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American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

American Zoetrope

Contact

916 Kearny Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-788-7500 (voice)
415-989-7910 (fax)

Web:
Click here
Email:
contests@zoetrope.com

Contact: Manjula Martin

Report Card

Overall: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Professionalism: 3 stars3 stars3 stars (3.1/5.0)
Feedback: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Signficance: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.6/5.0)
Report Cards: 37    
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Objective

The mission of the American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition is to find and promote new and innovative voices in cinema. The competition considers feature-length film scripts, as well as pilot scripts for television/streaming services. Every script is read closely by a select handful of professional readers, and American Zoetrope staff and the guest judge choose a winner from among the ten finalists.

Deadline/Entry Fees

Deadline Date
Days till:
Entry Fee
Early July 15, 2026
36
$40
Final September 9, 2026
92
$50

Notification: One winning script and nine finalists will be announced on February 8, 2027. Semi- and quarterfinalists will be announced at the same time.

Eligibility

18 years or older. No earnings greater than $50,000 in the prior calendar year. See website for details.

Rules

Please see website.

Awards

The winner receives a grand prize of $5,000.

The winner and nine finalists are considered for representation by the agencies CAA, Circle of Confusion, Energy Entertainment, Exile Entertainment, the Gersh Agency, ICM, Oasis Media Group, the Radmin Company, UTA, and William Morris Endeavor. Their scripts will be considered for option and development by the production companies American Zoetrope, Anonymous Content, Array, Cats & Dogs Productions, Double Hope Films, Fox Searchlight, Groundswell Productions, Icon Films, IFC Films, Jean Doumanian Productions, Lionsgate, LIT Entertainment Group, Lleju Productions, Netflix, Number 9 Films, Oasis Media Group, Pretty Pictures Productions, Roserock Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Verisimilitude, and Working Title Films.

American Zoetrope

Contact

916 Kearny Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-788-7500 (voice)
415-989-7910 (fax)

Web:
Click here
Email:
contests@zoetrope.com

Contact: Manjula Martin

Report Card

Overall: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Professionalism: 3 stars3 stars3 stars (3.1/5.0)
Feedback: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Signficance: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.6/5.0)
Report Cards: 37    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Categories

Contest Comments

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American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

Contact

916 Kearny Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-788-7500 (voice)
415-989-7910 (fax)

Web:
Click here
Email:
contests@zoetrope.com

Contact: Manjula Martin

Report Card

Overall: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Professionalism: 3 stars3 stars3 stars (3.1/5.0)
Feedback: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Signficance: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.6/5.0)
Report Cards: 37    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

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Contest News

American Zoetrope Announces Contest Results

New York-based writer/director (and frequent Moviebytes visitor) Jake Cashill was named the Grand Prize winner in the First Annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest, which he found out about on Moviebytes.

Jake's script, THE FERGUS CYCLE, was one of 2186 entries, the top ten of which were read and judged by Francis Ford Coppola himself.

THE FERGUS CYCLE is the story of a first-century Irish weakling whose pluck and guile help him thwart the Roman conquest of Ireland. It's a mystical, magical "answer" as to why Rome was never able to conquer Ireland as they were the rest of the known world.




From 2186 entries, Judge Francis Ford Coppola honored the following screenplays:

Grand Prize-Winner:
THE FERGUS CYCLE by Jake Kearns Cashill

Top Ten Finalists:
FLYING AWAY by John D. Chernesky
SIMON OF LOS ANGELES by Jesse Robert Harper
THE COLLECTOR’S CORNER by Kyle R. Heidenreich
AMERICAN AMORE! by Robert Stephen Horvath
MR. GALLINI’S GARAGE by Lisa Diana Shapiro
THE WEATHER SOMEWHERE ELSE by Laura Suau
SILVER WINGS by Cynthia Webb
THE GRAPE ARBOR by Cynthia Webb
A WOMAN BY ANY OTHER NAME by Tracy Wheeler
SEVEN DAYS ONE SUMMER by Annie White Owl



The Grand Prize-Winner receives $5,000 and his screenplay, along with those of the Top Ten Finalists, will be considered for film option and development by American Zoetrope and for representation by ICM, UTA, Paradigm, and The Firm. The Winner and Finalists also receive the latest installment of screenwriting software from Final Draft, Version 7.

Updated: 02/28/2004

American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

Contact

916 Kearny Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-788-7500 (voice)
415-989-7910 (fax)

Web:
Click here
Email:
contests@zoetrope.com

Contact: Manjula Martin

Report Card

Overall: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.5/5.0)
Professionalism: 3 stars3 stars3 stars (3.1/5.0)
Feedback: 2.5 stars2.5 stars2.5 stars (2.4/5.0)
Signficance: 3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars3.5 stars (3.6/5.0)
Report Cards: 37    
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card

Categories

Submit Report Card

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First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!

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