First Place: Halfway Home
 By David Schroeder
 City/State: Miami, FL
 Occupation: Teacher
 Logline: A paralyzed young man's broken spirit and intellectual pride is challenged as a live-in supervisor in a halfway house for the mentally disabled. Through a  series of comic and tragic adventures, they find emotional and spiritual healing as individuals and a family.

What or who was your inspiration for Halfway Home?

The simple answer to 'what inspired Halfway Home' is personal experience and belief. The more difficult answer to 'who inspired Halfway Home' is a long list of inspired teacher, and loving friends and family.

How did you come up with the idea for the script?

I was drawn to the reality of great pain and the possibility of great healing.

How long did it take for you to write the screenplay?

The story of Halfway Home has been with me for a long time, but I wrote it over a period of two semesters in graduate school. The polishing of the screenwriting format and craft came with multiple rewrites

What were some of the challenges you faced during the writing process?

The biggest challenge was to tell a compelling story of redemption with words that translate to film. What does heart and truth look like?

Do you have formal training as a screenwriter?

Yes, I studied screenwriting as a post-graduate student. The hardest part is to keep your vision while learning the craft.

Have you won other contests?

Yes, Halfway Home has won 'Best Screenplay' in NYC or L.A. three times, but being recognized by Christian Screenwrite is a validation of my intent to write an uplifting redemptive story for the big screen. Thank you.

My screenplays have placed in the 'top 5' eighteen times in recent screenplay
competitions, including:

• 2011 Big Idea Writer's Challenge: HALFWAY HOME, 3rd place overall,

• 2011 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival: HALFWAY HOME, 2nd place overall,

• 2011 4th Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition: HALFWAY HOME,
Drama Finalist (4th overall),

• 2011 4th Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition: THE BIG IDEA, Comedy
Semi-Finalist (top 10),

• 2010 Metropolitan Film Festival of NYC: HALFWAY HOME, Best Script,

• 2010 Los Angeles Film & Script Festival: HALFWAY HOME, Best Drama Script,

• 2010 Los Angeles Film & Script Festival: THE BIG IDEA, Best Comedy Script,

• 2010 Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood: HALFWAY HOME, Best Script,

• 2010 American International Film Festival: LANA LUI, Best Short Script,

• 2010 Back in the Box: LANA LUI, Best Short Script,

• 2010 L.A. Reel Film Festival: HALFWAY HOME, 2nd place,

• 2010 Los Angeles Movie Awards: HALFWAY HOME, 3rd place,

• 2010 Downbeach Film Festival: HALFWAY HOME, 4th place,

• 2010 Landlocked Film Festival: HALFWAY HOME, top 5,

• 2010 Naperville Film Festival: HALFWAY HOME, top 5,

• 2010 Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood: THE BIG IDEA, 8th place,

What's your best nugget of advice for beginning screenwriters?

Common wisdom is to write what you know. I think you need to write what you feel deeply. Emotional and spiritual truths are transcendent.