The 54th Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards held today at Royce Hall proved everyone’s a winner.
At least, the five finalists chosen on Sept. 29 are all winners. The award ceremony today honored the five finalists with first- through fifth-place cash prizes.
Teri Schwartz, dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, kicked off the event by communicating the importance of humanistic storytelling. Schwartz recognized the achievement of UCLA in this state-wide competition, because four of the five finalists are either students or alumni.
“It’s just absolutely thrilling,” Schwartz said. “We’re very grateful to the Goldwyn family for this distinguished award.”
Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the president of the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, imparted some encouraging words to all the finalists.
“This is a beginning, not an end,” Goldwyn said.
Though the finalists knew they had all already won a prize, it did not take away from the anticipation in the room.
When the first four prizes, starting from fifth to second place, had been awarded, UCLA graduate student Joseph Tremba’s wife started hopping in excitement because her husband’s name was the only one yet to be called.
Tremba won first place for his script, “The Shoeshine Girl.” In addition to his $15,000 prize, Tremba said he and the rest of the finalists have already been experiencing interest in their respective stories.
“We’ve been getting interest from agents and managers,” Tremba said.
Fellow finalist and recent UC San Diego alumna Jennifer Barclay agreed.
“(The Goldwyn Writing Awards) has opened up so many doors already,” Barclay said.
In a tie for second place, UCLA students Robert Kotecki and Eli Mael both received $7,500 for their scripts, “Blowback” and “Oaktown,” respectively.
First honorable mention and $2,000 went to Barclay for her story, “Prank.” And second honorable mention and $1,000 went to UCLA alumnus Bradford Schmidt for “The Landsailor.”
Susan Goldberg, a preliminary judge for more than 10 years, said she appreciated the diversity of talent.
“(The scripts) were really incredibly well-written,” Goldberg said. “Everybody had their own distinct sense of vision.”
Another judge present was Catherine Tarr, a story editor at Creative Artists Agency. Tarr recognized the success of past Goldwyn finalists, so while she congratulated the winners, she recommended they start thinking about what’s next.
Kotecki said he believes this honor is a great motivator for thinking about the future.
“When you’re a young writer … facing so much rejection … getting this kind of acknowledgement early on really gives you the fuel to keep going,” Kotecki said.