Top 10 Screenplay Competitions

Several Are Connected to Film Festivals

For screenwriters and filmmakers looking to elevate their careers, script competitions can be helpful. Sell your project to a network, studio or platform. Find a manager or agent. You don’t even have to win first prize to see the rewards. In some cases, there are multiple levels of finalists being reviewed, or passed along to industry professionals. In others, you might get constructive feedback, or even coverage.

Sadly, similar to the film festival arena, there are too many competitions to choose from. Most of them won’t help advance your career, either because they have no credibility, or because they’re a scam. Film Freeway, for example, has over 2,000 registered screenplay competitions.

I’ve put together a short list of 10 that are worth your time, and even included a few that are connected to film festivals. Some offer more categories than others, and you will want to track the deadlines, rules and regulations. Several of them are just about to open their doors for 2024.

The Slamdance Screenplay Competition opens the floodgates February 20th. It’s come a long way since we created it in 1995, thanks to partnerships with the Gersh Agency and Fox Searchlight. The most prestigious contest of all, the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship opens up March 1st; and they have a cap of 5,500 entries so it’s best to apply asap.

Most of the info below comes directly from their Competition or Film Freeway pages, and buttons take you to their sign up pages. They are listed in alphabetical order.

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Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

This screenwriting competitions is considered the best, partially due to its affiliation with the Academy of Motion Pictures. Many winning scripts have gone on to be optioned or produced and juries are made up of high level industry professionals. Open to scripts of all genres, though dramas do best. Each year, the Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriters. To enter, submit a feature length screenplay and entry fee via the online application when the competition is open for submissions. Fellowship winners are invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars, receive individualized Academy member mentorship and are expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during their Fellowship year.

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American Zoetrope

The American Zoetrope (Francis Ford Coppola’s company) screenplay competition offers the top 10 finalists the opportunity for representation by William Morris Endeavor, CAA, The Gersh Agency, Exile Entertainment, ICM, Oasis Media, UTA, The Radmin Company, Prolific Entertainment, Energy Entertainment, and Dontanville/Frattaroli. Their scripts will be considered for film option and development by leading production companies, including: American Zoetrope, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Entertainment, Paramount Classics, Lionsgate, and more. The overall winner will also receive a $5,000 cash prize.

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