A list of categorized screenplay contests, ranked and sorted by screenwriters. Find the best contest for your screenplay or television script.
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Final Deadline: 11/20/2019
TV is bigger than ever, streaming has allowed more original voices to be broadcast around the world and with the future holding opportunity in an unnamed company's new streaming platform (rhymes with Bisney), there's no doubt going to be an even greater call for excellent TV writers and original shows! No matter what format you write in – sitcom, drama, serialized, procedural, mini-series, limited series – we want your work! All 30 and 60 minute original pilots are eligible.
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Final Deadline: 11/28/2019
Attend the 2020 Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals as the Table Read My Screenplay Grand Prize Winner! You'll receive cash, a trip to Park City, a table read of your winning script, and industry connections. Plus, an established director will workshop your script prior to your Table Read Showcase in Park City with professional actors.
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Final Deadline: 11/30/2019
SUCCESS! We say we are looking for a film to produce and we mean it. Our 2017 winner completed principal photography in May 2018 and is in post-production! "Becoming" by Omar Naim won our Grand Prize and is going to hit the screens with Omar himself directing! We will keep sharing updates on "Becoming" as it progresses.. Circus Road wants to find a great project to produce.
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Final Deadline: 11/30/2019
ScreenCraft is dedicated to discovering and promoting writing talent, and our inaugural play competition is searching for emerging playwrights. Hollywood has a long history of adapting plays and embracing playwriting talent. We’re seeking to celebrate the craft of writing for the theater, and connect winning writers with career opportunities and participation in ScreenCraft’s thriving community of talented writers and mentors around the world.
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Final Deadline: 11/30/2019
Script-to-Screen is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get your dramatic screenplay fully produced. We are searching for unique voices and compelling original dramatic stories. One of our missions is to support diverse artists who might otherwise not have these opportunities. Our directors will select one unique story that they will direct and produce.
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Final Deadline: 12/01/2019
For 21 years the San Francisco Independent Film Festival has developed a great reputation for filling theaters, getting press, and throwing great parties. Films at our fest regularly get Variety reviews, picked up at other fests, and find rabid groupies following the makers around town demanded autographs and buying them drinks. This is our third year hosting a screenplay contest with the goal of expanding our filmmaker reach.
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Final Deadline: 12/02/2019
The CAPE New Writers Fellowship discovers and nurtures emerging writers launching their careers in television and film. Founded and co-chaired by Emmy Award-winning Creator and Showrunner Leo Chu and veteran film and TV executive Steve Tao, CAPE is one of few programs created by a creative and an executive. This immersive Fellowship arms each writer with the practical and business knowledge they need to succeed as a professional writer in the entertainment industry.
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Final Deadline: 12/15/2019
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: 12/15/2019
MISSION: To provide industry exposure and support to feature screenwriters who are looking to have their stories told. FEEDBACK: We believe that writers need feedback to improve, which is why every single entry receives FREE FEEDBACK PROMISE: We promise to give all scripts two rounds of scores and there will be a total of six rounds of scores to ensure fairness and transparency.
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Final Deadline: 12/15/2019
The Screenwriters Network presents, the 1st Annual Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition! Prizes include guaranteed industry reads at Paradigm Talent Agency, Grey Matter Productions, Good Fear Content & Affirmative Entertainment! In the past few years, horror shorts have become a goldmine for Hollywood. Feature films such as The Babadook, Lights Out, Mama and Saw originated as proof-of-concept shorts.
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Final Deadline: 12/19/2019
The Military Script Showcase recognizes and showcases feature screenplays, television scripts and short scripts in all genres that feature stories about warfare or the military experience.
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Final Deadline: 12/31/2019
Calling all family-friendly feature film screenplays! 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 screenplays that are life-affirming stories of faith, courage, hope and love.
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Final Deadline: 12/31/2019
The Oregon Short Film Festival is a showcase of independent short films from around the world. We accept short screenplays of all genres that are 40 pages or less. Action Comedy Dark Comedy Drama Experimental Family Fantasy Horror Romantic Comedy Science Fiction
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Final Deadline: 12/31/2019
Cinema is your passion? You've written a short film script that tells a meaningful and touching story with a few characters in plain settings? You can restrict yourself to the essentials? You want to see your ideas in a movie at last? Congratulations: You’ve just found the right opportunity! CHALLENGE Create pure narrative live-action cinema without extravaganza! Make the audience care! Only the awesome idea counts, because the film crew will have only a few days for the complete production from casting to cinema premiere.
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Final Deadline: 01/04/2020
Breaking Walls is a contest for thriller screenplays with contacts at established Hollywood literary representation and production companies who have agreed to consider the full winning script and the top finalists' loglines. Well-written thrillers are always an excellent way for writers to show Hollywood pros a combination of commerciality, unique voice, and a clear understanding of effective feature film narrative.
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Final Deadline: 01/07/2020
To discover original, high-concept feature film ideas and develop the winning material with the writer for industry circulation.
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Final Deadline: 01/07/2020
To discover original, high-concept TV show ideas and develop the winning material with the writer for circulation network execs and television producers.
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Final Deadline: 01/09/2020
The Australian International Screenwriting Awards (AISA) is a screenwriting competition committed to the discerning selection, recognition, and professional growth of emerging screenwriters from all over the world. Australia, our home base, is a perfect merging of big cities and abundant nature. From big waves and rainforests to mountains and the massive outback.
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Final Deadline: 01/22/2020
The First 10 Pages Script Competition recognizes and showcases exceptional feature and television writing in all genres.
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Final Deadline: 01/23/2020
We are Women Who Write and our goal is to be the world’s foremost screenwriting competition for women. We want to support female writers and producers of all shapes and sizes, but we don’t just want to support female writers. We want to be a springboard for your success. We want to forge a festival that will discover and recognize the best emerging female talent and the most original female voices from around the world.
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Final Deadline: 01/23/2020
As one of the few screenwriting competitions for the LGBTQ community, our aim is to discover and recognize the best emerging talent and most original voices from our community in film and television writing from around the world. We are proud to be LGBTQ and even prouder to support the LGBTQ community. Members from our community have long been known for being the best artists in the world and we want to not only recognize them for that, but to support them in being talented as well as a member of our community.
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Final Deadline: 01/24/2020
Winning screenplays recommended to leading Hollywood producers! The Colorado Film Institute launched the Vail Film Festival Screenplay Competition in order to find and foster the next generation of the film world's most innovative and creative screenwriters. With the realization that every great film needs a great story, the festival is dedicated to supporting talented screenwriters by utilizing the resources of the Vail Film Festival to foster the winning screenwriters through networking opportunities, and film industry access.
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Final Deadline: 01/29/2020
I have read and agree to the Terms and Guidelines. - or - $42.50 TOTAL PRICE: Anthony and I have done well in several screenwriting contests, but Stage 32 was the first to set us up with actual production companies and managers. That can’t be overstated. Keith Strausbaugh Keith Strausbaugh 3 5 2 3 Submission Fee: $42.50 $72.50 Next Deadline Thursday, Oct 31ST 11:59PDT Super Early Bird Deadline Next deadline ends in: 14 hrs 51 mins 11 secs Contest Info Winner flown to Hollywood to meet with judges from MGM (A Star is Born), Schemers Entertainment (To the Stars), Disrupting Influence (Berlin, I Love You), Friday Friday Entertainment, Informant Media (Crazy Heart, Kidnapping Mr.
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Final Deadline: 02/06/2020
We love New York and we love film! We especially loves films shot, set, about, or written and produced and starring New Yorkers! And by New Yorker, we mean New Yorkers from the State, the City, and around the world. Even New Yorkers who haven’t made it here yet. We love you all. (And no, you don’t have to be from here to submit your scripts). We are a passionate group of artists who care deeply about nurturing, developing, and furthering the careers of the next generation of New York City filmmakers and screenwriters from the U.
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Final Deadline: 02/06/2020
We are San Francisco. And we love film and we love writers. In fact, we care so deeply about developing the next generation of filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad that we founded what we hope will be one of the most prestigious screenwriting competitions in the world for serious writers and serious subject matter. We are an independent screenwriting competition founded by artists, and while we are artists, a lot of us come from backgrounds in journalism, publishing, and in some cases some very grisly real life experiences and we like serious subject matter.
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Final Deadline: 02/20/2020
We are passionate about film and passionate about nurturing, developing, and supporting the next generation of great filmmakers and screenwriters from North America and around the world. Our mission is to forge a screenwriting competition that will launch the careers of cinema’s next generation of writers and filmmakers. We want our competition to be a bridge between up and coming artists and the talent agents and managers that will ultimately put them in front of studio executives in both Canada and the US.
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Final Deadline: 02/20/2020
Welcome to the Edinburgh International Screenwriting Competition. We are the world’s foremost screenwriting competition dedicated to the odd and insane. Because as Jack Kerouac once said, “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes “Awww!” Our aim is to launch the careers of cinema’s most original screenwriters by creating the world’s most prestigious screenwriting competition.
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Final Deadline: 02/29/2020
The ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship has quickly become one of the most important screenwriting talent discovery platforms for the entertainment industry. The chosen recipients will receive ongoing professional support and a special trip to Los Angeles for meetings and introductions to key entertainment executives, producers and representatives.
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Final Deadline: 03/08/2020
The International Horror Hotel fosters creativity within genre writers and filmmakers, providing a platform for them to share their work and gain recognition. Our main focus is in connecting those working within the horror (and sub-genre) community, helping them to expand their network and gain contacts to strengthen their work. The 2020 festival will be held June 11th-14th at Mentor Holiday Inn - 20 minutes from downtown Cleveland (OH).
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2020
The festival Film Invasion Los Angeles looks to showcase the best undiscovered movies in the heart of L.A. FILA has a category for unproduced screenplays of any length, feature or short or in between. Both movie and television screenplays are accepted. Screenplays will be evaluated by the jury based on merit, and winners will receive passes to the film festival and be cheered on by an audience when they are brought up to receive their reward.
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2020
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: 03/19/2020
Mission: Faith in Film is dedicated to forging a screenwriting competition that will launch the careers of filmmakers focused on adding the element of faith to their films and facilitate established filmmakers in transitioning into making more faith films. Our aim is to build a festival that will introduce faith based films to mass audiences, ultimately, giving them the same multi platform release schedules and revenue streams that traditional studio films and high end independent films enjoy; and to inspire, showcase, support, and develop filmmakers of all faith’s to make great faith based films that leave others touched, moved and inspired; and filmmakers and distributors empowered to make and distribute more faith and family films.
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Final Deadline: 03/19/2020
We are a team of artists that want nothing more than to support the next generation of filmmakers and screenwriters from around the world. Specifically, those storytellers that passionate about telling stories about our communities in the U.S. and abroad, from inner city Atlanta, LA, New York, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee to Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean, to Wall Street and the streets of London to the NBA.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2020
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: 03/31/2020
"100 Screenplays" is a unique contest brought to you by "Screenplay Festival," one of the longest running and highest rated screenplay competitions on MovieBytes. We accept one hundred scripts into each contest, and quickly get the results to you. "!00 Screenplays" is a fast, targeted screenplay contest where every writer who enters goes in knowing exactly how many scripts will be in the competition, and every writer knows that there will be results less than a month after the contest closes.
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Final Deadline: 04/03/2020
Honoring Stories Worth Telling. All Ages, All Cultures, All written formats. The rationale behind the festival is clear. New media continues to show its lasting power and potential to evolve - there is scope for truly groundbreaking and compelling work in the world of storytelling. The festival is designed to both discover and cultivate highly creative work from emerging and seasoned content creators.
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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: 04/13/2020
Our intention is to help open doors for the aspiring television writer. There are four categories you can submit to, which include 1 hour existing spec scripts, 1/2 hour existing sitcom spec scripts, original pilots, and reality programs. This competition is designed with the TV writer and crossover screenwriter in mind. The participants we have chosen to read the winning scripts are individuals from established production companies.
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Final Deadline: 04/13/2020
The fellowship program was developed to honor dedicated writers and to help further their creative process and skills. Writing in itself is a journey and we would like to facilitate the process by giving the fellows the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded professionals and individuals. Application Requirements: Completed application and fee.
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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: 04/22/2020
The True Story Screenplay Competition recognizes and showcases feature screenplays and television scripts based on, or inspired by, true stories.
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Final Deadline: 04/22/2020
The Crime List recognizes an exceptional film, script or book that features a crime story (murder, organized crime, gangsters, fraud / corruption, missing / kidnapped, revenge, heist, etc.)
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Final Deadline: 04/30/2020
In 2010, Executive Director Cathleen Young created NEW VOICES with the vision of discovering, developing and launching a new generation of talented writers under the mentorship of Hollywood showrunners and studio partners. MENTORS INCLUDE: Alan Ball, Jenny Bicks, Janine Sherman Barrois, Matt Carlson, Carter Covington, Liz Craft, Sarah Fain, Tom Fontana, Gary Glasberg, Gary David Goldberg, Marc Guggenheim, Hart Hanson, Chris Harris, Felicia Henderson, David Hudgins, Jason Katims, Jay Kogen, Bill Lawrence, Ali LeRoi, Melanie Marnich, Nancy Pimental, Rashad Raisani, David Shore, Robin Swicord, Pam Veasey, Ben Watkins, and David Zuckerman.
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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: 05/30/2020
To help launch the careers of undiscovered screenwriters and give unprecedented access to studio-level executives.
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