Alfred Thomas Catalfo Wins RIFF Screenplay Competition

Related: BETRAYED

Screenwriter, filmmaker and attorney AlFr Ed Thomas Catalfo of Dover, New Hampshire, is the Grand Prize Winner of the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival Screenplay Competition with his feature film script BETRAYED.

The RIIFF Screenplay Competition received a record number of entries from the United States and across the globe. The scripts were judged on creativity, innovation, vision, originality and the use of language by a panel of film industry professionals. "This competition has introduced us to some of the world's brightest and most talented writers in the craft," stated George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director, in announcing the award.

Catalfo's winning script BETRAYED revolves around a small-town newspaper editor who answers the door in the middle of the night to find a disheveled man who claims to be his older brother -- an Air Force pilot shot down over North Vietnam in 1972 and reported Missing In Action. His joy at reuniting with his brother quickly turns to terror when shadowy assassins begin pursuing them. As they embark on a dangerous mission to reveal the truth, his faith in the man's claims threatens to tear his family apart.

"This is an exceptional screenplay. Reading it, you can literally envision the actual film on the screen," said J. Scott Oberacker, RIIFF Educational Outreach Director.

"It was an outstanding year for screenplay entries. The exceptional quality and the solid storytelling were compelling, making for difficult decision-making on the part of our international group of judges," added Oberacker. "This was the the largest entry base in the competition's history. Our adjudication team analyzed and scored each submission according to a set of criteria, including character, dialogue, setting, plot and technique."

Catalfo will be presented with the award at the opening night gala at the 2013 Rhode Island International Film Festival next August. The Festival takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, as well as satellite locations throughout the state.

The RIIFF Screenplay Competition Grand Prize is Catalfo's second award in two weeks. His short film ROCKETSHIP which Catalfo wrote and directed, won the jury award for NH Film of the Year at the recent New Hampshire Film Festival. Catalfo accepted the award on behalf of the cast and crew in a presentation at the Francis Ford Coppola Mainstage in the historic Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

ROCKETSHIP is a 15-minute family drama in which an unlikely bond is forged between a lonely boy and an elderly man claiming to be a former astronaut. Together, they transform a vintage vacuum cleaner into a rocketship for a surprising journey. The film was inspired by the rocketship sculptures of artist David Random. More information is available at www.RocketshipMovie.com.