B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest

Objective

Deadline/Entry Fees

Deadline	Date Days till:	Entry Fee
Early	June 2, 2026	$50
Regular	July 2, 2026 26	$55
Late	August 4, 2026 59	$60
Last Minute	September 8, 2026 94	$65
Extended	October 13, 2026 129	$70
Final	November 17, 2026 164	$75

Kickoff Deadline: May 13, 2026

WinningScripts Pro 20% Off Coupon

Notification: January 11, 2027

Eligibility

Everyone is welcome, but we especially encourage Women, Minorities, and LGBTQIA+ creators to submit!

Rules

Please see website for rules and guidelines. https://www.bitchfestla.com/rules

Awards

AWARDS & PRIZES SCREENWRITING AWARDS: Best Feature Screenplay (60– 130 pages) Best Short Screenplay (under 60 pages) Best Female-Driven Screenplay (any length) Best LGBTQIA+ Screenplay (any length) Best First-Time Screenwriter Screenplay (any length) Best TV Pilot Script (1/2 or 1 HR Script Format) Best Comedy Screenplay (any length) Best Drama Screenplay (any length) Best Horror/Thriller Screenplay (any length) Best Romance Screenplay (any length) Best Stage Play Script (any length) FILM AWARDS: Best Feature Film (50+ minutes) Best Short Film (1– 50 minutes) Best Comedy Short Film (1– 50 minutes) Best LGBTQIA+ Film (any length) Best Female-Directed Film (any length) Best Documentary Film (any length) Best Student Film (any length) Best TV Pilot Episode (1/2 or 1 HR Format) Best Web Series Episode (up to 60 minutes) Best Music Video (1– 20 minutes) The entry fee is applicable per category. Submitting your film to any film category not only qualifies your project for festival consideration, but also enables your cast and crew to be considered for the Cast & Crew Awards free of charge. CAST & CREW AWARDS: Grand Jury Award Best Performance Best Actress Best Actor Best Director Best Cinematography Best Producer Best Edit / VFX Best Original Score SCREENWRITER PRIZES The winners of Best Feature Screenplay, Best LGBTQIA+ Screenplay, and Best Female-Driven Screenplay will receive a 1-hour Zoom mentorship meeting with one of our screenwriting industry judges, where they will get feedback on their script and advice on production, casting, and distribution. ALL SCREENWRITING CATEGORY WINNERS will receive a free 4-month InkTip Pro Membership (a $130 value), courtesy of our partners at InkTip. With this membership, writers can list their scripts in the InkTip Script Library, where industry professionals discover new material. Members also gain access to weekly pitch opportunities and the Pitch Kit Tools to help effectively market their scripts. The membership allows writers to submit their work directly to literary agents and managers actively seeking new clients through InkTip queries, as well as free entry into InkTip’s Pitch to Page screenwriting contest. FILMMAKER PRIZES The winners of Best Feature Film, Best LGBTQIA+ Film, and Best Female-Directed Film will each receive a 1-hour Zoom mentorship session with one of our executive film industry judges, where they will receive valuable feedback on their film and advice on distribution. Winners of the Best Short Film, Best Comedy Short Film, and Best TV Pilot Episode categories will receive a DCP prize package, courtesy of our partners at The DCP Works. This prize is redeemable for any film of the filmmaker’s choice and is not limited to their festival submission. (Note: B!tchFest does not require DCPs for festival screenings.) The prize includes the creation and delivery of one 2K or 4K DCP (up to 20 minutes in length). For films longer than 20 minutes, the first 20 minutes will be provided free of charge, with additional runtime rendered at a discounted rate of $5 per minute. CAST & CREW PRIZES The winners of Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Performance will receive a 1-hour Zoom meeting with THREE CASTING DIRECTORS from Black Sheep Casting in Los Angeles. GENERAL FESTIVAL PRIZES All Film Category Award winners will be invited to screen their films at the festival, held at the Eastwood Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Saturday, February 27, 2027. Winning films are eligible to screen regardless of whether the filmmaker can attend the festival in person or not. TROPHIES will be presented to the winners of all Screenplay Category Awards, Film Category Awards, and the Cast & Crew Awards on stage during the festival AWARDS CEREMONY. All category winners will also be invited to speak about their projects and pitch them during our live-recorded FILMMAKERS & SCREENWRITERS PANELS (which will stream on our website for promotion), take PROFESSIONAL RED CARPET PHOTOS, and attend our INDUSTRY MEET-&-GREET EVENT aimed at making NEW INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS. Winners and runners-up across all categories will receive two complimentary tickets to the festival. Runners-up, finalists, and semifinalists will be acknowledged on screen during the festival, in the printed program, and on our website. Additionally, they are welcome to attend all festival events, including screenings, panels, guest speaker Q&As, take red carpet photos, and promote their projects during the industry meet-&-greet event. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS For consideration, film projects must feature at least one woman or member of the LGBTQIA+ community in a key production role—such as director, writer, producer, cinematographer, lead actress/actor (etc.). OR the film should address women’s or LGBTQIA+ issues and themes. For screenplay submissions, scripts written by women and/or members of the LGBTQIA+ community are preferred. Screenplays written by men and non-LGBTQIA+ individuals are also welcome; however, they must include female or LGBTQIA+ characters and/or address women’s or LGBTQIA+ issues and themes to be eligible. We wish you a B!TCHIN’ time on your creative journey and hope to see you at the next B!tchFest!!! TO SUBMIT PLEASE VISIT OUR FESTIVAL'S FILMFREEWAY PAGE: https://filmfreeway.com/BtchFestFilmFestivalandScreenplayContestwww.bitchfestla.com