Family feature Grandpa’s UFO, written by Justin Evans and Steve Mitchell, has won the top prize in Animal Logic Entertainment’s screenplay competition.
Set in rural Australia, it sees a grandfather and grandson enter a hotly contested vertical flight competition with their homemade saucer, dubbed Grandpa’s UFO.
First launched in 2020, the Animal Logic Entertainment Screenplay Competition is designed to uncover fresh Australian writing talent in the animated, live-action, and hybrid family space. This round saw the comp expand to include TV pilots as well as features.
For their win, Evans and Mitchell receive a prize of $5,000 and professional guidance from Animal Logic Entertainment executive vice presidents of development and production, Jonathan Hludzinski and Felicity Staunton.
“We’re thrilled to win this competition because of Animal Logic Entertainment’s outstanding pedigree in the family film market, which aligns perfectly with our goal of creating an Australian film that will inspire and entertain audiences all over the world,” said the writing duo.
“We feel that young people need a hopeful message more than ever, to aim higher and dream bigger. We believe Grandpa’s UFO is the perfect “vehicle” to deliver that message.”
Runner-ups include Melissa Gravitis with Shadowrealm, and Joshua Heaton with Santa’s Little Helper. They each receive $1,000 and professional feedback.
“The entrants sent us a very strong message – a desire for joyful storytelling has returned! The level of commercial, inspiring and comedic concepts that we had the pleasure of reading reminded us just how much our Aussie creatives punch above their weight,” said Staunton.
“All of the winners put entertainment first, and we are excited to have uncovered yet
another batch of exciting creative minds.”
The winner of the inaugural competition was Teigan Isobel’s screenplay Buggged (sic).