The African Film Commission in Los Angeles has announced the winners of the 2004 annual screen-writing award.

In addition to honoring the creative stories and documentaries that take place in and celebrate Africa, AFC will also officially kick off the 2005 Annual Contest.

"The qualities of entries in this year's competition were exceptional, and it gives me great pleasure to see writers of various ethnic backgrounds passionately write about Africa and use African content in a faithful and central fashion" stated AFC President Nicolas Nelle. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on April 28 in Los Angeles.

The first winner in the feature length category is "Fire of the Sun" an epic story set in ancient Egypt by Yor-El Francis, of Staten Island, NY, USA. The second winner is "The Rape of Afrika Shonara" set in 1878 during the colonisation of the Congo by Shafik Benjamin of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

The third winner is "Bigman Wahala" by Daniel Adjokatcher of Ghana. "Bigman Wahala" is the road journey of a government official set in the aftermath of a military coup d'etat.

In the documentary category, the winners are "Hector" by Lincia Daniel of the United Kingdom, and "Running like the Wind" by Wanja Mary Sellers from Kenya.

The goal of the African Film Commission is to foster productive relationships between Screen-writers and the international film community for production of creative works that highlight Africa.

For additional information on African Film Commission and the Storytelling Contest, please go to www.africanfilmcommission.org