David Carey came second overall with his story of two opposing and injured soldiers who bond in the trenches until help arrives. David, an author of animated shorts, novels and short stories, while unpublished, can now add 'soon-to-be produced' to his CV.

He is also a student with AnimationMentor.com and holds a diploma in Classical Animation from Ballyfermot Senior College Dublin.

Festival founder, David Cormican was particularly taken by the universal sense of compassion found in Carey's script and is excited to begin shooting the film later this year.

The CSSC is one of the most prestigious screenwriting competitions in Canada. It is the premiere screenwriting contest for short film scripts.

"CSSC is the single-most competitive, prestigious, short screenplay festival in Canada, a champion for screenwriters everywhere and a launching pad for writers' professional careers," he added. "There were submissions from all across the world in this annual competition and after several rounds of intense judging an Irish script has found its way into the top three."

For complete details on the 2008 Canadian Short Screenplay Competition winners, as well as deadline and fee information for entry to the 2009 competition, please visit www.yearoftheskunk.com