MEET OUR 2026 2ND & 3RD PLACE FEATURE CONTEST PRIZEWINNERS
We’re thrilled to introduce our second and third place winners of the 2026 Feature Fellowship competition. Jason H. Pates won second place for his screenplay FIRST PERSON VIEW, and Samina Saifee won third place for her screenplay AYAT. Congratulations to them both!
(Pictured above from left to right: Jason H. Pates, Samina Saifee)
Jason H. Pates – Second Place Winner
In Jason H. Pates’ prizewinning script FIRST PERSON VIEW, after a Russian missile kills his grandfather, a disillusioned Ukrainian gamer joins a frontline drone unit, using his virtual skills to protect his family and crew—and hunt the enemy pilot he once battled online.
As our second place winner, Jason receives $1,500.
Jason H. Pates is a screenwriter who writes features and television pilots. He began his professional career in Los Angeles working for a talent manager and kept writing after his work took him outside the entertainment industry, later completing UCLA’s professional screenwriting program. His feature THE LONG WAY HOME earned an Honorable Mention at UCLA, was a Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist, and was a Second Rounder at the Austin Film Festival.
FIRST PERSON VIEW was also named the Fall 2025 Action-Adventure Category Selection for the ISA Fast Track Fellowship. The script grew out of Jason’s connection to Ukraine, which goes back to his first visit in 1998. His wife grew up there, and he has returned many times over the years, including as an international election observer. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he and his family have worked to support Ukrainians affected by the war through his wife’s nonprofit, which serves veterans and displaced families. That work introduced him to veterans, drone operators, and trainers whose experiences shaped the screenplay.
Jason is relocating from North Carolina to Orlando with his wife, his children, and their Labradoodle, Millie.
Samina Saifee – Third Place Winner
In Samina Saifee’s prizewinning script AYAT, a grieving father returns to mosque a year after his son’s death and finds the stories he teaches his students are taking on a sinister life of their own. When one of his students disappears, the father can’t shake the feeling that his return has summoned something.
As our third place winner, Samina receives $1,000.
Samina Saifee is a writer/director based in Brooklyn. Her films explore themes of outsiderdom, girlhood, faith, and grief. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Stern School of Business. Her feature film, Amerigirl, is in development and has been selected for the 2026 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive, the Film Independent Producing Lab, and won best screenplay at Urbanworld. She is a Sundance Ignite Fellow, a Sundance Building Bridges Fellow, and an Orchard Project Episodic Lab Fellow.
Her first short film, AMERIGIRL, is streaming on NoBudge. Her second short, AYAT, starring Laith Nakli (Hulu’s RAMY, A24’s PROBLEMISTA), is now streaming on YouTube. She is in post-production for her first documentary short, MANGO MAN, which will start its festival run early next year. She worked in the writers’ room for BAIT, Riz Ahmed’s Emmy-nominated Amazon Prime show, and she is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective. When she’s not making films, you can find her biking around Brooklyn, making chai, or writing for her self-indulgent substack.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!