Writing has always been one of Jody Matzer. After fifteen years as an actor, it seemed a logical step that he try his hand at screenwriting. Sharks and Minnows, his first screenplays, was originally intended as an original monologue for auditions. Matzer was encouraged to expand on the story, flesh it out, and see what happens. What happened is Matzer’s first screenplay won top honors in the 2023 Virginia Film Office screenwriting competition. Since then, Jody Matzer has written thee feature length screenplays.
All continue to make their way through national and international screenplay competitions.
Jody Matzer has just completed his fifth feature screenplay. Abrasion (working title) is undergoing final edits. The psychological horror will begin its competition journey at the start of 2026.
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SHARKS AND MINNOWS
– AWARD WINNER –
Thriller/Rated R
Trapped in a diner during a blizzard, a grizzled hitman comes face to face with the grim consequences of his past actions and he comes face to face with the ghosts of his past.
ACCOLADES
- SEMIFINALIST Filmmatic In-Roads Fellowship S8
- SEMIFINALIST Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Competition S10
- FINALIST Athens International Monthly Art Festival
- SEMIFINALIST Richmond International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- SEMIFINALIST 28th Annual Fade In Thriller Awards
- TOP HONORS VA. Film Office Screenwriting Competition
#jodymatzer #screenwriting #featurefilm #thriller #awardwinningscreenplay #sharksandminnows
For more information, please visit: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/2940964
TITCH
– AWARD WINNER –
Horror/Rated R
Sometimes you shouldn’t go home again. A devastating lesson Beckett Richter will learn after the death of his father. Soon his life begins to spiral out of control. Good and evil, past and present, will eventually come crashing together in a horrific final confrontation and Beckett and Claudia’s lives together will never be the same.
ACCOLADES
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Diabolical Horror Film Festival
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Sugar Loaf Film Festival
- RUNNER UP Best Feature Screenplay Independent Horror Movie Awards
- SEMIFINALIST Chicago Script Awards
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Filmmatic In-Roads Fellowship S8
- HONORABLE MENTION Athens International Monthly Art Festival
- SEMIFINALIST Filmmatic S9 Horror Screenplay Awards
- QUARTERFINALIST Manchester Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- SEMIFINALIST Atlanta Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- SEMIFINALIST Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- WINNER 13Horror Film & Screenplay Contest
- 2ND ROUNDER Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Frights! Camera! Action! Horror Screenplay Contest
#jodymatzer #screenwriting #featurefilm #horror #awardwinningscreenplay #titch
For more information, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/3115927
FEAR EATER
– AWARD WINNER –
Horror/Rated R
During his investigation into a series of grisly murders, Detective Thomas Kinderman finds himself on a collision course with an ancient evil. Something is killing people and ripping out their spines. As his investigation continues, the murderer strikes too close to home. Detective Kinderman realizes he will have to rely on more than his badge and a gun to bring down the monster.
ACCOLADES
- WINNER Haunted Pamlico’s Carnival of Darkness Frightful Feature-Length Screenplay Contest
- OFFICAL SELECTION Sugar Loaf Film Festival
- OFFICIAL SELECTION 2025 Nashville Horror Fest
- WINNER Best Feature Screenplay Independent Horror Movie Awards
- OFFICIAL SELECTION 2025 HorrOrigins Film Fest
- OFFICIAL SELECTION SICK Fest 2025
- OFFICIAL SELECTION 2025 Phobia Fest
- SEMIFINALIST Richmond International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- FINALIST Frights! Camera! Action! Screenplay Contest
- FINALIST 13Horror.com Screenplay Contest
- FINALIST Athens International Monthly Art Festival
#jodymatzer #screenwriting #featurefilm #horror #awardwinningscreenplay #feareater For more information, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/3367621
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THIS BUSINESS WHICH IS GRIM
– AWARD WINNER –
Action Thriller/Rated R
After she is kidnapped, the daughter of a tech billionaire must fight for her survival until the team of experts sent by her father can rescue her from a woman with more than ransom in mind.
ACCOLADES
- AWARD WINNER Sugar Loaf Film Festival
- FINALIST Calgary Independent Film Festival
- FINALIST Athens International Monthly Art Festival
- QUARTERFINALIST Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
- WINNER New York Screenplay Competition BEST Action Screenplay
#jodymatzer #screenwriting #featurefilm #actionadventure #awardwinningscreenplay #thisbusinesswhichisgrim
For more information, visit: https:https://filmfreeway.com/projects/3483390
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MR. OXENFREE
– AWARD WINNER –
Psychological-Supernatural Horror/Rated R
It’s 1973 and Oliver, having escaped from a mental institution where he’d been imprisoned for murder, heads to a secluded cabin on the Chesapeake Bay in a stolen car. Tagging along is his younger brother Charlie who always wears a Casper The Friendly Ghost mask. On his second day of freedom, a young girl, Beatrice, comes running out of the woods. She is bloody and scratched and claims there is a cult after her. Oliver must decide whether to protect this seemingly vulnerable girl or listen to Charlie and leave her and the cabin far behind. What follows is a descent into madness as Oliver and Beatrice fight for their survival against the fanatical cult. There is another complication to Oliver’s plan to lie low and stay out of trouble: Beatrice has been possessed and is slowly transforming into a demon intent on bringing an end to the world. Oliver is faced with an enormous decision: does he try to stop Beatrice and save a world he’s never really felt part of?
ACCOLADES
- HONORABLE MENTION New York Screenplay Competition
- NOMINEE for BEST FEATURE SCRIPT Independent Horror Movie Awards
- QUARTERFINALIST Chicago Script Awards
- SEMIFINALIST Outstanding Screenplay Feature Competition
- QUARTERFINALIST Outstanding Screenplay Feature Competition
- WINNER Best Horror Screenplay Melbourne International Screenplay Awards
- BEST FEATURE SCRIPT Diabolical Horror Film Festival
- FINALIST The 2025 Athens International Monthly Arts Film Festival
For more information, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/4013900
#jodymatzer #screenwriting #awardwinning #mroxenfree
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SCREENWRITING GALLERY
October 28, 2023 • The Virginia Film Festival • Charlottesville, Virginia • The Paramount Theatre
First time Screenwriter Jody Matzer wins Top Honors in the 2023 Virginia Film Office Screenwriting Competition for his suspense/thriller Sharks and Minnows. He is seen here being presented his ‘check’ by Andy Edmunds, Director of The Virginia Film Office.
#jodymatzer #jodymatzerscreenwriter #awardwinningscreenplay #virginiafilmoffice
The official logo for Jody Matzer Screenplays. Artwork created by Work Monkey Illustration.
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Jody Matzer 