Winning a screenplay competition can put you on the map as a screenwriter. Whether you're just starting out or a wearied semi-pro, having the nod of approval from industry respected competitions can lead to agents, managers, production meetings and work.
As long as your script has had trusted coverage and is in a strong place we wholeheartedly recommend you enter it into screenplay competitions. Even if you don't win - being longlisted can still help to get you seen by the right people. It's industry validation and that goes a long way.
As we know that researching these things can be arduous and confusing we've collected the upcoming dates from competitions that we rate and trust, so that you can focus on what matters - your writing! So if you have a killer screenplay sitting on your desktop; enter it into the most trusted competitions this year. Who knows, you might just launch your career to a place that otherwise would take yeeeeeaaars to achieve.
Competitions, dates and deadlines below. If you're planning on submitting, please always check the actual links to each competition, as sometimes deadlines and goal posts can change. And don't worry if you've missed a deadline for this year, make a note of the competition and come back to it next year. There are plenty of brilliant options with career changing prizes and exposure - shop around.
Academy Nicholl Fellowship
Feature films
Regular deadline: 2nd of April - $65
Late deadline: 2nd of May - $90
Austin Film Festival
Feature Screenplay deadlines:
Early Bird: 25th of March ($50)
Regular: 18th of April ($65)
Late: 16th of May ($80)
Short Screenplay & Teleplay deadlines:
Early Bird: 25th of March ($40)
Regular: 18th of April ($55)
Late: 16th of May ($65)
Bafta - Rocliffe
TV Comedy - Opens in April
Film - Opens in September
BBC - Writersroom
Drama & Comedy TV Scripts
Opening/Submission dates TBC: ‘Likely to be at the end of 2022’.
BBC - Thousand Stories
TV - drama/comedy
Dates TBC
BlueCat Screenplay
SUBMIT
Screenplays
Deadlines:
Regular: 11th of October 2021. Feature - $70, Pilot - $65, Short - $55.
Final: 14th of November 2021. Feature - $75, Pilot - $70, Short - $60.
Late:12th of December 2021. Feature - $80, Pilot - $75, Short - $65.
Final Resubmission: 21st of February 2022. Feature - $50, Pilot - $45,
Short - $35.
Final Draft
Screenwriting
Dates TBC
Finish Line
Screenwriting
Regular deadline: 13th of April - $40
Latecomers deadline: 22nd of June - $40
The Golden Script Competition
Shorts, Pilots, Features.
Final deadline: 19th of March
(Extended deadline- 29th of March)
Los Angeles international Screenplay Awards
Features, TV, Shorts
Late deadline: 18th of February - Short - $39, TV - $49, Feature - $59
Final deadline: 11th of March - Short - $45, TV - $55, Feature - $55
Page Awards
Screenplays and Teleplays
Late deadline: 10th of March
Save The Cat
Screenplays
Extended deadline: 27th of March
Screencraft
Rolling deadlines for different genres
Scriptapalooza
Screenplays and Shorts
Deadline: 7th of March
Scriptation
TV Scripts
Final deadline: 13th of March - $59
Script Lab
Screenplays
Opening on the 1st of November
Script Pipeline
Screenplays
Deadline: 31st of May
Script Summit
Short scripts + Web Series, Synopsis, Treatments + Pitch Decks, Feature films, Pilots, Reality TV. On time deadline: 11th of March - $30 - $45
Late deadline: 13th of May - $35 - $50
Extended deadline: 15th of July - $45 - $60
Shore Scripts
Features and TV script deadlines-
Early bird: 31st of May
Regular: 31st of July Final: 31st of August
Slamdance
Screenplays
Early deadline: 4th of April
Regular deadline: 6th of June
Late deadline: 18th of July
Final deadline: 26th of July
UK Film Festival
Feature Scripts
Final deadline: 25th of February
OTHER RESOURCES
The Black List
Screenplay showcase
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Film Freeway
Search engine for film festivals and screenwriting contests
Film Independent
VISIT Fiscal sponsorship, Grants
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Sundance
2022 Development Track
Application Opens: April 14, 2022
GO GET EM!
Did we miss any? If there's a screenplay competition that makes the grade in your eyes, let us know in the comments.
Comments