EXCLUSIVE: Wscripted has unveiled the finalists for the sixth edition of its Cannes Screenplay List focused on screenplays by women and non-binary writers.
The selection of 12 projects has been curated by an international jury comprising Handsmaid’s Tale Emmy and Golden Globes-winning actress and executive producer Elisabeth Moss; Greek-American filmmaker Daphne Schmon (The Eye) and Vietnamese filmmaker Ash Mayfair (Skin of Youth).
Elisabeth Moss has cut a swathe for female representation on and off the big screen with her award-winning performances in The Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men, and Love & Squalor Pictures production company, which has produced Imperfect Women, The Testaments, The Veil, Shining Girls, and the upcoming drama Conviction.
“I’m always looking for new voices to work with, and there are so many incredible writers out there who haven’t had the chance to be discovered yet. I’m so grateful for the Cannes Screenplay List for helping to make that happen — finding new voices and giving them a path to production,” said Moss.
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As well as directing, Schmon is also executive director of Breaking Through The Lens (BTTL), a flagship initiative that supports women and queer led projects at the financing stage, with activations at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, and Sundance. Her directorial debut, The Eye, won Best International Film at the London Independent Film Awards.
Mayfair’s first feature, The Third Wife, garnered nineteen awards, screened at over seventy international film festivals, and was distributed in thirty countries. Mayfair’s sophomore film Skin of Youth is the first film following the real-life transition of a transgender sex worker seeking to realise her dream of living in woman’s body. The film won Best Feature at the International Film Festival of India and was also shortlisted by Breaking Through The Lens (BTTL) in Cannes 2024.
“At BTTL, we have always stood firm in our belief that talent is not the problem for underrepresented filmmakers, it is the money. Wscripted has spent years surfacing the best scripts by women and non-binary writers, and we spend ours getting those projects financed and out into the world. Bringing our work together means we can support a filmmaker from the initial draft right through to the screen, and that is where real change happens,” said Schmon,
Wscripted has been announcing the Cannes Screenplay List since 2021 and has since championed a total of 104 feature screenplays written by women and non-binary writers through the initiative, with Mubi a partner of the list since 2022.
The 2026 finalists:
- Ada and the Doc by Matison LeBlanc (True Crime Drama, USA)
- Aphrodite’s Shadow by Anoula Cilento (Coming of Age Drama, US)
- Arranged by Mithra B. Alavi (Romantic Comedy, US)
- Baby by Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz (Coming of Age Drama, US)
- Before the Echo makes a sound by Chloe Abrahams (Psychological Mystery Thriller, UK)
- Ecdysis by Angelique Knights (Psychological Drama, Canada)
- Felt by Ran Jing (Psychological Horror, US)
- Gift Girl by Kyla Simone Bruce (Crime Coming-of-Age, UK/Germany)
- Last Stop on the Q by Suhashini Krishnan (Time Travel Romance, US)
- Punk Never Dies by Lindsay Stidham (Historical Drama, US)
- The Girl who Cried Wolf by Alicia Herder (Magical Realism Drama, US)
- The Mystery Snail Wife by Jiwon Lee (Horror, US)
