The winners of Wayne State College’s film program screenwriting competition have been announced as Ava-Jane Albracht, Miguel Ibarra, Brant “Gilly” Gilson and Logan Streeter with co-writer Jacob McCauley. The announcement was made Jan. 19, 2026, following the breaking of a tie for the second-place spot.
The screenwriting competition begins at the end of every semester. Any student, not just those who are part of the film program, are allowed to submit their scripts. The scripts that place in the competition will be created by the students in the film workshop class.
This round of competition winners is almost evenly split between new and returning winners. Gilson and McCauley had wins in past years, while Albracht, Ibarra and Streeter won for the first time.
Miguel Ibarra, one of the first-time sophomore winners, said that he was surprised but ultimately excited that his script won.
“I know that people can’t always get things right on the first try, but I was honestly surprised to find out I was one of the winners,” Ibarra said. “I was hoping that people thought my script was good, but wow.”
Ava-Jane Albracht, another sophomore first-timer, said that she shares the excitement with Ibarra but also feels the stress of expectations.
“I’m excited,” Albracht said. “I’m hyped to be able to make my movie, but also there are so many movies that could and should be made that were written by people who didn’t place.”
The feelings of excitement and dread are not exclusive to the scriptwriting of newcomers. Gilly Gilson, a junior and returning competition winner, said that the anxiety of waiting for results and the stress of starting production weighed on him the most.
“For the first time, I was scared,” Gilson said. “Then for this one, I was also pretty scared. It’s just that feeling of anticipation, but when I found out I won I was so happy.”
The winners of this semester’s competition said the biggest challenge they faced was writer’s block. Some of the advice they gave was to write authentically and get plenty of advice from peers.
“Don’t force yourself to write something,” Logan Streeter, a junior who wrote his script with previous winner Jacob McCauley, said. “Write from the heart. I know it sounds cliché but if you write what you want to write, it will all work out.”
“Make friends,” Albracht said.” If you know other film majors, send your script to them. Have table reads with them and get as much feedback as you possibly can. Chew on it, absorb it, and if you don’t think their feedback works, it’s ok to spit it out.”
Albracht’s script, “Leftovers,” placed first. Ibarra’s script, “An Imaginative Story,” placed second. Gilson’s script, “Tapes,” placed third. Streeter and McCauley’s script was chosen as the “class choice” by a poll in the film workshop.
