Screenwriting : Joining a contest? by Julio Torres

Aim to free ones for beginning...harder to target, but they do exist...https://thescriptlab.com/free-screenplay-contest/

Contests are one way to get paid writing opportunities here in the U.S. film industry

How’s the Mexico Film Industry? Can you work locally?

I would specifically avoid the free ones because they hold no value. What is it you're hoping to get from a competition? If it's a form of feedback then look for free feedback from your peers by listing it on free sites. If you're looking for a competition award, with the associated recognition, then you should consider The Nicholl or Austin. Yes, they're expensive but they're the two that can help to advance your career. If you truly believe your script has the potential to win or place very highly then those two comps have the potential to help you, if you honestly don't believe you can win then save your money and use feedback to help you improve.

I see! I have 2 scripts that I think are pretty good, I'll review them again and see which one I could submit. Thanks Kiril! I'll check the link out. Hi Dan! There aren't many options here, its a very obscure job, but I guess it is like that everywhere. And thanks Pierre! I want to have a career as a screenwriter, so its logical to at least try joining a contest. I'll just have to eat tuna for a week or 2 haha

If you need a comprehensive list of contests, check out https://www.coverfly.com/.

There are only two great contests, Nichol and Austin Film Festival. Everything less is a lesser contest.

Having said that. Contests are fun and a good way to get feedback. If you go to Filmfreeway you will see there are over a thousand screenplay contests. How good can they really be?

The most pertinent question in this thread: what's your purpose in entering contests? If it's anything other than getting feedback, they are a waste of money. Even if feedback is the goal, it's still an iffy return on your money.

Free ones are a waste of time.

I've posted many times here on S32 about the waste that contests are for a screenwriter trying to build a career.

And a shameless plug - on my website, https://jeellis267.wixsite.com/mysite, I have blog post that brings together all my thoughts about paying for anything writing-related called, To Pay or Not to Pay. Check it out.

As far as being in Mexico, Julio Torres, and the Mexican film industry, there are many who live in Mexico and are members here. Do a search with the location as Mexico, and you will see many pop up. Connect with them and maybe make your own opportunities.

There's currently over 1,500 screenwriting competitions you can enter.

If I'm being generous, three of them matter. 99.8% of what's out there is garbage when it comes to career building and you should absolutely not use them for feedback or to gauge where you are in terms of ability/talent/craft skills. It's that bad.

In the eight years I've been screenwriting, I can name the number of writers I've seen break in due to a competition placement on one hand and they hustled off the back off their wins like crazy to make them count.

They're popular because they're passive and deluded writers encourage others to believe winning a major one will be a guaranteed pass into Hollywood. Most do very little for their winners other than send out a list of titles, names, and log-lines. I've got a copy of the material they send out. There's also zero transparency on their part. You don't even know if you're work's being read in full or the standard of their readers. A "reputable" one has been caught out soliciting readers on Craigslist for very low pay and many readers report they never got paid at all. It is a really scammy area of the amateur screenwriting world (as if it isn't scammy enough).

What's tragic is the number of amateur screenwriters using them as their only strategy. Their hopes and dreams hinging on the fickle results each year.

People care about Nicholl.

Some people care Austin Film Festival.

A few people care about Page.

From what I've seen, Stage 32 does the most for their winners in terms of trying to get them results. Nicholl has a very robust judging system and is run at a loss.

Include them within your strategy if you have money to gamble and only after investing in other areas. Do your due diligence on who recommends them.

Craig and Jeff have provided you with two excellent lists of contests. Contests can be fun but don't expect to enter and suddenly be invited to Hollywood. I've entered many, placed in some and won a few but still don't have a manager or agent. I have made a few small independent sales because I've won contests.

The smaller contests (usually cheaper) are a good way to check to see if your writing is up to a certain standard, especially the ones that provide feedback. But they probably won't change your life even if you win. But they will mostly tell you whats wrong with your writing.

The Nichols, Austin and a couple of others are top notch (pricey) but if you can at least place, it will open up avenues.for possibly selling your script. Only most new writers aren't ready for those and entering is just like taking money out of your wallet and throwing it into the wind. Those contests get over 80,000 entries per year and the chance of someone with their first or second screenplays even placing is the same as trying to win the lottery with your first ticket.

My advice: Don't waste your money especially if money is scarce. Write more screenplays, have other screenwriters (who will give you an honest opinion for free) read and critic your work. If they approve, then enter.

I think there is some value in entering to see how your screenplay and your writing stacks up to what else is being put out there. Does it connect with the readers? Yes, there are writing groups you can join that will help with that as well that probably don't cost anything, but a contest placement (whether it is quarterfinals or semis), gives you some validation that you are on the right track.

Most people who enter contests are really just looking for a way to jump start their career and it almost never works out. If you want to give it a try you might consider the ones Stage 32 offer because of what Nick said in this post. Personally I don’t enter them because I wouldn’t care if I won.

The Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Festival, and Stage 32 have already been mentioned. Still, I know from anecdotal and second-hand experience that these are also worth it (if you place high enough): Page Awards, Tracking Board, Tracking B, Script Pipeline, Screencraft, Zoetrope, Scriptapalooza.

Emmy-winning Chernobyl screenwriter Craig Mazin poo-poos most contests, but even he has said that if your script made it to the finals of a whole bunch of lesser contests - that would still get his attention.

And like Dan said, enter fellowships!

Phil Parker some of Mazin’s hot takes are just out of touch. Just cause his generation of peers didn’t break into show business winning contests doesn’t mean contests are irrelevant. There are hundreds of union feature and TV writers that got their start with a high contest placement, winning a grant or fellowship slot.

Nick Assunto - Stage32 Script Services - I hear ya. I don't dislike him as much as you, but I do take some of his advice and opinions with a grain of salt.

Craig Mazin called me an asshole once so sometimes he's right on the money.

CJ Walley you can’t drop that and walk off. How and when?

I just replace the topic and see if the logic holds. What other jobs are obtained by winning contests? Or where a contest win enables you a seat at any table?

We can do this now. Let’s create a name “the forum screenplay contest”. The judges are industry professionals. A few of us have films - tick.

We charge $50, $75 extra for notes. Get 3000 entries, randomly choose a few. Go on holidays. This has to be happening with the volume of contests.

I don’t enter contest, but I know my agent quit accepting submissions because she said almost all of them were so awful. If you can say you placed in even a contest that people in the business aren’t familiar with it would at least show someone outside your family or your friends liked what you wrote. That might convince them to read your screenplay and everything starts with a read. Again, I don’t enter contests but if I did, I would definitely put Stage 32 on my list because like Nick and CJ said they go out of their way to help screenwriters who do well in their contests.

I also agree with CJ that some screenwriters only rely on contests are making a mistake. Nobody knows what will work for anyone or when it might happen so you have to be willing to try other things and never give up.

Welcome! There are a lot of free contest. You can search bing.com and search.pch.com and earn while you search for free contest.

Craig D Griffiths, it was a few years ago. Some kook wrote a conspiracy theory about CoverFly when it launched (Which went viral) and then another crazy who runs a toxic screenwriting group on Facebook started publicly posting that it was me who started the conspiracy because I run a “competing” site. Everything blew up on Twitter, Reddit, and on here, I nearly got sued, and Craig called me an asshole during all the crossfire. As an added bonus, the crazy and her toxic group stalked me for months afterwards. Fun times.

In all honesty, I really just put my scripts into Austin Film Festival, and maybe some random ones for fun. But my main focus is usually AFF ever year.

Enter them if you want but when possible shoot them or parts of them and enter those films into film festivals. Put the films on YouTube. Promote them on IG and Twitter. Rinse and repeat.

A follow-up on this topic: I just learned that two people I know personally have significant stuff going on because of their wins at the Page Awards. One is in production with Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose. The other is on the verge of selling his script to one of the big studios.

Phil Parker is that the contest material or other stuff they had?

Because that would be a great opportunity to say “you need more than one script”.

Craig D Griffiths - in both instances, the scripts that are in play are the ones that won. A lot of rewriting happened afterwards, of course. That's pretty much always the case.

Phil Parker the reason I asked is I have heard a few Nichol finalists say that it opened doors. The scripts remain unsold. But the endorsement the win brings is worth millions.

Thought I'd throw in one of my favorite quotes - from Chris Lockhart of WME - {Remember} "There's a contest in Hollywood every day."