Garden State Film Festival Screenplay Competition

Objective

The Garden State Film Festival was founded in 2008 to promote the art of filmmaking on all levels by showcasing a wide variety of film, video and animated works, as well as to provide educational programs in the creative arts to the public by industry leaders. Our goal is to present films of the highest quality in both production value and content.

Deadline/Entry Fees

Contact contest for this year's deadline.

WinningScripts Pro $5 Off Coupon

Rules

• Entered screenplays must not have been previously optioned, sold, or produced. All screenplays should be registered with the WGA and/or a Library of Congress copyright.
• Screenplays must be the original work of the writer. If based on another person's life story, a statement attesting to the rights obtained must be attached. No adaptations of other written work will be accepted.
• Multiple entries are accepted. A separate entry form and fee must accompany each script. Screenplays containing multiple writers are also accepted.
• Include two cover pages with each screenplay. One that only contains the screenplay's title. A second one that contains all contact information (name, address, phone, and email and Withoutabox tracking number). The writer's name must not appear any where inside the body of the screenplay.
• All screenplays must abide by proper industry format. All screenplays must be in English, with numbered, plain-write pages. All screenplay MUST be bound with two or three brads.
• No substitutions of new drafts, or corrected pages, for any screenplay, for any reason, will be accepted after the initial submission. Please enter the draft you are most confident about.
• No individual feedback or coverage will be made available pertaining to submitted screenplays.
• No screenplay over 120 pages, standard format, will be accepted.
• PDF copies of the screenplay may be submitted, after payment, to njscreenwriting@aol.com.
• It is suggested that the winner self-promotes the reading during the competition.

Awards

The winning screenplay will be awarded a live staged reading, with a professional director and professional actors, in a seated venue at the Garden State Film Festival. Last year's winner, YOU CAN'T PLAY THE GAME IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE RULES by Burleigh Smith was directed by Academy Award nominee Diane Ladd with luminous actor Ed Asner. Previous participants included actors Joseph R. Gannascoli (THE SOPRANOS) and Brian O'Hallaron (CLERKS).