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A stranger hiding within the walls is only the beginning of trouble in this year’s Slamdance script competition grand prize winner. IndieWire can exclusively announce that James Oxyer’s “Termite” has won the competition’s top honor, with the story of a lonely teenager whose unexpected houseguest sets the stage for an increasingly difficult drama.
AGBO hosted the 2026 winners at an awards ceremony in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday night. That is the independent studio founded by the directors “Avengers: Endgame” Anthony and Joe Russo. AGBO chief creative officer Angela Russo-Otstot welcomed the honorees and presented the biggest prize of the night, valued at $10,000.
Now in its 29th year, the annual Slamdance screenplay competition received nearly 5,000 submissions from around the world in 2026. This year’s competition recognized emerging writers across feature scripts, a special horror/thriller race, TV pilots, short films, and a special screenplay consulting category, awarding more than $18,000 in prizes. To date, the awards program reports that it has distributed more than $450,000 to emerging filmmakers.
“Termite”, which won first place in the horror/thriller competition, follows a teenager who discovers that a homeless man has taken refuge within the walls of his family’s home. The child lets him stay, but their connection comes with a sharp shift in the balance of power.
“‘Termite’ kept us on the edge of our seats, in a way unlike any script we’ve read this year,” said Anna Lee Lawson, screen competition and festival manager, in a press release sent to IndieWire. “‘Oxyer’ was inspired to write the script after being pushed to a physical and mental breakdown in order to join a sports team and created this thriller that included the rush of chasing the ideal man.”
At the same time, the first place in the film went to “Citizens” of Wes Andre Goodrich. The script follows a burned-out social studies teacher at a failing high school who must decide whether to protect a troubled student from immigration officials or allow him to be taken into custody. As part of the winning package, “Citizens” will receive script coverage from Sony Pictures Classics.
Category winners will receive $2,000 each, and the 12 scripts submitted in the four scheduled competitions will also receive legal services from Pessah Law Group, Slamdance’s official sponsor and the festival’s legal advisor. They will also receive a one-year subscription to the Roadmap Writers industry social media platform.
Finally, Aisha Amin received the Stowe Screenplay 2026 Slamdance Fellowship, the mentorship award, for “The Redeemer.” His story follows a grieving widow and a struggling young mother whose unlikely bond changes after a disturbing demand blurs the line between intimacy and control. The fellowship covers the full cost and associated benefits of attending the Stowe Story Labs Narrative Lab in Vermont. “Ravenous” Jake Allgeier received an honorable mention.
Read on for the full list of 2026 Slamdance screenplay competition winners.
Grand Prize Winner
“Termite” by James Oxyer
Stowe/Council Fellowship Winner
“The Redeemer” by Aisha Amin
Honorable mention: “Ravenous” by Jake Allgeier
Best Feature
1st place: “Citizens” by Wes Andre Goodrich
2nd place: “They All Died Happy” by W. Alex Reeves
3rd Place: “Participation Award” by Zane Bhansali
Best horror/thriller
1st place: “Termite” by James Oxyer
2nd place: “Bah Humbug” by Jo Garrett
3rd place: “Aeternum” by Jennifer Levinson, Nicholas Woods, and Almog Avidan Antonir
Best Pilot
1st place: “The Wild Life of Archer Dagwood” by Madeline Brestal
2nd place: “Alfie and Friends” by Kat Folker
3rd place: “Do I know you from somewhere?” by Angela Wong Carbone
Short Best
1st place: “The Ashtray” by Robert Pierosh
2nd place: “YOYO” by Hongyu An and Hadley Rose
3rd place: “Subscribe” by Christopher Glass
