San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 638-0644 (voice)
Web:
Click here
Email: screenplay@cinequest.org
Contact: Antonea Colon, Screenwriting Competition Coordinator
Report Card |
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(4.4/5.0) |
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(4.1/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
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(4.3/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
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(4.2/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
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Have you entered?
Please submit a Report card.
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Cinequest voted Best Film Festival by USA Today Readers.
The Cinequest Screenwriting Competition continues to empower global screenwriters through discovery, recognition and opportunity. Cinequest loves writers, and we welcome you to submit your screenplay or teleplay to our renowned competition. The Top 10 Finalists receive many empowering benefits including: All Access passes to the Cinequest Film & VR Festival and the exclusive Writers Celebration, plus exposure to leading industry players and inspiring luminaries.
Finalists are presented alongside high profile Maverick Spirit awardees like: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Chuck Palahniuk, Neil Gaiman, Philip Kaufman, Michael Arndt, Diablo Cody, Dennis Lehane, Jason Reitman and more at the highly anticipated Writers Celebration during the Cinequest Film & VR Festival.
WRITERS CELEBRATION
Celebrating the Screenplay Competition’s Top 10 Finalists, the electrifying Writers Celebration occurs during the Cinequest Film & VR Festival (February 27 - March 11, 2018) and includes opportunities for writers to connect with producers and enhance their careers, networks and opportunities. Writers Celebration events will include:
FEATURES
A $5000 cash prize will be presented to the winning feature-length script. Finalists will also get their scripts read by industry professionals. Previous industry readers have included: ICM Partners, Lions Gate Films, Happy Madison Productions, Entertainment One, XYZ Films, First Light Films, Lupovitz Productions, Echo Lake Entertainment, Verve, and Popular Films.
“After the Cinequest Writers Celebration, an angel investor has swooped in and offered to finance my film. WorkingMan will begin immediate pre-production and will be shot next winter/early spring. Thanks so much to everyone at Cinequest for opening doors to filmmakers and artists everywhere!” -- Robert Jury, Feature Finalist, WorkingMan
SHORTS
Our short-film script category continues to attract a diverse international pool with a $1000 cash prize and future screening opportunity at Cinequest Film & VR Festival for the winning script.
“We had an incredible time at the festival, and are very much still in complete awe of the amazing response to the film…pretty much everything you'd ever want as a filmmaker. It was a very surreal experience.”-- Travis Neufeld, Shorts Winner, Tinwife (premiered at Cinequest in 2017)
TELEPLAYS (60 minutes)
A $1000 cash prize will be presented to the winning 60 minute teleplay. Finalists will also get their teleplay read by experts from companies like FX Network, ABC Signature Studios, and PBS.
"I was thrilled when Cinequest selected my pilot script as a finalist for the teleplay competition. Writers need all the support they can get and Cinequest gave it in abundance. Not only at the festival, with conferences and events for the writers, but long afterwards, when you’re back at the desk and find an email from one of the devoted people at Cinequest in your box. When they get behind you, they stay behind you and continue to do everything they can to help push your project forward." -- Matthew Dixon, Teleplay Finalist, The Glass Hotel (optioned by HBO in 2016)
TELEPLAYS (30 minutes)
Our 30 minute teleplay category offers writers a chance to showcase what could be the next hit series on TV! $1000 cash prize to the winner.
“I loved the artist/writer events. It was a pleasure getting to speak with other finalists— writers who are so very creative, talented and diverse in outlook…The importance of Cinequest is that it brings us together, not despite our crazy aspirations as artists, but because of them... and best of all, their encouragement stokes the fire to keep us going.” -- Ada Lee Halofsky, Teleplay Winner, Throwing Shade
| Deadline | Date | Entry Fee | Days till Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | July 13, 2018 | $45 Features; $30 Short; $35 Teleplay (60min); $30 Teleplay (30min) |
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| Regular | September 21, 2018 | $55 Features; $35 Short; $40 Teleplay (60min); $35 Teleplay (30min) |
1 |
| Late | October 12, 2018 | $60 features; $50 Short; $55 Teleplay (60min); $50 Teleplay (30min) |
22 |
| Extended | November 2, 2018 | $65 Features; $55 Shorts; $60 Teleplay (60min); $55 Teleplay (30min) |
43 |
Submissions open May 1st, 2017! Submissions are accepted via www.cinequest.org and Withoutabox.com
WinningScripts Pro $5 Off Coupon
Notification: Finalists will be notified December 2017. Winners revealed at Writers Celebration during Cinequest Film Festival, February 27-March 11, 2018.
FEEDBACK & NOTIFICATIONS
All contestants will receive 2-3 lines of generalized feedback for improvement on their script. Full script coverage services are not available at this time.
Writers will be notified on their status in the competition via the email address provided at time of registration. Please include screenplay@cinequest.org in your contact lists to receive these notifications. See below for selection process:
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 638-0644 (voice)
Web:
Click here
Email: screenplay@cinequest.org
Contact: Antonea Colon, Screenwriting Competition Coordinator
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.4/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.1/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.2/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
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Have you entered?
Please submit a Report card.
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San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 638-0644 (voice)
Web:
Click here
Email: screenplay@cinequest.org
Contact: Antonea Colon, Screenwriting Competition Coordinator
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.4/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.1/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.2/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Please submit a Report card.
|
||
Rubbish by John Dilley & Seth Corr has been named the Feature Screenplay Winner of the 2017 Cinequest Screenwriting Competition.
Wheelman by Jeremy Rush has been named the Feature Script Winner of the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition. Shiva by Vishnu Sekar won the Short Script Competition, and the TV Script Winners were Brooklyn Bus by RJ Marx (60-minutes) and Patient by M. Rowan Meyer (30-minutes).
Saint Chloe by Stacie Shellner (Feature), The Yard by Eugenie Carabatsoshas (Short), and Awareness by Sean Corrigan (Teleplay) have been named the winners of the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition for 2014-2015.
Breathe has been named the winner of the 2014 CineQuest Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Travis Neufeld's The Tinwife was the winner of the Short Screenplay Competition.
Cinequest has announce that The Imperfect Cell, Mister Dunbury’s Exotic Lunatic Caravan, and Marcus were the winners of the Cinequest 14 Screenwriting Competition.
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 638-0644 (voice)
Web:
Click here
Email: screenplay@cinequest.org
Contact: Antonea Colon, Screenwriting Competition Coordinator
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.4/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.1/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.2/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Please submit a Report card.
|
||
An interview with screenwriter Vishnu Sekar regarding the Cinequest Writing Competition.
A: 'Shiva' is the name of my script and my protagonist -- a young man obsessed with Bollywood films in Sri Lanka during the 1980's. He's racially profiled and arrested by cops for a crime he didn't commit. They torture him to elicit a false confession. Shiva makes an elaborate prison escape that begins to unravel as a fantasy inspired by his favourite Bollywood film.
Q: What made you enter this particular contest? Have you entered any other contests with this script? If so, how did you do?A: I liked some of the former Maverick Winners like JJ Abrams and Neil Gaiman, who happens to be one of my favourite writers.
My script has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Page International Screenplay contest. I'm still waiting for the final results.
A: Yes, the awards were great for a short screenplay.
Q: How long did it take you to write the script? Did you write an outline beforehand? How many drafts did you write?A: I did write an outline, but I had most of the screenplay in my head the moment I conceived the premise. I usually follow a rough outline when I write. I seriously can't tell you how many drafts I wrote because I kept getting feedback and tweaking my script. The changes were small from one draft to another, but I think they made all the difference. It's difficult to say how long I worked on this because I write several screenplays simultaneously. When I wait for feedback on one script, I draft another, and so on.
Q: What kind of software did you use to write the script, if any? What other kinds of writing software do you use?A: I used Celtx, but I have moved on to Highland, which I find easier and more intuitive to use.
Q: Do you write every day? How many hours per day?A: I don't write every day because I have to balance writing with my day job. I write for about six to eight hours, four days a week. Sometimes, I write all day every day, even after work, if I'm nearing a contest deadline or if my creative juices are flowing. I intend to write more hours regularly in the future.
Q: Do you ever get writer's block? If so, how do you deal with that?A: I do get writer's block. Sometimes I have to step away from the project and work on something else. Or I go for a walk. Meditation helps. I look to films, books and music for inspiration. If nothing works, I silence my inner critic and I force myself to write even if it doesn't sound good to me. I usually keep a note and come back to that point, later on, to see if it can be improved.
Q: What's your background? Have you written any other screenplays or television scripts?A: I've got a BA in Film and English and I've worked in the media before. I've written a number of screenplays and teleplays that have placed well in writing contests.
Q: Do you live in Los Angeles? If not, do you have any plans to move there?A: I live in Sydney, Australia, but I'd like to move to LA soon.
Q: What's next? Are you working on a new script?A: I'm currently working on a TV pilot set in Boston that I want to submit to contests and pitch. I'm going to adapt the pilot into a graphic novel and pitch to a publisher or self-publish it via Amazon.