Access Sacramento’s 26th Scriptwriting Competition Results
Sacramento, 4/21/26 – Access Sacramento, the Sacramento County non-profit community media center, is proud to announce the ten winners of the 2026 “A Place Called Sacramento” Scriptwriting Competition.
This scriptwriting competition is unique in the country in that it is part of a year-round community film incubator, a “learn by doing” invitation to the community to help make the competition winners’ short films. “This film project takes heaps of creativity, commitment and collaboration to turn the winning scripts into final short films that will premiere at the Access Sacramento October film premiere,” states Donna Girot, Executive Director of Access Sacramento. “Each year the creative community invests around $80,000 in volunteer efforts to help make these films. So we uplift the creative community’s efforts by hosting a lovely celebratory film premiere.”
Access Sacramento’s core values include valuing Localism. The competition scripts are judged in part by how the writers have included Sacramento County into their scripts. The films are produced locally, and the community is uplifted with a local film premiere which is filmed and later aired on local cable channel 17, and streamed on AccessSacramento.org, Roku, Amazon Fire & Apple TV.
Access Sacramento Community Media also celebrates and encourages originality, for it is this independent, unique, creative thought that enriches our community. So, with great respect we congratulate the 2026 “A Place Called Sacramento” Scriptwriting Competition winners:
The film titles below are hyperlinked to the filmmakers’s email address.
“A Stop at Sacramento” by Tony Pacheco
A quietly fractured young woman seeks answers about her orphaned childhood and meets a mysterious stranger linked to her past.
“Beauty Within” by Jessica Simons
A woman facing unexplained hair loss must confront the deeper battle of believing she is still herself without it.
“Bird of a Lonely Paradise“ by Ryan Fino
Unsatisfied with work and his social life, a depressed bachelor tries out a new attempt at popularity: dancing eccentrically like a mating bird.
“Break Free” by Aldo Trocino
A woman who can’t bring herself to dump her painfully nice boyfriend hires a shady breakup service — only to get entangled in a criminal bust — just as her boyfriend unexpectedly takes control of his own life.
“Buddy” by Deborah Bromley
When a socially awkward designer tries to navigate a new romance, his over eager assistant’s disastrous attempts to “help” nearly ruin the relationship before it even starts.
“Sacramento is Just Sacramento“ by Mathew Marrujo
During an uncomfortable night at his local bar, a sarcastic Sacramento native slowly realizes the city he dismisses isn’t the problem—it’s his inability to belong.
“The Color Left Behind” by Rob Gore
A struggling artist who’s wife dies is trying to carry on while overcoming his loss and raise three children
“The Last Treasure Hunt” by Kara Lack & Rachel Stieferman
Two sisters, at odds with each other, are challenged to navigate the streets of Sacramento, only to realize the treasure they are promised isn’t what they expected.
“Un-Fortunate Cookies” by Jeffery Ogata
When his girlfriend’s favorite fortune cookies suddenly turn vicious, an overworked lawyer tracks them to a defiant baker protesting an unfair tariff—and in fighting to win an exemption to save the business, finds more relief in unpaid work than in the job that’s crushing him.
“You Live Here Now” by Cheryl Bealer-Wynton
After his San Francisco-bred mother-in-law moves in, Paul shows her there are things to love about Sacramento–especially if you love true crime and wrestling.
If you missed the May 6th Community. Cast & Crew Call, at the Coloma Community Center you can contact the filmmakers by scrolling over their film title.
Come be part of the process by attending the October 16th film premiere at the historic Crest Theatre. Your attendance is a generous act that not only entertains you but also supports the next PCS year’s funding.
