Press Release - Isaiah's Rest (screenplay) takes first at Charleston

The screenplay, Isaiah’s Rest: An Edisto Ghost Story, by William A. (Tony) Blackmon received the ‘Spire Award’ for best screenplay in the screenwriting competition of the 6^th annual Charleston International Film Festival on April 28^th in Charleston. The film festival showcased five days of works from writers and filmmakers from around the world offering shorts, documentaries, and feature films to the event’s attendees and judges. Isaiah’s Rest is Mr. Blackmon’s second win at the Charleston International Film Festival’s screenplay competition where he also received the first place Golden Crescent Award in 2011 for his screenplay, The Feather Keeper.

The screenplay competition was highlighted by a ‘Table Read’ of the scripts by the top ten finalist on April 25^th during which veteran local actors performed a five minute scene from the finalists’ screenplays. The film festival was concluded with an awards ceremony and gala dinner on Sunday night where a lifetime achievement award was given to veteran filmmaker Bill Butler, the cinematographer who helped create such epic films as Jaws, Rocky II, III, and IV, Stripes, Grease and dozens more memorable films. Mr. Butler’s award was capped by videoed recognition from film greats Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola and presented by veteran actor Tom Berenger who worked with Butler on the movie Sniper.

Mr. Blackmon’s other screenplay works include; The People’s Choice awards for best television series Pilot at the Los Angeles Love Unlimited Art and Film Festival and the Hollywood Screenplay Competition in 2012 for his work The Bagram Diaries, top 10 finalist at the 2012 Beaufort International Film Festival with his work Lucifer, Finalist in the Charleston International Film Festival screenplay competition in 2012 with his work The Gifts of Ages, and finalist in the 2012 Film Maker’s International screenplay competition with his work Lucifer.

Attending this year’s Charleston International Film Festival awards ceremony with Mr. Blackmon and his wife were friends from the low-country and family from England. Isaiah’s Rest: An Edisto Ghost Story is also available as a novel and can be found on Amazon in hardcopy and as an eBook and at Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. In Charleston you can find it downtown at the Old Charleston Ghost Shop and the Blue Bicycle Bookstore. If you are traveling to Edisto you can find it at the Edisto Bookstore and the Edistonian.