6th MARPSA - Winners

Best Feature Screenplay Winner

Overview

After a painful breakup, Bermudian filmmaker Nicola Burgess returns home to care for her ailing mother, Marie, and rediscover her purpose. When she reconnects with Rian, her former love turned oncologist, old wounds resurface alongside the possibility of healing. As Nicola channels her grief into completing a film honoring her mother’s memory, she must choose between remaining bound to heartbreak or embracing a second chance at love, forgiveness, and purpose.

Best Short Script Winner

Overview

Proud Irish Travellers Chris and his wheelchair bound Dad Jimmy run the Candyfloss Stall at funfairs around the country. A chance meeting with an old school friend reminds Chris of what could have been his future. Jimmy wants his son to reach his full potential but burdened by duty and tradition Chris feels he needs to be there to look after his Dad since his Mother's death. 

Best Mini-Series Winner

Overview

In an epic retelling of the first Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842), interwoven stories of courage, folly, and romance unfold as various characters on both sides of the conflict wrestle for control of Afghanistan which has become a pawn in a larger geopolitical game. A six-part limited series that illuminates recent Western experience in Afghanistan.

Best First-time Screenwriter Winner

Overview

In the fog shrouded streets of Agnoia City, a sprawling urban labyrinth where ignorance is bliss and knowledge is deadly, Detective Eli Cross is a shell of a man, drowning his grief over his daughter's agonizing death in whiskey and relentless police work.

Best Multiple Screenwriter Winner

Overview

Imagine Se7en meets Blink Twice; Nine Perfect Strangers meets Parasite; A Cure for Wellness meets The White Lotus. Elevated, surreal, visually bold. A luxury nightmare meets high-concept horror in a world where the line between healing and horror is thinner than you think.

Best TV Pilot Script Winner

Overview

A group of longtime friends reunite for a casual evening at Liam’s apartment, games, takeout, and idle talk about their hyper-connected lives.

Best Animation Script Winner

Overview

When precocious 10-year-old Maddie Davis discovers she can turn her dog T-Rex into a stuffed animal, it gives her the idea to sneak off to Kenya and save the rare southern purple rhino.

Best Stage play Winner

Overview

When the Joker seizes control of Arkham Asylum, Batman must descend into a nightmare where murderous inmates and the institution's haunted legacy force him to confront the terrifying possibility that the line between hero and madness has always been dangerously thin.

Best Documentary Script Winner

Overview

Created to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School, this short documentary takes viewers on a journey through five centuries of history. It started with one man - Sir Thomas Boteler, born 1461 and his wish to create a school to "endure forever". Combining historical records, archival imagery, carefully crafted AI and key moments in the school's evolution, the film explores how the institution has adapted and grown - while remaining at the heart of the local community. Personal reflections from a former student who attended in the 1970s and insights from the current Headteacher - the first woman to lead the school, highlight the enduring values, traditions and sense of community that have weaved through the education of generations.

Best Story Treatment/Concept Winner

Overview

On a fully controlled island governed by a hyper-intelligent AI, 160 socially discarded young adults are forced into psychological elimination trials designed to “optimize” human morality, until one emotionally unstable participant becomes the system’s greatest unpredictability.