Script and Film Competition Fellowship Opportunities

AMC Networks is home to many of the greatest stories and characters in TV and film and is the premier destination for passionate and engaged fan communities around the world. The Company creates and curates celebrated series and films across distinct brands and makes them available to audiences everywhere. Its portfolio includes targeted streaming services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, HIDIVE and ALL REALITY; cable networks AMC, BBC AMERICA (which includes U.S. distribution and sales responsibilities for BBC News), IFC, SundanceTV and We TV; and film distribution labels Independent Film Company and RLJE Films. The Company also operates AMC Studios, its in-house studio, production and distribution operation behind acclaimed and fan-favorite original franchises including The Walking Dead Universe and the Anne Rice Immortal Universe; and AMC Networks International, its international programming business.

• The winner will receive a $1,000 prize; reimbursement of roundtrip airfare (up to $500 per script excluding frequent flyer miles); hotel reimbursement at the Film Festival (up to $500 per script); and the AFF Fellowship award.
• An AMC representative will meet with each of the finalists in this category at the AFF Conference or arrange calls with the finalists and winner at a later date.

• Requires additional $30 entry fee
• Must first be entered in the Drama Teleplay Pilot Category

Eric Heisserer is most known for Arrival (2017), adapted from the Ted Chiang short story “Story of Your Life,” and Bird Box (2018), based on the Josh Malerman novel. Eric has also served as showrunner for the Netflix series Shadow & Bone, based on the Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo, and has written and directed Hours (2013). His debut novel, Simultaneous, was published in October of last year and won the Audie Award for best science fiction audiobook.

• Awardee(s)* will meet with award winning screenwriter and producer Eric Heiserer
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th)

• Requires additional $30 entry fee
• In order to be considered for this Award, you must be entered into the Drama Feature category of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition

Lauren Shuler Donner is a renowned and prolific film, TV, and theater producer. She has produced 30 movies over four decades including the X-Men franchise, Pretty in Pink, Free Willy, You’ve Got Mail, She’s The Man, and The Secret Life of Bees. She has also been EP on seven tv shows including 3 seasons of “Legion”. She is currently developing several Broadway musicals based on her and her husband’s films. Lauren serves as Vice President for the Producers’ Guild of America, is on the Board of The Motion Picture and TV Fund (MPTF), on the Board of The Geffen Playhouse, and LUPUSLA.

In 2023 Austin Film Festival awarded Lauren the Polly Platt Award for Producing, given annually to producers with a keen sense of story and who have a history of fostering new talent. We could not be more thrilled to work Lauren again this year to uplift new talent through the script competitions.

• Donners’ Company representatives will read the category’s top scripts to determine the winner, and provide feedback on the winning script. Pending availability, representatives from the Donners’ Company will meet with the category finalists at Austin Film Festival’s Writers Conference (October 29^th – November 1^st).
• Awardee(s)* will take three (3) meetings with Lauren Schuler Donner and/or development executives on her team, where they will offer industry guidance, feedback on winning script, advice on future projects, and insight into the development process.
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29^th – November 5^th)

• Requires additional $30 entry fee
• In order to be considered for this Award, you must be entered into the Comedy or Drama Feature categories of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition

Founded by producer Gale Anne Hurd in 1982, Valhalla Entertainment is known for its award-winning projects that include the TV franchise behemoth, The Walking Dead, and its multiple spinoffs Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of The Walking Dead, The Ones Who Live, Dead City and Daryl Dixon. Other series include Prime Video’s adaptation of the hit podcast Lore, as well as two seasons of USA Network’s Falling Water and SyFy Network’s Hunters. Valhalla is also behind such landmark blockbusters as The Terminator, T2, The Abyss, Aliens and Armageddon. The company’s portfolio also features acclaimed documentaries like The YouTube Effect and the PBS documentary about the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Mankiller.

• Awardee(s)* will take meetings with Gale Anne Hurd and their President of Production, Phillip Kobylanski.
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th)

• In order to be considered for this Award, you must be entered into the Drama Feature or Drama Teleplay Pilot categories of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition

Daniel Petrie, Jr. is a partner in Enderby Entertainment, an independent film finance and production company, founded in 2006 by Petrie and producer Rick Dugdale.  

In 1985, Petrie received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his first produced script, the box-office hit Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy.  Next came Petrie’s original screenplay of the romantic thriller The Big Easy, starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin.  

Petrie then served as producer of the thriller Shoot to Kill, starring Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger, and as executive producer of the comedy Turner & Hooch, starring Tom Hanks; Petrie co-wrote both films, which were both directed by Roger Spottiswoode.  Nearly a decade later, Petrie executive produced the sci-fi action picture The 6th Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, also directed by Spottiswoode.   

Petrie’s directorial debut was the film Toy Soldiers, starring Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, and Louis Gossett, Jr., which he co-wrote.  Petrie then directed the HBO film Dead Silence, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and adapted and directed the TNT movie Framed, starring Rob Lowe and Sam Neill.  

Petrie’s next two directorial outings were both produced by Dugdale and financed by Enderby Entertainment.  The first, the no-holds-barred, NC-17 indie feature Dawn Patrol, starred Scott Eastwood, Jeff Fahey and Rita Wilson in an original screenplay by Rachel Long & Brian Pittman.  The second, the very G-rated drama entitled Rosemont (in the US) or Christmas at Rosemont (in Canada) starred Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif, Michael Gross, Ayla Kell and Brendan Michael Coughlin.   

In 2011, Petrie was executive producer, showrunner and co-creator of Combat Hospital, simulcast on Canada’s Global TV and ABC in the U.S.   
Petrie served two terms each as president and as vice president of the Writers Guild of America West.  Currently, Petrie is president of the Writers Guild Foundation.  He is a former governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a long-time member of the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Committee.  

An active volunteer, presenter and panelist at the Austin Film Festival and Screenwriting Conference, Petrie is a member of the Festival’s Board of Advisors. In 2012, the AFF announced the addition of the Enderby Entertainment Award to the festival’s screenwriting competition.  Finalists and winners are selected by Petrie and Dugdale. 

Rick Dugdale is the President and CEO of Enderby Entertainment, a film finance and production company founded in 2006 by Dugdale and his filmmaking partner, Daniel Petrie, Jr. Dugdale oversees all aspects of Enderby Entertainment’s business, finance and production and spearheads the company’s relationships with its worldwide community of strategic partners. 
 
Dugdale has most recently completed post-production on Peace, starring Alexander Ludwig, Sam Keeley and Franco Nero. Based on a true story from the celebrated novelist Richard Bausch and written and directed by Academy Award® winning filmmaker Robert Port, the principal photography was shot around Dugdale’s hometown in Enderby, Canada. Peace will be released in 2019. 
 
Shortly before this, Dugdale completed work on Enderby’s most ambitious project to date: The Intrigo Anthology – three films shot back to back, based upon a series of European best-sellers by the immensely popular Swedish author Håkan Nesser. The three stand-alone thrillers, adapted by Daniel Alfredson & Ditta Bongenhielm are individual stories interconnected by the ‘Café Intrigo,’ which gives the three films their anthological title. Daniel Alfredson directed each of the films with Pawel Edelman as Director of Photography. Intrigo: Death of an Author stars Sir Ben Kinglsey and Benno Fürmann. Intrigo: Samaria, stars Andy Buchan, Phoebe Fox and Jeff Fahey. Intrigo: Dear Agnes stars Carla Juri and Gemma Chan. An example of independent filmmaking at its most daring, this ground-breaking anthology was greenlit, financed and cast as one package and will be distributed in various territories worldwide by Fox International and Miramax and released simultaneously worldwide in 2019. Dugdale also served as producer on the upcoming thriller, Night Hunter, starring Henry Cavill, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alexandra D’Dadario and Stanley Tucci.  
 
Dugdale’s career started in his native British Columbia, where he gained extensive experience in physical production, working at all budget levels in feature film, television commercials and music videos.  In the early 2000s, Dugdale also gained experience in public sector financing and investor relations while working in oil, gas and uranium markets. The experience and insight he gained during this period led Dugdale to formulate a convergent strategy with film and outside ventures which he continues developing to this day. With a particular interest in both blockchain technologies and developmental industrial technologies, Dugdale has positioned himself prominently at exciting new ventures such as sBetOne and Helicoid Industries.  
 
In 2003, Dugdale joined Daniel Petrie, Jr. & Company as Vice President, Production before becoming a full partner in the company in 2004. In the motion picture industry, the first decade of the 21st Century saw an acceleration in the growth of independent productions to fill the vacuum left by the major studios, who each year became increasingly focused on making fewer and bigger-budgeted so-called “tent-pole” movies, a trend that continues to this day. At the same time, the transition from celluloid to digital image capture made some aspects of filmmaking radically less expensive, lowering the medium’s costs of entry; this at a time when, paradoxically, the costs of making studio-style tent-pole movies continued their seemingly limitless escalation. On the distribution side, time-honored practices of releasing those tent-pole movies were joined by release patterns that increasingly allowed more independent films to find audiences. Observing that many independent films seemed to be made for no better reason than that the resources were available, Dugdale and Petrie believed that a production company that put the emphasis back on story, on the creative side, and on transparency, on the financial side, could thrive. This insight led them to found Enderby Entertainment.  
 
Whilst Enderby Entertainment is based in Los Angeles, Dugdale has always been committed to growing the film and television sector in the province of British Columbia where the town of his birth, and the namesake of his company, Enderby is located. Having produced multiple films in British Columbia for Enderby Entertainment, Dugdale was awarded with the Job Makers Award for 2016 by the Province of British Columbia. As of 2019 Enderby Entertainment is preparing to expand its operations into Canada with the opening of new production offices and joint ventures in the Canadian market. 
 
Prior to the Intrigo trilogy, Dugdale produced the psychological thriller An Ordinary Man in collaboration with actor/producer Sir Ben Kingsley and was written and directed by Brad Silberling. As Enderby’s CEO, Dugdale also greenlit and financed the film, which features outstanding performances by Kingsley and Hera Hilmar. Dugdale also arranged for its international distribution by Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment, marking Enderby’s second collaboration with Electric. An Ordinary Man had its U.S. premiere at the 24th annual Austin Film Festival in October of 2017 and was released theatrically by Saban Films in April 2018. 
 
Before this, Dugdale produced and financed the thriller Blackway, the first film collaboration involving Alfredson, Enderby Entertainment and world-wide distributor Electric Entertainment. The film featured a remarkable cast headed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Hal Holbrook and with Ray Liotta in the title role. Directed by Daniel Alfredson, Blackway was adapted for the screen by Joseph Gangemi & Gregory Jacobs and based upon the novel Go with Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. The film was feted with a gala world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival ahead of its 2016 release.  
  
Previously for Enderby, Dugdale produced Dawn Patrol, starring Scott Eastwood, Jeff Fahey and Rita Wilson, and Rosemont, starring Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif and Michael Gross; both films were directed by Daniel Petrie, Jr. Dugdale also produced About Cherry starring Ashley Hinshaw, James Franco, Heather Graham and Dev Patel, co-written and directed by Stephen Elliott. For Tony-Seven Films, Enderby Entertainment’s genre film division, Dugdale served as executive producer on The Speak, Vile and 5 Souls and as producer on A Haunting at Silver Falls, No Tell Motel and Blood Shed. Dugdale also served as executive producer on Tony-Seven Films’ first sequel, the upcoming A Haunting at Silver Falls 2. 
 
Dugdale is particularly proud of Enderby Entertainment’s involvement with the Austin Film Festival and Conference.  In 2012, the Austin Film Festival announced the addition of a new “Enderby Entertainment Award” to the festival’s screenwriting competition.  The new award is open to feature screenplays in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be independently produced with a budget under ten million dollars.  Finalists and winners are selected by Dugdale and Petrie. 
Dugdale is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of Canada.  

• Representatives from Enderby Entertainment will review the semifinalist scripts submitted in across both categories and will determine the Award’s finalists and winner. Finalists will be given the opportunity to meet with a representative from Enderby during this year’s Conference (October 29 – November 5, 2026) or over the phone at a later date. 
• $2,500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th) 

• Requires an additional $30 entry fee
• Must first be entered in either the Feature Drama or Feature Comedy categories

Starburns Industries is an innovative and imaginative full-service production company, specializing in stop-motion, traditional 2D animation and live-action production. Starburns is a creator driven studio, whose founders are responsible for the creation of Adult Swim series like MORAL OREL, MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENHOLE and RICK & MORTY; as well as the Academy Award nominated animated film ANOMALISA. Launched in the summer of 2010 to produce Emmy Award winning COMMUNITY holiday special, Starburns was founded in order to create a workspace that gives the support and freedom to original and creative people to make content that is funny, sad, strange, and beautiful. 

• Starburns Industries will provide the Screenplay Fellowship winner Industry guidance and an inside look to Starburns Industries’ development process through a six-month Fellowship program 
  • Conversations during the program may include, but not limited to: tips on career guidance, best practices advice, adapting IP, constructing a pitch deck 
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th) 

• Scripts should have the ability to stand out in animation as opposed to live action. Scripts should demonstrate how the medium can be used in creative, playful, or out of the box ways. Scripts do not need to be set in a fantasy landscape. 
• Requires additional $30 entry fee 
• In order to be considered for this Fellowship, you must be entered into the comedy teleplay pilot category of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition 

Roadmap Writers is a screenwriting education and training platform for people looking for a guided path to professional success writing for film and tv. Our programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate their craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Founded in 2016, by Joey Tuccio and Dorian Connelley, Roadmap has helped over 470 writers sign with representation, while countless others have gotten staffed on tv shows, had their scripts optioned, or sold their scripts.

Through Roadmap Writers’ outreach, writers have signed to CAA, APA, Verve, Circle of Confusion, 42, Anonymous Content, Affirmative Entertainment, Range Media partners, Bellevue Productions, Buchwald Agency, Meridian Artists, Rosa Entertainment, RAIN, Lit Entertainment Group, Luber Roklin, Echo Lake, Navigation Media Group, Industry Entertainment, Schemers Entertainment, AAO Entertainment, Kaplan Perrone, Grandview, Housefire Management, Allied Management Group, Artists First, 3 Arts, Story Driven, Ensemble Entertainment, Citizen Skull, Heroes and Villains, Sugar23, First Story Entertainment, Mosaic, Chatrone, Metamorphic Management, Gramercy Park Entertainment, The Cartel, Avalon, Art/Work, Untitled Entertainment, Gotham Group, Schulman Management, Kersey Management, Good Fear, Agile Entertainment, The Gersh Agency, A3, Content House, Kaplan Stahler, Wonder Street, Framework Entertainment, HG5 Entertainment, Zero Gravity, 831 Entertainment, REJ Entertainment, Paradigm, Epicenter, Fourth Wall, Make Good Content and more. Joey has also helped set up projects at Hulu, American High, New Republic Pictures, Legendary, Luma Pictures, Josephson Entertainment, Lifetime, Anvil Pictures, Bohemia Group, Paperclip  Limited and more.

These signed writers have gone on to sell and set up projects with Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, Hulu, Bigscope Films, Nicely Entertainment, Stampede Ventures, among others. They have also staffed on GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES, WE WERE LIARS, LAW & ORDER, COBRA KAI, NIGHT COURT, BRIDGERTON, THE FLASH, CHICAGO PD, FUBAR, THE FIRST LADY, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE RESIDENT, REACHER, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, MAYANS MC and POKER FACE.

• Roadmap Writers will provide the Fellowship winner Industry guidance through a 12-month Fellowship program.
• Fellowship will take place January 2027 – December 2027
• The winner will take 2 meetings per month with Roadmap Writers representatives
• During the Fellowship, winner will take 3 meetings with an industry executive (arranged by Roadmap Writers).
• Conversations during the program may include: pitching your project, pitching yourself, advice on how to capitalize on winning AFF, prepping for and navigating industry generals
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th)

Though Roadmap will be facilitating meetings, Austin Film Festival and Roadmap Writers make no guarantees of representation for the Fellowship Winner

• Requires additional $30 entry fee
• To be considered for this Award, you must opt in and be entered into either the: Comedy Feature, Drama Feature, Comedy Teleplay Pilot, or Drama Teleplay Pilot categories of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition

William N. “Bill” Collage is an award-winning screenwriter of more than 60 feature length films (all for major studios) and television shows. His produced credits include: Ransom (1996), New York Minute (2004), Accepted (2006), Tower Heist (2011), Exodus (2014), Transporter: Refueled (2014), Assassin’s Creed (2016), Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016), Emancipation (2023) and Sleeping Dogs (2024). His television show Of Kings and Prophets aired on ABC in 2016. His uncredited work includes I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1998), Fun With Dick and Jane (2005), Get Smart (2008), The Great Wall (2016), Freelance (2022) and Afterburn (2025).

He has worked with directors Martin Scorsese, Sir Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Darren Aronofksy, Cary Fukinaga, Zhang Yimou, Antoine Fuqua, Luc Besson, Robert Schwentke and many many more. His script Emancipation won the Blacklist award for best scripts of 2020. It set the record for largest acquisition in the history of Hollywood, purchased by Apple.

Bill is also a Founding Board Member and Executive Board Member of the Sag Harbor Cinema (a 501c3 not-for-profit theater) where he Chairs the Education Program. He has served as a jury member at The Austin Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival.

• The William N. Collage Screenwriting Award winner will receive:
  • Awardee(s)* will take meetings with prolific screenwriter Bill Collage
  • $1000 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29th – November 5th)
• *Winning scripts may include writing partners

• Entry Requirements:
  • Requires additional $30 entry fee
  • In order to be considered for this Award, you must be entered into the Drama Feature category of the 2026 AFF Screenplay Competition

Actor, comedian, writer, and entrepreneur Tom Segura is one of the biggest names in the comedy business. Following his highly successful I’m Coming Everywhere World Tour, where he played over 300 shows, Segura has just completed his Come Together Tour, which sold out venues around the world and will culminate with his upcoming Netflix comedy special Teacher on Christmas Day 2025. Teacher marks Segura’s sixth Netflix special, following Ball Hog (2020), Disgraceful (2018), Mostly Stories (2016), Completely Normal (2014), and Sledgehammer, which was released July 4, 2023 and debuted at #1 on the streamer.

Segura currently stars in the Netflix dark comedy series Bad Thoughts, which he wrote and produced through his company, YMH Studios. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Short Form Comedy this year; the series was renewed for a second season.

In July 2022, Segura released his New York Times Bestselling book I’d Like to Play Alone, Please to wide praise, with Forbes calling it “laugh out loud funny.” Paste Magazine described him as, “…having a natural and capable storytelling ability, one that lifts his narratives out of average anecdote fare and plants them firmly in hilarious ground.”

Segura is the founder and operator of Your Mom’s House Studios, a podcast network he built into one of the most influential platforms in comedy. The network is home to hit shows including Your Mom’s House, co-hosted with his wife, comedian Christina Pazsitzky, and 2 Bears 1 Cave, co-hosted with Bert Kreischer, along with a growing slate of podcasts that reach millions of listeners each week. Under Segura’s leadership, YMH Studios was an early innovator in livestream podcast events, helping redefine how comedy audiences engage with creators.

Segura’s film credits include the STX release Countdown opposite Elizabeth Lail, Instant Family opposite Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, Opening Act, and Flinch. His television appearances include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan, Workaholics, Happy Endings, The Late Late Show, Comedy Central Presents: Tom Segura, Mash Up, and How To Be A Grown Up.

Segura has a rapidly growing social media following (@seguratom on IG, @tomsegura on Twitter). When he isn’t performing on stage or recording a podcast, he’s watching college football—or waiting for college football to come back.

• The Your Mom’s House Comedy Fellowship winner will receive:
  • $1,000 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the Austin Film Festival
  • YMH Studios’ representative will provide initial feedback and notes on the winning fellowship script
  • Fellow(s)* will take meetings with YMH Studios executives and development team
  • Opportunity to continue work with YMH Studios after Fellowship per the discretion of both parties

  *Winning scripts may include writing partners

• Entry Requirements:
  • Requires additional $30 entry fee
  • In order to be considered for this Fellowship, you must be entered into the Comedy Feature categories of the AFF Screenplay Competition

Daniel Petrie, Jr. is a partner in Enderby Entertainment, an independent film finance and production company, founded in 2006 by Petrie and producer Rick Dugdale.  

In 1985, Petrie received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay for his first produced script, the box-office hit Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy.  Next came Petrie’s original screenplay of the romantic thriller The Big Easy, starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin.  

Petrie then served as producer of the thriller Shoot to Kill, starring Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger, and as executive producer of the comedy Turner & Hooch, starring Tom Hanks; Petrie co-wrote both films, which were both directed by Roger Spottiswoode.  Nearly a decade later, Petrie executive produced the sci-fi action picture The 6th Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, also directed by Spottiswoode.   

Petrie’s directorial debut was the film Toy Soldiers, starring Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, and Louis Gossett, Jr., which he co-wrote.  Petrie then directed the HBO film Dead Silence, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and adapted and directed the TNT movie Framed, starring Rob Lowe and Sam Neill.  

Petrie’s next two directorial outings were both produced by Dugdale and financed by Enderby Entertainment.  The first, the no-holds-barred, NC-17 indie feature Dawn Patrol, starred Scott Eastwood, Jeff Fahey and Rita Wilson in an original screenplay by Rachel Long & Brian Pittman.  The second, the very G-rated drama entitled Rosemont (in the US) or Christmas at Rosemont (in Canada) starred Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif, Michael Gross, Ayla Kell and Brendan Michael Coughlin.   

In 2011, Petrie was executive producer, showrunner and co-creator of Combat Hospital, simulcast on Canada’s Global TV and ABC in the U.S.   
Petrie served two terms each as president and as vice president of the Writers Guild of America West.  Currently, Petrie is president of the Writers Guild Foundation.  He is a former governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a long-time member of the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Committee.  

An active volunteer, presenter and panelist at the Austin Film Festival and Screenwriting Conference, Petrie is a member of the Festival’s Board of Advisors. In 2012, the AFF announced the addition of the Enderby Entertainment Award to the festival’s screenwriting competition.  Finalists and winners are selected by Petrie and Dugdale. 

Rick Dugdale is the President and CEO of Enderby Entertainment, a film finance and production company founded in 2006 by Dugdale and his filmmaking partner, Daniel Petrie, Jr. Dugdale oversees all aspects of Enderby Entertainment’s business, finance and production and spearheads the company’s relationships with its worldwide community of strategic partners. 
 
Dugdale has most recently completed post-production on Peace, starring Alexander Ludwig, Sam Keeley and Franco Nero. Based on a true story from the celebrated novelist Richard Bausch and written and directed by Academy Award® winning filmmaker Robert Port, the principal photography was shot around Dugdale’s hometown in Enderby, Canada. Peace will be released in 2019. 
 
Shortly before this, Dugdale completed work on Enderby’s most ambitious project to date: The Intrigo Anthology – three films shot back to back, based upon a series of European best-sellers by the immensely popular Swedish author Håkan Nesser. The three stand-alone thrillers, adapted by Daniel Alfredson & Ditta Bongenhielm are individual stories interconnected by the ‘Café Intrigo,’ which gives the three films their anthological title. Daniel Alfredson directed each of the films with Pawel Edelman as Director of Photography. Intrigo: Death of an Author stars Sir Ben Kinglsey and Benno Fürmann. Intrigo: Samaria, stars Andy Buchan, Phoebe Fox and Jeff Fahey. Intrigo: Dear Agnes stars Carla Juri and Gemma Chan. An example of independent filmmaking at its most daring, this ground-breaking anthology was greenlit, financed and cast as one package and will be distributed in various territories worldwide by Fox International and Miramax and released simultaneously worldwide in 2019. Dugdale also served as producer on the upcoming thriller, Night Hunter, starring Henry Cavill, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alexandra D’Dadario and Stanley Tucci.  
 
Dugdale’s career started in his native British Columbia, where he gained extensive experience in physical production, working at all budget levels in feature film, television commercials and music videos.  In the early 2000s, Dugdale also gained experience in public sector financing and investor relations while working in oil, gas and uranium markets. The experience and insight he gained during this period led Dugdale to formulate a convergent strategy with film and outside ventures which he continues developing to this day. With a particular interest in both blockchain technologies and developmental industrial technologies, Dugdale has positioned himself prominently at exciting new ventures such as sBetOne and Helicoid Industries.  
 
In 2003, Dugdale joined Daniel Petrie, Jr. & Company as Vice President, Production before becoming a full partner in the company in 2004. In the motion picture industry, the first decade of the 21st Century saw an acceleration in the growth of independent productions to fill the vacuum left by the major studios, who each year became increasingly focused on making fewer and bigger-budgeted so-called “tent-pole” movies, a trend that continues to this day. At the same time, the transition from celluloid to digital image capture made some aspects of filmmaking radically less expensive, lowering the medium’s costs of entry; this at a time when, paradoxically, the costs of making studio-style tent-pole movies continued their seemingly limitless escalation. On the distribution side, time-honored practices of releasing those tent-pole movies were joined by release patterns that increasingly allowed more independent films to find audiences. Observing that many independent films seemed to be made for no better reason than that the resources were available, Dugdale and Petrie believed that a production company that put the emphasis back on story, on the creative side, and on transparency, on the financial side, could thrive. This insight led them to found Enderby Entertainment.  
 
Whilst Enderby Entertainment is based in Los Angeles, Dugdale has always been committed to growing the film and television sector in the province of British Columbia where the town of his birth, and the namesake of his company, Enderby is located. Having produced multiple films in British Columbia for Enderby Entertainment, Dugdale was awarded with the Job Makers Award for 2016 by the Province of British Columbia. As of 2019 Enderby Entertainment is preparing to expand its operations into Canada with the opening of new production offices and joint ventures in the Canadian market. 
 
Prior to the Intrigo trilogy, Dugdale produced the psychological thriller An Ordinary Man in collaboration with actor/producer Sir Ben Kingsley and was written and directed by Brad Silberling. As Enderby’s CEO, Dugdale also greenlit and financed the film, which features outstanding performances by Kingsley and Hera Hilmar. Dugdale also arranged for its international distribution by Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment, marking Enderby’s second collaboration with Electric. An Ordinary Man had its U.S. premiere at the 24th annual Austin Film Festival in October of 2017 and was released theatrically by Saban Films in April 2018. 
 
Before this, Dugdale produced and financed the thriller Blackway, the first film collaboration involving Alfredson, Enderby Entertainment and world-wide distributor Electric Entertainment. The film featured a remarkable cast headed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Hal Holbrook and with Ray Liotta in the title role. Directed by Daniel Alfredson, Blackway was adapted for the screen by Joseph Gangemi & Gregory Jacobs and based upon the novel Go with Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. The film was feted with a gala world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival ahead of its 2016 release.  
  
Previously for Enderby, Dugdale produced Dawn Patrol, starring Scott Eastwood, Jeff Fahey and Rita Wilson, and Rosemont, starring Grace Zabriskie, Brad Dourif and Michael Gross; both films were directed by Daniel Petrie, Jr. Dugdale also produced About Cherry starring Ashley Hinshaw, James Franco, Heather Graham and Dev Patel, co-written and directed by Stephen Elliott. For Tony-Seven Films, Enderby Entertainment’s genre film division, Dugdale served as executive producer on The Speak, Vile and 5 Souls and as producer on A Haunting at Silver Falls, No Tell Motel and Blood Shed. Dugdale also served as executive producer on Tony-Seven Films’ first sequel, the upcoming A Haunting at Silver Falls 2. 
 
Dugdale is particularly proud of Enderby Entertainment’s involvement with the Austin Film Festival and Conference.  In 2012, the Austin Film Festival announced the addition of a new “Enderby Entertainment Award” to the festival’s screenwriting competition.  The new award is open to feature screenplays in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be independently produced with a budget under ten million dollars.  Finalists and winners are selected by Dugdale and Petrie. 
Dugdale is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of Canada.  

• Enderby will provide in-depth feedback related to character development, plot execution, and world building on submitted AFF film, filmmakers writing ability, technical ability, voice, etc.
• Conversation and tips for navigating the industry to include, but not limited to:
  • Insight on pitfalls to avoid/methods to constantly stay active and involved in the industry.
  • Pre-existing issues or those on the horizon through the lens of filmmaking, screenwriting, distribution, etc.
  • How to handle oneself in the culture/work climate of Hollywood and best practices advice.

• Requires an additional $30 entry fee
• Must first be entered in either the Narrative Short or Student Narrative Short categories

Founded by producer Gale Anne Hurd in 1982, Valhalla Entertainment is known for its award-winning projects that include the TV franchise behemoth, The Walking Dead, and its multiple spinoffs Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of The Walking Dead, The Ones Who Live, Dead City and Daryl Dixon. Other series include Prime Video’s adaptation of the hit podcast Lore, as well as two seasons of USA Network’s Falling Water and SyFy Network’s Hunters. Valhalla is also behind such landmark blockbusters as The Terminator, T2, The Abyss, Aliens and Armageddon. The company’s portfolio also features acclaimed documentaries like The YouTube Effect and the PBS documentary about the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Mankiller.

• Awardee(s)* will take meetings with Gale Anne Hurd and their President of Production, Phillip Kobylanski
• $500 cash prize and up to $500 in airfare and up to $500 in lodging travel allowance to attend the 2026 Austin Film Festival (October 29 – November 5)

• Entry for Narrative Feature Film Award is included in any Narrative Feature submission.