HOLLYWOD, CA (ANS) -- Initiated in 2005, the Kairos Prizes seeks to further the influence of moral and spiritual values within the film and television industries.

The competition does this by inspiring first-time and beginning screenwriters to produce compelling, entertaining, spiritually uplifting scripts that result in a greater increase in either man’s love or understanding of God.

The Sixth Annual Kairos Prizes for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays by First-Time, Beginning Screenwriters has now opened for another exciting season.

Presented annually by MOVIEGUIDE® at the Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry, the Kairos Prizes is one of the largest faith-based screenplay competitions in the world, honoring the top three writers who can produce the best screenplays that “greatly increase man’s love or understanding of God.”

The top three winners will have their scripts read by top studio executives, including executives at The Walt Disney Company, Sony, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and 20th Century Fox.
 

ANS Founder Dan Wooding interviews Dr. Ted Baehr (ANS Photo).

“We are tremendously encouraged by the overwhelming industry response our winners have achieved over the course of the first five seasons,” said Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment, who is also chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission®.

“Not only do we have a Grand Prize winning scripted film being released shortly, but the majority of our winners are now either hired writers by established production companies or finalizing preparations for production. All of this in five short years is a testament to the exceedingly high caliber of scripts that are out there just waiting to be discovered. God has clearly blessed this endeavor.”

Numerous success stories continue to emerge from Kairos winners. For example, Kairos Grand Prize winner JOHN, THE REVELATOR, from the competition’s inaugural year, written by David Michael Anthony, is being released under the title JOHNNY through Pure Flix Entertainment. 2007 winner Daniel S. Elliott is prepping to lens his first feature OUT OF IOWA. 2006 winner Heather Hughes, along with her writing partner Kate Wharton, who together were 2010 finalists, have optioned their script HABIT FORMING, with Academy Award nominated director Matthew Diamond and producer Gary Pearl.

A comprehensive understanding of the type of scripts the Kairos Prizes competition will be awarding can be found in Dr. Ted Baehr’s book, "So You Want to Be in Pictures," available online at www.movieguide.org  .

The regular submission deadline is Sept. 20, 2010. Entry fees are $75 per script.

More information is available online at www.kairosprize.com  , or by calling (760) 494-0097.

MOVIEGUIDE® is a publication of Good News Communications, Inc. and the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry. It is an international non-profit organization dedicated to “redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media.”

For more information about MOVIEGUIDE®, please visit www.movieguide.org  or call 1-888-248-6689.

For an interview with Dr. Ted Baehr, please contact Evy at 1-888-248-6689 or evelyn@movieguide.org .

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649,at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Chief Reporter