The Slamdance Film Festival has announced the winners of its second annual screenplay competition. Awards will be presented during a ceremony on Jan. 20.

First-place went to "Chinaware - Fragile" by Christine DeSmet, Peggy Williams and Robert Shill. Other award-winners include "The Boxer," Mark Douglas, second place; and "The Counterfeit Confederate," Nancy Raven Smith, third place.The first-place screenplay will be featured in a special reading by professional actors, hosted by Slamdance, in conjunction with Filmmaker magazine and the Screen Actors Guild, as part of the awards presentation ceremony. The top three finalists will also be submitted for professional review by a major literary agency.

This year's competition received nearly 800 entries, including scripts in every conceivable genre, and had "a remarkably high caliber of literary merit," said Slamdance Executive Director Peter Baxter.

And, despite the dramatic increase in entries from the previous year, all scripts submitted received personal and individual attention, he said. All entrants can ask for comments and opinions from from the competition's readers.

"That information is available to (entrants) at their request," Baxter said. "The winners receive industry exposure, but we also support new writers in general with feedback, encouragement and constructive criticism."

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The Screenplay Competition is one of several special events held in conjunction with Slamdance. The 1998 festival will be held Jan. 16-23 in Park City.

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