A list of contests that accept or specialize in short screenplays, or any scripts that are less than feature-length.
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Final Deadline: 04/10/2020
New York International Screenplay Awards is an international screenplay competition for screenwriters who aspire to connect with the USA industry workers and explore the US markets. NYISA winners will be connected to the US film industry by InkTip Magazine, iPitch. tv, and Script Mailer. They’ll be registered for free at CreatersVault, and will receive free screenwriting courses from Script Reader Pro, plus, detailed analysis and free consultations by Coverage Ink… And much more! NYISA’s valued jury members are industry professionals such as Producers, Script Doctors, Directors, Actors and Screenwriters.
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Final Deadline: 04/13/2020
Scriptapalooza was founded in 1998 with the goal of helping as many writers as possible through the competition. We have over 90 production companies, agents and managers reading all the entered scripts. (A complete list of participants is on Scriptapalooza's website.) We actively push the Semifinalists, Finalists, Runners-Up and Winners for a full year with the intention of creating opportunities for the writers.
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Final Deadline: 04/14/2020
Seattle's burgeoning independent film community is home to artists, actors, writers, directors, producers, singers, dancers, musicians, storytellers, filmmakers, and multi-hyphenates of all shapes and sizes. People from all walks of life, from all over the world, call our city home. They come hear to learn, hone, and practice their craft. Unlike other major hubs, that are only interested in established talent, artists know they can come to Seattle and grow into their greatness.
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Final Deadline: 04/14/2020
Hollywood is where people have come to make it in the industry since the birth of the entertainment industry. We are not just the home of actors, writers, directors, and producers of all shapes and sizes, we are the home of the industry itself. Everyone who’s anyone has a presence here or wish they did. People from all walks of life, from all over the world, come here to make it.
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Final Deadline: 04/20/2020
The PAGE Awards competition was established in the fall of 2003 by an alliance of Hollywood producers, agents, and development execs. Our goal: to discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from across the country and around the world. And due to the success of our winning writers, the PAGE Awards competition has rapidly become one of the most important sources for new screenwriting talent within the Hollywood community and worldwide.
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Final Deadline: 04/24/2020
The SENE Film Festival Screenplay Competition seeks to encourage, recognize and promote talented screenwriters.
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Final Deadline: 04/27/2020
The purpose of the Big Apple Film Festival Short Script Competition is to discover an engaging, innovative and purposeful scripts to support and promote to film industry professionals.
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Final Deadline: 04/30/2020
Whether you have a romantic comedy or an action-comedy blockbuster, we want to read your script. Big or small, our jury is looking for smart scripts with strong command of the craft, lots of heart and unique comedic voices. All entries are eligible for optional feedback from a studio-trained professional reader.
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Final Deadline: 04/30/2020
Lets hear it for the screenwriters people! The backbone, yet often overlooked, of the film industry. Screenwriters are a group of people who would love to have their work recognized but seldom do. The Florida Short Script Challenge is aiming to change that. We ourselves are screenwriters and have been for four years now. We know the struggle for screenwriters and the inability to find someone to read your work.
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Final Deadline: 05/02/2020
OUR FOCUS IS TO DISCOVER THE BEST NEW SCREENWRITING TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD The Shore Scripts Short Film Fund offers an opportunity for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers to have their short film financed and produced. 14 Industry Award-Winning Judges will decide this year’s Grand Prize Winner(s). 2020’s Fund will award production financing for at least one short film with an allocated budget of up to $15,000 per project, with a minimum budget of $10,000.
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Final Deadline: 05/14/2020
Creative World Awards (CWA) is an international screenwriting contest that is well known for having the writer's interest at heart when it comes to development and industry promotion. Production: CWA brings an exciting production opportunity to the Grand Prize Winner. This year’s winner will have the options of a short version of their script being produced by The MIX, and the film will then get a guaranteed premiere at the Richmond International Film Festival.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2020
The Ultimate Runway Now in our 27th year, the Austin Film Festival has been catapulting writers into life-changing careers for over two decades. Whether your dream is to sign a contract, land an agent, learn from an industry icon, or take home the coveted Bronze Typewriter Award, it’s simple: you can’t win if you don’t enter.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2020
To recognize excellence in screenwriting of shorts and features in a wide variety of genres.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2020
The Holly Weird Film Festival (HWFF), founded by Festival Director Jack Truman, celebrates independent films of all genres that feature a distinct vision, a unique voice, or an avant-garde challenge to what is expected or accepted. HWFF provides a venue for narrative, documentary, experimental and avant-garde film and video. Holly Weird is dedicated to celebrating all types of creativity from the worldwide independent film community.
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Final Deadline: 05/19/2020
The Diversity Film & Script Showcase recognizes and showcases screenplays featuring an Under Represented Lead Character OR Filmmaker (Writer or Co-Writer, or Director, or Producer).
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Final Deadline: 05/22/2020
HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) is an annual Academy Qualifying short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films and short screenplays from around the globe. The festival showcases the top short films produced 40 minutes or less and is looking for the best short screenplays 30 pages or less.
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Final Deadline: 05/31/2020
Whether you have a simple screenplay or a film that’s already in production, we want to consider it for our grant program. We consider a range of projects, from standalone screenplays, to fully packaged projects seeking finishing funds. If your aspirations are solely to become a produced screenwriter, you can rely on ScreenCraft and BondIt to package the winning script with a talented director and in-house production resources with up to $30,000 in cash financing, judged on a case-by-case basis, depending on each project’s budget and needs as determined by our internal jury of industry professionals.
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Final Deadline: 05/31/2020
While it’s no secret that Hollywood loves remakes, sequels and spinoffs, it’s perhaps lesser known that Hollywood loves movies based on free intellectual property in the public domain, such as folk tales, fairy tales, mythology and books and plays published before 1923. For example, folk tales, mythology, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens, famous historical figures – and the list goes on.
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Final Deadline: 06/01/2020
Circa Historical Screenplay Competition will award the "Best Historical Screenplays" in three categories: Feature Screenplay (Top Prize - $2000), TV Pilot (Top Prize - $1500) and Short Screenplay (Top Prize - $1000).
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Final Deadline: 06/05/2020
Bolt is an innovative new screenplay competition from the creators of Barnstorm Fest. The rules are simple: Submit a short film screenplay, web series or television pilot then Barnstorm Media chooses the winner and MAKES YOUR MOVIE OR PILOT! You get to be the Executive Producer. And, every submission receives feedback from the producers at Barnstorm Media WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF SUBMISSION.
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Final Deadline: 06/14/2020
Grand Prize: $2000 A year of free script development worth up to $3200 Guaranteed pitching to industry Exclusive prizes from InkTip Get free entry to the contest when you commission a script report, with Studio Coverage from just $99 Since 1999, WriteMovies’ screenwriting contests guarantee to develop our winners’ projects at our own expense and pitch them to producers with the power to make them happen.
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Final Deadline: 06/15/2020
The Capital Fund Screenplay Competition, now in its fifth year of successes, where your scripts are read direct by investors that buy projects and fund films at the studio level domestically and abroad. Our entrants have been optioned and sold at AFM, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Shanghai Film Markets. A Different Screenplay Contest Congratulations to the 2018 Winners at Universal 2019 Competition opens September 30, 2018.
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Final Deadline: 06/19/2020
There are kids with great imagination, with great creativity comes great stories. Future Film Writers is having a screenwriting contest for the young imaginative storyteller from the ages of 10 through 17. We like to help bring their creative ideas to the Big screen. We’re looking for the top stories to be in our contest. The Writer wins a cash prize and the possibility to have his or her story place in the hands of our sponsors.
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Final Deadline: 06/26/2020
The Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition leverages one of the oldest and largest film festivals in the U.S. Each year, NashFilm draws hundreds of filmmakers, musicians and industry to ten days of films, panels, red carpet events, live music showcases and parties. NashFilm is an Academy® Award Qualifying Festival in three short film categories.
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Final Deadline: 06/26/2020
GenreBlast is an international independent genre film festival coming to you from the awesome Alamo Drafthouse Winchester in beautiful Winchester, VA! GB5 will happen LABOR DAY WEEKEND - 9/3-9/6 2020 and will feature the best of truly independent films from around the world - specializing in action, horror, sci-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! Our discussion panels at GenreBlast have been a big hit and we're bringing them back for GB5! 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 Labor Day Weekend, you'll wish you were at GenreBlast!
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2020
Our Hollywood judges love good horror movies – and they’re looking for the next fresh voices in horror screenwriting.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2020
It’s a fact that rewriting your screenplay or television pilot is an absolutely essential part of the successful process of perfecting story, character, structure, tone and theme. It’s from that reality that The Finish Line Script Competition was created. The Finish Line redefines the screenwriting competition, embracing the rewrite as an essential component in any successful screenplay, and incentivizing every entrant to dig deeper, find their best draft, and win.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2020
The Script Lab and Coverfly are offering this FREE screenplay competition to help open talent-discovery to anyone and everyone, regardless of financial ability. This contest is open to feature, TV and short screenplays. Scripts must be in English and formatted with industry-standard screenwriting software. Only one entry per writer. Multiple submissions will be automatically eliminated.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2020
Future Film Writers like to read stories from you, the Writer. We know some excellent writers have an interesting story to tell the world and would like to see their story come to life on the Big Screen. We’re looking for the top stories to be in our contest. The Writer wins a cash prize and the possibility to have his or her story place in the hands of our sponsors.
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Final Deadline: 07/10/2020
CALL FOR ENTRIES! Shriekfest, the Los Angeles Horror/SciFi Film Festival continues its tradition as Los Angeles' Premier horror film event, presenting an exciting program of films each fall with beautiful Los Angeles as its backdrop. Now, in its 20th year, Shriekfest takes place at the legendary Raleigh Studios, which is the largest independent studio operator in the country.
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Final Deadline: 07/15/2020
The WeScreenplay Shorts Competition is dedicated to connecting talented short film writers with Oscar-nominated short film directors and creators for advice on how to create emotionally impactful storytelling in short-form content. EVERY ENTRY GETS WRITTEN FEEDBACK WeScreenplay believes that every entrant of a contest should benefit from entering – whether the writer wins or not.
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Final Deadline: 07/26/2020
The Scriptation Showcase is officially open for submissions! Emerging writers can now enter their best screenplay, teleplay, or short. The Scriptation Showcase is the screenwriting competition that circulates winners’ scripts to the directors, showrunners, and producers behind your favorite movies and TV shows. Why submit to the Scriptation Showcase? UNPRECENDENTED EXPOSURE Never before has a screenwriting competition made your script so accessible to working industry professionals.
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Final Deadline: 07/27/2020
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering and supporting emerging writing talent. We welcome screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world. A unique feature of the competition is providing constructive feedback for every entrant. In addition to this, we also offer a more intensive coverage service for a supplementary fee.
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Final Deadline: 07/28/2020
Film is a unique medium, and the New Renaissance Film Festival’s mission is to support and champion the best upcoming filmmakers and screenwriters in this new era, to fulfill their dream in telling their stories. We focus on the ARTIST, on the STORY and on building an international COMMUNITY of inspiring storytellers. We are not interested in following current fashions or politically motivated content.
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Final Deadline: 07/31/2020
Feature film dramas drive deep into the heart of what it means to be human, expressing universal themes with nuanced complexity. Our judges are looking for great stories with original voices and honest emotion. This competition celebrates great dramatic film writing. Whether you’re writing a sweeping period drama or a contained relationship movie, we want to read your script! All entries are eligible for optional feedback from a studio-trained professional reader (highly recommended).
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Final Deadline: 08/01/2020
SCRIPT2SCREENS is a Screenplay Competition for aspiring writers with a mission to get their film made. SCRIPT2SCREENS will make one screenwriter’s dream a reality by having their screenplay made by working Hollywood industry professionals into a short film, which can stand alone in film festivals or be used as a sizzle reel for pitches to producers.
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Final Deadline: 08/15/2020
Our Director of the Screenplay Competition is a working writer himself. We carefully select our Judges and try to assist the screenplay winners in their journey to sell their manuscripts. Exposure is half the battle. Our priority has always been the writer. Read our reviews on FilmFreeway and you'll see what past writers and filmmakers think of our competition.
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Final Deadline: 08/15/2020
Founded by longtime residents and movie veterans alike, the Sherman Oaks Film Festival looks to showcase the best undiscovered movies in the heart of Los Angeles. The neighborhood that was home the mall in Fast Times At Ridgemont High deserves a world class film festival! The Sherman Oaks Film Festival has a category for unproduced screenplays of any length, feature or short or in between.
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Final Deadline: 08/30/2020
The screenplay award is organized and promoted by the RIFF. The intent is to offer new filmmakers a concrete opportunity to grow professionally by developing their films, and making them accessible to the public.
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Final Deadline: 08/31/2020
Introducing Season 2 / 2020 of “Your Script Produced!” International Film / TV / Short Film Screenwriting Competition sponsored by Doval Bacall Films. The sponsor will fully finance, develop, package and produce the Grand Prize Winning Feature Script for $250,000.00. We've raised the stakes! Season 2 will accept Features, TV Scripts, AND SHORT FILM SCRIPTS! Winners will be promoted in the Variety Magazine and/or THR! Grand Prize winners can direct their own script! (Feature grand prize winner must have valid experience and approved by our sponsor.
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Final Deadline: 10/31/2020
The action genre is the one genre that producers and literary managers have recently requested the most, and which we have the least. So this could be one of our most successful competitions! Our jury is looking for emerging voices in the action movie genre. Whether you have a big-budget, tentpole family adventure movie, or a taut, low-budget action film, we want to read your script.
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Final Deadline: 12/18/2020
Families are the most influential moviegoing audience, yet there’s a surprising lack of high-quality films that appeal to the WHOLE family. This contest avoids the genre-bias of some other contests by seeking exclusively scripts that are life-affirming stories of faith, courage, hope and love. Whether you have a family drama, comedy, animation, or action-adventure film – we have producers and executives who are hungry for high-quality “four-quadrant” projects to package and produce.
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Final Deadline: 12/31/2020
GET IT MADE [GIM] IS A SHORT FILM PROGRAM THAT PRODUCES 3 TO 5 PAGE SCRIPTS, HELPING FOSTER THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCREENWRITERS & STORYTELLERS BY OFFERING A PROFESSIONAL FILM PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE WITH INDUSTRY PROS AND TOP BRANDS. Final Deadline to submit is December 31st, 2020. Use exclusive MovieBytes promo code GIMxMB for $20 off submission fee.
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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: 12/15/2019 (expired)
The BlueCat Screenplay Competition, now in its 22nd year, is accepting submissions for its 2020 competition. Founded in 1998 by award-winning writer Gordy Hoffman, BlueCat has supported thousands of screenwriters through written analysis provided to all entrants, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in the film and television industry.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Industry exposure, WGAw writer assistance in polishing winning scripts and $15,000 in cash prizes for up to 19 finalists.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
We champion the struggling independent Auteur who literally does it all or who gathers a close team who contributes what's needed to get their movie make. By having in attendance, mediamakers from all across the U.S. and Canada and by bringing in experienced and award winning directors, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and stunt professionals to conduct workshops and discussion groups, thus sharing their knowledge, we are paving the way for an independent movie explosion in Oklahoma.
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Final Deadline: 08/30/2019 (expired)
The objective of the Moondance International Film Festival is to inspire, motivate, promote and encourage the best writers & independent filmmakers, from every country in the world, and to inspire a greater understanding about the vital role of the arts in enhancing creativity, community spirit, and the preservation of our cultural heritage.
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Final Deadline: 11/01/2019 (expired)
We are all about giving agents, showrunners, and executives exactly what they now are looking for: Spec pilot teleplays that showcase you, the new writer operating at your very best. If the suits love the writing of a spec pilot, they have the best reason in the world to trust the writer to come through in the development process. A strongly-written spec pilot shows you’re ready for the gig.
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Final Deadline: 07/30/2019 (expired)
To promote and support new talent by creating real and original opportunities. To make Hollywood more accessible than ever before to more aspiring screenwriters, American Gem Short Script Writing Contest: presented by Filmmakers Magazine and Write Brothers, is forming strategic alliances with the powers that be in Film, TV and Literary Publishing.
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