Steeltown Film Factory Competition down to final 3

Pittsburgh universities have one more thing to compete for — the winning spot in the Steeltown… Pittsburgh universities have one more thing to compete for — the winning spot in the Steeltown Film Factory Competition.

The finalists are Philip Beard, Christopher Dimond and Yulin Kuang. Beard is a Pitt law school graduate, Dimond attended both Duquesne and CMU and Kuang is a CMU student.

Yet, the mood in the Point Park University GRW Theater during the competition’s Producer’s Pitch Saturday was that of camaraderie. This competition is designed to showcase the filmmaking talent of Pittsburgh and foster the growth of this talent.

Amateur filmmakers submit a screenplay that is no longer than 12 pages in length. The competition was whittled from more than 125 people to the six who stood in front of the judges to be divided in half at this second-to-last part of the competition. The winner will receive a $30,000 prize to make his film. The winner will be decided April 30.

Each semifinalist had a chance to explain his budget plan and intentions as well as answer the judges’ questions. Then after a deliberation, the judging came to a conclusion. Carl Kurlander, Steeltown Film Factory’s executive producer and the event’s moderator, cast a sympathetic glance at the semifinalists, and said, “We do have to choose three out of six, but we see this as a process.” He encouraged each contestant to continue pursuing the creation of their work, even if they don’t go to the final round.

This year the competition has been particularly close, said Film Factory producer Lisa Smith, adding that, “usually we have five semifinalists; it was so close, we have six.”

The event opened with a film highlighting the deep connections that Pittsburgh has with the film industry. Pittsburgh has “incubated a lot of talent,” Kurlander said.“There’s a loyalty. Pittsburghers are very good at not giving up.”

The three judges then introduced themselves as John Dellaverson, producer of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”; Bernie Goldmann, producer of “300”; and Chris Moore, producer of “Good Will Hunting” — all veterans of the production side of the film industry.

The three scripts that were chosen to move on:

“Savesies” by Philip Beard

“It reveals character; Pittsburgh character,” Beard, an attorney and Pitt law school alumnus, said of his script.

The plot follows two neighbors who have both claimed a parking spot on their road for their mothers.  The script is written in the Pittsburgh dialect, and includes a slow-motion scene.

Beard used the example of the “Seinfeld” episode about parking as a comparison. Instead of being selfish, Pittsburgh character shines through and the lead man realizes he must relinquish the spot because his mother is not the first one to show up to park there.

For Beard, who has published two novels, this was the “culmination of a long process of making a transition from a much longer form … I was very excited. You know, I have always wanted to write for film.”

“Flour Baby” by Christopher Dimond

“Flour Baby” is centered on the common high school project of caring for a fake baby, which Dimond, who taught at Central Catholic High School for a few years, said is still a project in some schools. Dimond now writes plays and musicals and recently — along with collaborator Michael Kooman — and has received several honors and awards.

Dimond explained that his script, “at its heart, is about a young girl who is forced to confront her past.”

The script makes a social commentary on abortion and is a “dark story that has some comedy,” Dimond stated. He decided he’d like to be assistant director for his film, as participants may choose what part they’d like to play in the creation of their film. Still, despite being in the top three, he’s not positive that he will get the chance to make his movie with the $30,000.

“I don’t necessarily know that I’ll win. I think the three scripts that are left are all really strong. It’s really easy in this industry to fall into a competitive feeling, but I don’t think that’s the case with anyone from the Film Factory; they are all really supportive and encouraging there.”

“First Kiss” by Yulin Kuang

Kuang is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University who studies creative writing.

She said that her script is “an exploration of the myth of the first kiss” that draws from her own coming-of-age story and “the agony of being 14.”

The storyline follows a young teen boy who finds out that a girl wants to kiss him at a spin-the-bottle party.

“I don’t think I’ll win overall. I really do love this script,” she said.

The familiar hormonal and emotional turmoil in the main character is what drives her idea forward.

“I worked very hard, and it was nice that there was a payoff. It was one of the happiest moments I’ve had,” she explained. “I’d like to win because I think it’d really be good for other young filmmakers in Pittsburgh to show what we can do.” Kuang intends on directing her film.

The next stage of the Steeltown Film Factory’s competition is a performance of each of the three finalists’ scripts at CMU by CMU drama students on April 30.