Stephen Wise

Writer / Director / Producer / Programming Director

Stephen Wise was one of the first 30 students inducted into the inaugural class of University of Central Florida's film program and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree cum laude. He cowrote "Batman: DarKnight", a script for a proposed Batman film that was optioned by Warner Bros. that IFC listed as one of the best unproduced Batman screenplays and was featured in a June 2015 article in The Hollywood Reporter.

He has received many accolades for his screenplays. "Paradigm" won Best Feature Screenplay at the 2019 Orlando Film Festival, the 2020 Southeast Regional Film Festival, and the 2020 Toronto Online Film Festival as well as a Finalist in the 2019 Page Turner Screenplays contest and a Semi-Finalist in the 2019 Screenplay Festival. Additionally, "Paradigm" won Best Screenplay at the Yucca Valley Film Festival and Quarterfinalist in Emerging Screenwriters Genre Screenplay Competition. It is currently in development as a feature film with Buffalo 8.

"From the Ashes" was a Finalist in Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s AAA Screenplay Contest and was a Quarterfinalist in the Screenwriting Expo‘s screenplay contest. "Sinkhole" was a Finalist in Writer’s Digest’s screenplay contest. "Maelstrom" was a Finalist at the Screenplay Festival, a Semi-Finalist at the Orlando Film Festival and the Page Turner Screenplays contest, and was an Official Selection for the Horror Genre Lab presented by Lift-Of Network, the HorrorHaus Film Festival, the Southern Horror Film Festival, and the Southeast Regional Film Festival.

Stephen is also an award-winning filmmaker and commercial director, having received a Gold Addy and four Silver Addy Awards from the American Advertising Federation and a Best Director award for his short film "Crooks", which won five awards and was featured in the TV
sketch comedy series "Comedy Night School." He directed the pilot to the TV series "Nightmare Theatre," which plays on PBS stations around the country. Many of his short films have been screened in film festivals around the world. His most recent short, "Sur’vi", has participated in over 60 festivals in 10 countries, won 22 awards, and received 23 additional nominations or was a Finalist or Semi-Finalist. Stephen recently directed the presentation pilot for the proposed TV series "Blackwater Blues" starring Corin Nemec and Jason London, which is currently in post production. Additionally, Stephen appeared in the feature films "Jurassic World" and "Fantastic Four".

As an author, Stephen published a collection of short stories called "Portals of the Mind", which is available on Amazon. He recently completed a novella called "The Melting Man".

Stephen has been on staff with Pensacon since its inception in 2014. He is the programming director, overseeing the master schedule including panels and all activities such as the Pensacon Short Film Festival. He is also a Creative Services producer for WEAR-TV.