A list of all screenplay contests, rated by screenwriters and sorted by deadline. Find the best contest for your screenplay or television script.
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Final Deadline: 01/31/2019 (expired)
Nickelodeon's Writing Program offers aspiring television writers from around the globe, with diverse backgrounds and experiences, the opportunity to hone their skills while writing for our live action and animated shows. Participants will have hands-on interaction with executives writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. The Program's General Track, developed to broaden Nickelodeon’s outreach efforts, provides a salaried position for up to one year (for Domestic writers) and up to six months (for International writers).
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Final Deadline: 01/28/2019 (expired)
Horror screenwriters will have the chance to win mentorship meetings with our lineup of industry pros. This mentorship will occur around April of 2019 either in person or via Skype or other forms of video conference. The purpose of the horror screenwriting contest is to impart knowledge on our grand prize winner through the advice and expertise of professionals in horror genre of the film & television industry.
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Final Deadline: 01/07/2019 (expired)
The Nantucket Film Festival - unique in its dedication to supporting and promoting the art of screenwriting - launched the Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition in 1996. The Festival's screenwriting focus was inspired by Nantucket's rich history as a writer's retreat and is one of the main reasons for the event's distinction as an important cultural institution.
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Final Deadline: 12/21/2018 (expired)
The Boomtown Film and Music Festival accepts Short (44 or less pages) and Feature (45+ pages) screenplays in any genre! Submit on Film Freeway!
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Final Deadline: 12/17/2018 (expired)
We want to see the best short screenplays from around the globe.
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Final Deadline: 12/17/2018 (expired)
To discover the best un-produced short screenplays by talented writers and present their work to LEADING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
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Final Deadline: 12/12/2018 (expired)
With the tremendous box office success of CRAZY RICH ASIANS, BOOK CLUB and THE BIG SICK and the streaming successes of SET IT UP, SIERRA BURGESS IS A LOSER, and TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE, romantic comedies are making a huge comeback for all types of audiences. Variety called Rom-Com's the "Hottest genre" for 2018 and beyond. If you have been sitting on a Rom-Com script or been thinking about writing one, now's the time to get it exposure and we have the perfect opportunity for you! Stage 32 is honored to announce that we have partnered with Amy Baer's Gidden Media to find original, modern romantic comedy feature scripts in our first Romantic Comedy Screenwriting Contest partnership!
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Final Deadline: 12/05/2018 (expired)
Barnstorm is not just a screenplay competition, its goal is to help you develop your script for production. Every submission receives a letter of analysis from an industry professional and finalists receive a one-on-one consultation with a feature film producer as well as heaps of other rewards. THIS SEASON, RECEIVE YOUR FEEDBACK WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF SUBMISSION.
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Final Deadline: 11/30/2018 (expired)
The North Europe International Film Festival is one of four Festivals presented by Fusion International Film Festivals. Our mission is to bring in films & script projects from ALL over the globe. What can Fusion International Film Festivals offer that you can't already get? The fact is that the films and scripts that we showcase will in the vast majority of cases be exclusive to the Film Festival circuit during that time and, from regions & countries from around the world.
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Final Deadline: 11/19/2018 (expired)
Transition Stage Company want to give as much opportunity as possible to writers who submit to Enter. Stage. Write in the competition and beyond the Competition. We believe in providing creatives with a 'hand up' and putting you in front and in touch with the right people to push your career in the right direction. Every writer wants to see their story come to life – with Enter Stage Write you get just that chance! Along with a £1000 prize for the overall winner, a select number of scripts will be produced and performed at the prestigious Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on December 1st.
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Final Deadline: 11/17/2018 (expired)
We believe independent filmmakers deserve to get recognition for the hard work they put into their projects. That's why every eligible entry into the North American Film Awards (NAFA) receives an official nomination laurel and consideration into the award category the entrant submitted to. With over 20 award categories, it is also possible for entrants to receive multiple nominations for unlimited projects.
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Final Deadline: 11/16/2018 (expired)
Willamette Writers invites you to submit your web series pilot for our script to screen competition. The web series script should be 7 pages maximum, in standard screenplay format, with 1-4 speaking characters. The pilot should have a beginning, middle, and end, and be aimed at a general audience. After an initial round of judging in Portland, Oregon, 10 finalists will be chosen by our industry professionals in LA.
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Final Deadline: 10/23/2018 (expired)
We're an online-only film festival that runs once a year in October with a screenplay competition as well. Shorts, features, web series, music videos, documentaries, scripts, etc. can all be submitted. Creepy physical venues are inviting for ghosts but they limit how many people can actually see your work (not to mention with traditional festivals, you usually have to go there to promote your screening to get people to actually show up even at prestigious ones).
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Final Deadline: 09/30/2018 (expired)
The universe is an infinite expanse of limitless possibility, teeming with unknown worlds and untold stories. The blank page opens, a white inexhaustible void, punctuated only by the monolithic black cursor. What wonders lie in its indefinable depths? Other Worlds is dedicated to fostering and promoting creativity in Science Fiction at every stage of development, so we are proud to announce our annual SciFi Screenwriting Contest is now currently open and accepting submissions! The contest runs concurrently with the film program, and will award prizes for the top feature, short or teleplay.
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Final Deadline: 09/17/2018 (expired)
Each script must be written in the same genre and style that would have been suitable to conform with episodes for either THE TWILIGHT ZONE or NIGHT GALLERY. More specifically this means displaying traits of either a horror or a science fiction genre, while exhibiting strong traditional or contemporary social themes. Serling taught at Ithaca College from 1967 until his death in 1975.
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Final Deadline: 09/01/2018 (expired)
Dark Matter Media is looking for the next great script to produce.
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Final Deadline: 08/15/2018 (expired)
The Satisfied Eye International Film Festival is about discovery - a global forum for the discovery, promotion and exhibition of new talent, new connections, new networks and new opportunities; a place where careers can flourish and valuable collaborations can thrive.
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Final Deadline: 08/13/2018 (expired)
To continually showcase and celebrate commercially viable films Written, Directed, or Produced by women. A Femme International Film Festival is a premier festival that focuses on platforming women filmmakers "by women, for everyone". Our Festival was created in 2005, when it became apparent that there was a need to enhance women behind the camera as Directors, Producers, and Writers.
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Final Deadline: 08/01/2018 (expired)
To reward the ingenuity of screenwriters creating new material.
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Final Deadline: 07/19/2018 (expired)
In the history of comedy, few brands have had more distinct and original voices than National Lampoon (“NL”). Founded by Harvard classmates and creative geniuses Doug Kenney and Henry Beard, NL launched the careers of John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Christopher Guest, Harold Ramis, and groundbreaking writers including John Hughes.
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Final Deadline: 07/12/2018 (expired)
GenreBlast is an international independent genre film festival coming to you from the awesome Alamo Drafthouse Winchester in beautiful Winchester, VA! GB3 will happen Sept. 6-9, 2018 and will feature the best of truly independent films from around the world - specializing in action, horror, sc-fi, fantasy, martial arts, grindhouse, exploitation, Korean thrillers, Japanese gangster flicks, Chinese action movies, French horror, midnight movies, shoestring budget weird cinema, and everything under the sun! We really welcome all genres of interesting, original, exciting and daring moviemaking! All countries and walks of life are welcome here! We also have a fantastic screenplay contest that is growing larger every year! In our third year, we will really highlight screenwriters by hosting a screenwriting seminar and even having live script readings with professional actors! Our discussion panels at GenreBlast 2 were a big hit and we're bringing them back again for the threequel! Raw, uncensored real talk about indie filmmaking, gender bias, distribution, criticism, and much more will come your way from the mouths of some of the best indie talent out there! After-parties, lively conversation, networking galore, TONS of movies, informative Q&A's and the chance to make new lifelong industry friends - all nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley hamlet of Winchester, VA! Your movie will be shown in front of a lively, enthusiastic crowd of cinephiles and industry peers that don't walk around with their heads up their asses 24/7! What a refreshing way to attend a film fest! Come September, you'll wish you were at GenreBlast! #alltheflavors
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Final Deadline: 07/01/2018 (expired)
The Sanford International Film Festival is a world-wide-community event; we show some of the most compelling work from all over the world, and we invite that world in to become a part of our creative and compassionate Maine community.
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Final Deadline: 07/01/2018 (expired)
A FutureFemme is someone who doesn’t ask for permission. A FutureFemme doesn’t need anyone to open doors for her. A FutureFemme ignores an irrelevant establishment. A FutureFemme knows her worth, her value, and her goals. A FutureFemme doesn’t take no for an answer. A FutureFemme creates iconic, inspirational content on no one’s terms but her own.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2018 (expired)
The NY CIFF CHAUTAUQUA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL is an IMDb CERTIFIED FESTIVAL! All current and past winners can now record their awards. Each yearly festival is divided into two sessions of 5 months each.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2018 (expired)
If instead of making a film, you've created an episodic series (aka, a TV show) and you want to showcase it to TV executives, agents and producers you have limited options. There are a thousand film festivals but they don't accept episodic shows. So where do you take your series to be seen? You take it to ITVFest. ITVFest (the Independent Television Festival) is a worldwide community of television creators, executives, agents and fans responsible for discovering the best new television programs created on independent (aka, non-network) budgets.
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Final Deadline: 06/29/2018 (expired)
For the first time this year, the New Orleans Film Festival is launching a screenplay competition to take place in conjunction with the festival October 17-25, 2018, and is seeking to discover bold, passionate writers telling the stories of our time. The Academy-qualifying festival has been named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” for seven years in a row and was named one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” last year.
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Final Deadline: 06/05/2018 (expired)
Writers judge filmmakers and filmmakers judge writers. It’s that simple! We fund you to collaborate. The winning filmmaker wins up to $25,000 to shoot one of the top 10 scripts. Winning writer receives up to $10,000 for their short script! The writers review films and decide the best filmmaker. The filmmakers read scripts and decide the top 10 scripts.
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Final Deadline: 05/24/2018 (expired)
The Paris Art and Movie Awards is the leading independent film festival in Paris. The « PAMA » has been ranked, as soon as its second year, the second festival not to miss in Paris, by The Culture Trip Magazine. It is also listed in the TOP 100 film festivals in the world by the leading platform FilmFreeway. We accept short films and feature, in a wide range of categories.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2018 (expired)
Scriptition Screenplay competition is dedicated to discovering new talent by increasing exposure for unproduced short film and feature narrative screenplays. Competition organizers are passionate about the writing process and telling stories, and we are seeking good stories/ scripts to produce. Hence, we started a competition. Everyone receives: The feedback includes a logline, genre suggestion and a small paragraph outlining the strengths and weaknesses of your screenplay.
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Final Deadline: 04/18/2018 (expired)
AoBFF is the only independent, international festival in the world exclusively devoted to Brooklyn film and media. AoBFF is a creative hub, platform and showcase for independent film and media makers in Brooklyn and around the world. We partner with film distributors and media organizations, host world-class talkbacks, and create innovative programming for networking and skill building.
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Final Deadline: 04/16/2018 (expired)
A division of the Sidewalk Film Festival started in 2004, Sidewrite’s mission is to discover and reward talented screenwriters in Alabama and around the world. The short screenplay competition aims to foster community amongst emerging writers and reinforce cinematic artistry locally. Sidewrite allows passionate writers to enhance their craft and receive recognition for their work and creativity.
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Final Deadline: 04/07/2018 (expired)
The mission of the "I See You Awards(tm) is to recognize and honor low budget independent filmmakers. The I See You Awards fill a niche and create a platform for recognizing independent filmmakers that is currently missing in mainstream Hollywood.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2018 (expired)
A free competition open to members of the Reddit Screenwriting Community.
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Final Deadline: 03/28/2018 (expired)
The 2018 New York Television Festival is moving to July -- submit to the NYTVF for the chance to engage with more TV execs, buyers, agents, managers, and decision-makers than any other Festival! Submit your independently produced pilot or script for the opportunity to become an Official Artist next summer. Check out 2018 submission deadlines below.
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Final Deadline: 03/26/2018 (expired)
Crime/Mystery Film and Writing Festival offers screenwriters at all levels the fantastic opportunity to hear their stories read aloud using TOP PROFESSIONAL ACTORS .
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2018 (expired)
We are looking for standout screenplays by women. The competition awards the writer who pushes the boundaries of cinema with her original, nuanced characters and dynamic storytelling and dialogue. There are no limitations on content or genre. The main character does not have to be female, but the screenwriter does. Cash awards, as well as a Skype pitch with an executive and pitch preparation for the winning entry.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2018 (expired)
One screenplay and up to ten short films will win $500 each! As filmmakers, we know that outside of the film festival circuit, most shorts will die a lonely death in the bowels of the interwebs. So to help amazing shorts get the audience they deserve, we’re creating "Grave Intentions: An Anthology of Chills, Thrills, and Kills." And your film could be a part of it! If your short would be at home on The Twilight Zone, Tales From the Crypt, The Outer Limits, or Creep Show, we want to see it.
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Final Deadline: 02/27/2018 (expired)
The TV ONE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION 2018 is meant to encourage and promote the production of creative, contemporary, engaging and relatable screenplays that can be turned into original movies for television. The competition is meant to: Encourage filmmakers to offer a fresh perspective and submit contemporary stories with a focus on the American black cultural experience with wide audience appeal.
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Final Deadline: 02/02/2018 (expired)
The Poe Contest mission is to recognize and reward fresh voices and creative storytelling, and to assist writers in their quest to obtain representation and produce their work.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The IndieFEST Film Awards are unique in the industry. Attracting both powerhouse industry veterans as well as talented new filmmakers it is an exceptional, truly international awards competition, not a traditional film festival – which allows filmmakers from around the world to enter their films in this prestigious competition. The IndieFEST is about helping industry professionals who create fresh, standout entertainment achieve the publicity and credibility they deserve.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Due to overwhelming demand, we're opening our competition to Television Pilots as well as feature scripts this year! CrowdSource Studios Script Competition was created by professional screenwriters, actors, directors & producers to give unknown screenwriters a real, fair opportunity to be discovered & have your script or pilot produced! Most script competitions offer prizes including publicity, connections & merchandise.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
LIMBO screenplay contest is now open for the second year! This year LIMBO will announce two winners. Submit your screenplay for a chance to win $500 cash and a chance to sell your screenplay to the producers. If your script is already in perfect shape, great! Submit it as is. We are looking for the best writer in the bunch. Enter the LIMBO Script Competition and come out a winner!
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Every great film or series starts with a great script. We want to read yours, and help you succeed. PRIZES: Our winning screenplay will be chosen by professional story analyst Dan Calvisi and will receive laurels and a digital certificate. But that's just the beginning! You'll also get an hour-long video consultation with Dan and free downloads of his e-books: ‘Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay,’ ‘Story Maps: TV Drama,’ ‘Story Maps: 12 Great Screenplays’, and ‘Story Maps: The Films of Christopher Nolan.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
21st Century Fox Inclusion is excited to announce the launch of the 2018 Fox Writers Lab (“FWL”). Applications are open September 25th, and will close on October 22nd or once Fox has received 750 complete applications (whichever comes first). The Fox Writers Lab is a highly selective initiative designed to nurture experienced writers who have diverse voices, backgrounds, and life experiences.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Become part of the most important screenwriting celebration of the year! National Screenwriters Day is on a search for screenwriters that are ready to join the Industry. The top 3 winners of the NSD Competition will be announced as #NationalScreenwritersDay is trending on Twitter on January 5th! Over $15,000 in prizes, with publicity and mentoring for the winners!
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
We are a a collective of producers, writers and union crew members who wish to see more content written by or about those under represented in American Cinema. The Little Screenwriters Competition was started by International Cinematography Union crew member Ms. Nubia Rahim. We are the industry. This is nepotism at its best. Our judges consist of industry executives, SAG actors and crew members.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Hammond House Publishing are pleased to announce the launch of our first script writing competition providing opportunities for the winner and shortlisted entrants to work with industry professionals in bringing their script to life.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Wayward was born and raised in LA – join us for our flagship event in autumn 2017. Expect cross-genre film screenings, competition screenings, live music and performance, roundtables, education sessions, and plenty of networking sessions so fun they feel more like a party. Step into the future of film. Step outside the box. We are dedicated to providing a platform for “outside the box” storytelling, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusivity.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The EIFA (European Independent Film Award) is an annual awards competition dedicated to celebrate independent films from all around the world.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Poe Films proudly sponsors “Burning Love Screenplay Contest” to discover and promote contemporary screenwriters who bring fresh voices and creative storytelling as Edgar Allan Poe brought to his generation. In collaboration with the Poe Foundation, dedicated to honoring Poe's talents and inspiring the next generation of writers, Poe Films is seeking drama and comedy features, shorts and teleplays driven, at least in part, by love in its many forms.
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