a violent home invasion by killing the intruder,” Addington said.
The tragedy leads to the death of the main heroine’s parents and she becomes haunted by visions. People around her start to die and the experiences become more intense and ultimately she begins to question her own sanity.
“A lot of death,” Addington said, describing his style.
When he entered both competitions, Addington was skeptical of his chances for success and did not expect his screenplay to be so highly acclaimed.
“I was completely surprised,” said the Ramapo professor, who expected more traditional, “Oscar-type” films to win the competitions.
Addington was awarded $2,000 and the opportunity to attend Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
“The Slamdance Screenwriting and Teleplay Competition is dedicated to discovering and supporting emerging writing talent,” according to the official website. “We welcome screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world.”
Addington also won the Grand Prize in another competition, PAGE International Screenplay Awards, which is accompanied by a $25,000 cash prize.
According to the official website of the contest, its main goal is “to discover the most exciting new screenplays by up-and-coming writers from across the country and around the world.”
The screenwriting completion was designed “to bridge that gap – giving new screenwriters the opportunity to get their scripts into the hands of industry professionals, while also serving as a much-needed resource for Hollywood producers, agents and studio execs who are searching for quality material,” according to the PAGE International Screenplay website.
This achievement was not the first for the Ramapo professor. According to his official Ramapo College website profile, Addington has been awarded numerous awards from different institutions and film festivals. Some of Addington’s awards include emerging narrative, groundbreaker and excellence in screenwriting.
Even though the film is just a screenplay at this point, Addington is looking forward to seeing it become a completed movie. The next step in the process is to “find a producer with enough resources,” said Addington.
The Ramapo professor says that he is “always” working on new projects, either writing scripts or producing actual films. He is also currently attempting to find a producer for his other projects.
The newest script Addington is working on is based on a true story. It’s about “a guy who survived a serial killing” in Montana, said Addington.
—
avasilev@ramapo.edu
