Albert’s sci-fi drama screenplay The Verge of Seas has been named a quarterfinalist in the Outstanding Screenplays Feature Competition. The grand prize is a $5,000 guaranteed option for the overall winner.
The jury includes an impressive roster of established filmmakers and producers including four-time Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral, The Insider); two-time Oscar-winning producer and president of Plan B Entertainment Dede Gardner (12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, The Big Short); Academy Award–winning producer Dan Jinks (American Beauty, Milk); Oscar-winning producer Wendy Finerman (Forrest Gump, The Devil Wears Prada); and acclaimed screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, First Reformed). Collectively, these judges bring decades of Hollywood experience, major awards recognition, and real production influence, offering entrants genuine exposure to industry leaders.
The Verge of Seas, written by Albert M. Chan, is a “Black List Endorsed/Recommended” script about a grieving widower struggling to raise two young sons. When he returns to his childhood lake house, he’s unexpectedly trapped in a parallel universe in which he’s been dead for 30 years, his kids have a different adoptive father, and his late husband is not only alive—but straight. Now, he must choose between the life he built and the one he was meant to live, before a cosmic event seals his fate forever.
The project was a finalist for the 2025 Emerging Screenwriters Sci-Fi & Fantasy Screenplay Competition and 2024 Shore Scripts OutHere: An LGBTQIA+ Screenwriting Contest.
“A BEAUTIFUL, GROUNDED SCIENCE-FICTION JOURNEY… RAW AND HEARTFELT… A UNIQUE VOICE AND CONCEPT THAT FULLY DELIVERS AN EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED STORY.”
“HEART AND EXCELLENT STORYTELLING… AN EMINENTLY ENJOYABLE ROMANTIC FANTASY FILM THAT’S WELL-PACED AND CLEVERLY PLOTTED… THE WRITING IS STELLAR.”
“THE SCRIPT BEAUTIFULLY COMBINES THE GENRES OF SCI-FI AND ROMANCE INTO AN INNOVATIVE NARRATIVE ABOUT THE POWER OF LOVE AND CHOSEN DESTINY… THERE IS A VERY PROFICIENT TALENT BEHIND THIS SCREENPLAY… IT’S PRETTY EASY TO ENVISION THIS BECOMING A HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER SCRIPT IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET… AN IMMENSELY ENTERTAINING STORY THAT DESERVES TO FIND SUCCESS IN A CINEMATIC MEDIUM!”
“A PRETTY EXCEPTIONAL SCRIPT. SUBTLE AND ELEGANT IN ITS HANDLING OF BOTH DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER AND A HIGH CONCEPT MYSTERY… IMMENSELY POWERFUL AND ENTERTAINING… THE STRENGTH OF THIS SCRIPT LIES WITH THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS WHO SLOWLY COME TO LIFE BEFORE OUR EYES, IMPERFECTIONS, CONFLICTS AND ALL… THERE’S PLENTY OF UNDERSTATED HUMOR WOVEN IN BETWEEN THE DRAMA.”
“WITH A BRILLIANT PREMISE, POIGNANT RELATIONSHIPS AND THEMES AT PLAY, AND STRONG WRITING THROUGHOUT, THIS SCRIPT DELIVERS A THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND ENGAGING READ… COMPELLING AND EXCITING FROM START TO FINISH… THE QUEER LOVE STORY AT THE CORE IS REFRESHING AND HEARTFELT.”
