2nd Annual Period Piece Screenwriting Contest

The ONLY Period Piece Screenplay Contest in the World is Back!

Over $50,000 in Prizes!

 Top Tier Judges from CAA and TWO Oscars Best Picture-nominated Producers

Ever dreamt of seeing your period piece script come to life on the big screen or streaming on flat-screens in living rooms across the country? This is your chance to turn that dream into reality!

Our Grand Prize Winner will get a Career Accelerator prize package valued at $5,000 that includes script & career development, writer branding and an education package and will be flown to LA to meet industry professionals who’ve worked on iconic period pieces like LADY MACBETH, OPHELIA, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, and many more!

Our Finalists will receive a Career Momentum prize package valued at $2,500, including Career Development, a Writer Branding Workshop and an Education package, and will have their logline featured in a Stage 32 Look Book sent to over 500 top entertainment industry executives, giving your work unparalleled exposure!

But that’s not all! Everyone who makes the Semi-Finals will receive a Career Breakthrough prize package valued at $1,000, our Quarterfinalists will receive a Career Elevation prize package valued at $500, and all Entrants will get a prize package valued at $100!

Open to Feature Film and TV Pilot Scripts!

Daring, thought-provoking period pieces are a staple of modern entertainment. From the raw passion and intensity of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, to the clever revisionist history of FLY ME TO THE MOON, and the enormous Western scope of HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA, audiences can’t get enough powerful, dramatic period storytelling. This year alone, period films like GLADIATOR II and BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE have proven period pieces can still rock the box office. The appetite for prolific period pieces is insatiable, and we want your story to be the next smash hit!

We’re on the lookout for all types of period piece scripts! Pensive historical dramas? Witty 70s, 80s, or 90s comedies? Tearjerking period romances? The next legendary western or war film? We want to see it all!

Let our previous Feature Contest winner Kelly Nugent tell you why you should enter!

Stage 32 Contest Winners Have Gone on to Work With:

Important Dates to Be Aware Of

Super Early Bird Deadline: December 12th, 2024

Early Bird Deadline: January 2nd, 2025

Regular Deadline: January 22nd, 2025

Final Deadline: February 12th, 2025

Quarterfinalist Announcement: April 18th, 2025

Semifinalist Announcement: May 2nd, 2025

Finalist Announcement: May 16th, 2025

Winner Announcement: May 30th, 2025

If you have any questions regarding this contest, check out frequently asked questions here.

THIS YEAR'S PRIZE PACKAGES INCLUDE:

WINNER: The Career Accelerator Package - $5,000 Value

• Be flown to LA to meet with top industry pros, who have worked on projects like LADY MACBETH, OPHELIA, THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, and more!
• Script Development Package
  • Free detailed, comprehensive story notes on your script
  • Pitch deck development to help get your winning project market-ready for you to shop
  • Logline polish for your winning project

• Career Development Package
• Free Career Development call with a top Executive
• Inclusion in the Stage 32 Finalists Lookbook which goes out to over 1,000 working industry executives
• Private Open Writing Assignment submissions for 1 year
• Inclusion in the Stage 32 A-List - Get your work sent to a stable of top literary managers & agents actively seeking new talent!

• Writer Branding Package
• A punch-up of your professional bio
• Headshot selection advice
• Portfolio guidance
• Portfolio branding tips
• Social media branding tools

• Education Package
• Free 1-year Writer’s Room Membership
• Stage 32 Webinar Library All-Access prize code (3,000+ hours of educational content)
• Free Stage 32 Writing Lab of your choice with one-on-one mentoring with an executive
• 1 Free Stage 32 Class
• 1 Free Stage 32 Individual Certification

FINALISTS: The Career Momentum Package - $2,500 Value

• Career Development Package
• Free Career Development call with a top Executive
• Inclusion in the Stage 32 Finalists Lookbook which goes out to over 1,000 working industry executives
• Private Open Writing Assignment submissions for 1 year
• Inclusion in the Stage 32 A-List - Get your work sent to a stable of top literary managers & agents actively seeking new talent!

• Writer Branding Workshop with an Executive
• A punch-up of your professional bio
• Headshot selection advice
• Logline polish for your finalist script

• Education Package
• Free 3-month Writer’s Room Membership
• Free Stage 32 Writing Lab of your choice with one-on-one mentoring with an executive
• 1 Free Stage 32 Class
• 1 Free Stage 32 Individual Certification
• 1 Free Stage 32 Webinar

SEMIFINALISTS: The Career Breakthrough Package - $1,000 Value

• Education Package
• Free 1-month Writer’s Room Membership
• 1 Free Stage 32 Class
• 1 Free Stage 32 Individual Certification
• 1 Free Stage 32 Webinar

QUARTERFINALISTS: The Career Elevation Package - $500 Value

• Education Package
  • Free 1-month Writer’s Room Membership
  • 1 Free Stage 32 Individual Certification
  • 1 Free webinar code

ALL ENTRANTS - $100 value

• Education
  • Free 1-month Writer’s Room Membership
  • 1 Free webinar code

In addition to all that, all writers receive continued support from the Stage 32 team, who work tirelessly to get you in front of decision-makers.

Our Period Piece Screenwriting Contest Winners See Results

Stage 32 has launched the careers of hundreds of writers over the last 12 years. Stage 32 has quickly emerged as the leading source for industry executives to uncover new talent! Is this your year to move the needle on your career?

Last year's contest winner, Patrick Connelly gained massive traction on his winning script GORBY & RONNIE DO REYKJAVIK, as he took a full slate of meetings in LA with Literary Managers, Development Execs, and Producers from Ravenwood Films, Gilbert Films, Gold Circle, and two Producers of Oscar-nominated films -- all actively working on and looking for period stories.

Our 6th Annual Feature Screenwriting winner, Jeff Galante signed with a manager at Primary Wave, and he is currently working on a slate of feature films with producers. Jeff's gone on to create/produce TV pilots for NBC and A&E and has consulted on projects for Ron Howard, Chris Moore, and Warner Bros animation.

Our 5th Annual Feature Screenwriting winner, Eric Jeske signed with a manager at Heroes & Villans Entertainment.

Still don't believe us? Previous contest winner Diana Wright was signed to The Cartel and Abrams Artists Agency! Check out her video here:

More Contest Winners would love to tell you why you should enter!

Previous winner, Christina Pamies, was signed by "Billion Dollar" Literary Manager, Jake Wagner. After that, he got her a paid gig with StudioCanal adapting the recently released film BAGHEAD, which was co-produced by The Picture Company and released via AMC+ Networks!

VIEW THE BAGHEAD (2024) TRAILER HERE! AVAILABLE NOW ON SHUDDER!

Winner Jonathan Jordan was signed by major literary agency Verve, and worked on a script currently in production through them. He has also signed with a manager and is currently working on a new film.

Our 4th Annual Comedy Contest winner, Greg Mania was signed by Cohn/Torgan Management, and has since published a memoir called Born To Be Public, which was named NPR’s Best Book of 2020.

Previous Contest Winner Layla O'Shea took meetings all over Los Angeles (and online) with Literary Managers, Producers, and Execs and is still going strong!

She shares her advice: "There is no one path or age limit when it comes to breaking in!"

Click the "Success Stories" link here for even more testimonials from our past winners!

J. Todd Harris (Judge) - Producer, Branded Pictures Entertainment

J. Todd Harris is a film producer, founder and president of the production studio Branded Pictures Entertainment. Harris has been a member of the Motion Picture Academy since 1999 and has produced over 50 films in his 4-decade spanning career. 

Todd moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and worked at TriStar Television before starting his own development fund called Skyline Entertainment Partners. He soon joined Davis Entertainment as an independent producer, where he stayed for 13 years, founding Davis Entertainment Filmworks, the company's independent film division. Partnered with John Davis, the company was based at 20th Century Fox. While there, he produced the first of many independent films, DENISE CALLS UP, which played the Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week and won a Special Mention for the Camera D'Or.

For three years, he was partnered with the actor Tim Daly in Daly-Harris Productions based at Paramount Pictures. He went on to produce five Sundance Film Festival entries, including BOTTLE SHOCK and THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, which was nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture, won two Golden Globe Awards, and received a 93% positive review rating from Rotten Tomatoes. In 2003, he joined Intellectual Properties Worldwide, where he executive produced PIRHANA 3D, which earned $83 million worldwide, in addition to a remake of IT'S ALIVE. Harris' most recent releases include SHEPHERD: THE STORY OF A JEWISH DOG, 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS, starring Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen, and the Aaron Sorkin film THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, which earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Baron Cohen.

Additional producing credits include the 2017 Frank Grillo led neo-noir action film WHEELMAN, which premiered on Netflix, the 2018 supernatural horror film FOLLOWED, and the action racing film SUPERCROSS, starring Steve Howey, Channing Tatum, Aaron Carter and Sophia Bush.

Harris is also founding board member of the Napa Valley Film Festival, which later inspired his interest in the 2008 dramedy film BOTTLE SHOCK, which starred Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman. 

Olivier Sultan (Judge) - Talent & Literary Agent, CAA

Olivier Sultan is a Talent & Literary Agent at leading entertainment agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), representing both established and emerging writers, directors, composers and designers including Academy Award winners Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton and Alex Dinelaris, Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Matthew Lopez, and Martyna Majok, Tony winners Stephen Daldry, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, David Yazbek, Bill T. Jones, David Rockwell and Derek McLane. 

Olivier's clients have created shows such as DOPESICK, EMPIRE, and OUTER RANGE, in addition to many more. His clients have worked on numerous prestige films like THE READER, THE FATHER, THE COLOR PURPLE remake, THE REVENANT, BIRDMAN, EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE, and THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY. His clients have also written on shows like SUCCESSION, GOSSIP GIRL, and IRMA VEP. 

Olivier is one of the top literary agents in the country, and he's always scouting for the next great screenwriters, directors, playwrights, and authors. He attended Brandeis University, followed by Yale Law School, and he has worked at CAA for the last 20 years.

Daniel Bobker (Judge) - Producer, Bobker Films Unlimited

Daniel Bobker is an experienced film executive and producer who's been producing movies for over the last 20 years through his company Bobker Films Unlimited.

With his own production company's focus on elevated storytelling, Daniel has produced standout films across genres, including revisionist Shakespeare drama OPHELIA that brought a female perspective to the Bard's most famous work, starring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, and Clive Owen, directed by Claire McCarthy; the fantasy adventure THE BROTHERS GRIMM, which debunked the roots of literature's most iconic fairy tale auteurs, starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and Lena Headey, directed by Terry Gilliam; and horror thriller THE SKELETON KEY that spun a subversive twist on Southern gothic terror, starring Kate Hudson, John Hurt, and Gena Rowlands, directed by Iain Softley. Bobker also produced the 2011 cult mystery thriller movie DREAM HOUSE, which starred Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz, and was distributed by Universal Pictures.

Daniel began his career in New York's publishing world, starting as an assistant editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux, where he worked on acclaimed books including William Steig's now ubiquitous favorite "Shrek!," Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney's "Collected Poems," and Fred Marcellino's adaptation of "Puss in Boots" which garnered Caldecott honors.

After rising through the editorial ranks at HarperCollins and William Morrow, he segued into the film industry as a literary VP for Brillstein-Grey Entertainment. Bobker then worked as a VP at Scott Rudin Productions, before relocating to Los Angeles to run Sony-based production company Ballyhoo, where he launched development of the novel ABOUT SCHMIDT that reached the screen as a film directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson.

Bobker grew up in New York, and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Creative Writing under acclaimed author Lorrie Moore.

Katharina Suckale (Judge) - Producer, Bombay Berlin Film Production

Katharina Suckale is a veteran international producer who has overseen co-productions between Europe, India, and the US on feature films, documentaries, TV series, and cross-media products. Recently, she produced the feature film RADDIUS-TRIJYA, which was picked up by MUBI and announced on SCREEN, and set up ONCE UPON A CRIME IN BORIVALI with Lotus Visual, announced in Variety.

Her feature film LOEV was screened at SXSW and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and was released exclusively for Netflix worldwide in 180 countries. Her feature film co-production THE ROAD TO MANDALAY won the Fedeora award at the Venice Film Festival, the Licorne d'Or in Amiens, and was released in theaters.

In television, Katharina is developing the series THE BIG B for Disney+ Hotstar in India announced in Variety, as well as a series for ZDF, ARD, and SONY and doing line production services in Europe and India.

Bombay Berlin Film Production aims to promote and support co-productions in film and media and be the home of creative people on all continents to support their projects.

Sam Barnett (Judge) - Producer, Venice Film Festival winner TATAMI

Sam Barnett is a feature film and television producer, most recently on the producing team of TATAMI, which premiered to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival and won the Brian Award and was nominated for the Venice Horizons Award. TATAMI was written by Iranian screenwriter Elham Erfani and co-directed by Israeli directors Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir. It was picked up for distribution by XYZ Films which was featured in Variety.

Sam was the Manager of Scripted Television at Keshet Studios who is a prolific production and distribution company that has worked on over a dozen award winning feature films like SODA, GREENER PASTURES and TALE OF THE SLEEPING GIANTS and over 30 television shows including. SUSPICION for Apple TV+, ROUGH DIAMONDS for Netflix, CUBA LIBRE for Canal+, and FURIA for Viaplay.

Sam began his career covering over 300 scripts for Lionsgate Studios and was the Production Coordinator on the Sundance Award-winning documentary BEYOND UTOPIA. He also worked in development at Big Beach.

As a producer Sam loves to think globally for opportunities. He excels at making film and TV that can travel between the U.S. and France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Japan. 

Dru Davis (Judge) - Producer, Artistic Fortune Entertainment

Dru Davis is a Producer, Manager, and the President of Artistic Fortune Entertainment. Dru has worked in the industry for over a decade and executive produced the films MONICA, distributed by IFC Films, THE COMEBACK TRAIL, directed by George Gallo and starring an all star cast including Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Morgan Freeman, and Zach Braff, in addition to the Aaron Sorkin film THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, which earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Baron Cohen.

Dru got his start in the industry as a child actor, and he appeared on shows like iCARLY, WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, and I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER. Dru later moved into casting after working with Disney Channel's VP of Casting Tina Treadwell, and he went on to cast the TV shows AWKWARD, THE 100, ALTERED CARBON, UNREAL, and SELENA: THE SERIES. He also did casting on the Simon West-William Goldman collaboration WILD CARD, starring Jason Statham, in addition to the films LIMELIGHT and PARDONED BY GRACE. 

A reliable executive producer working on a full slate of films, Dru also recently produced the vacation comedy film THE SWING OF THINGS, starring Luke Wilson and Glee's Chord Overstreet, which was distributed by LIONSGATE. 

Kate O'Hara (Judge) - Head of Development, Duck Soup Films

Kate O'Hara is the Head of Development for UK based company Duck Soup Films. She heads up their slate of TV and Film projects, and the company was recently featured in The Hollywood Reporter. She is developing projects for various broadcasters including BBC, BBC Films, Channel 4 and Film 4, and she was most recently the lead on developing the BBC1 three part 2024 drama series LOST BOYS & FAIRIES by Daf James featured in Deadline.

Kate was the iFeatures Executive at Creative England, a UK low budget feature film development lab aimed at 1st & 2nd time feature filmmakers funded by Creative England, BFI Film fund, BBC Films and Creative Skillset. While there Kate was the executive on 6 feature films: LADY MACBETH, THE LEVELING, APOSTASY, GODS OWN COUNTRY, THE GOOB and NORFOLK, SPACESHIP.

Kate was also the Development Executive for eOne UK working in TV Drama with writers and production companies developing original programs for international broadcast.

Kate began her career at Lifesize Pictures where she worked as an executive producing short films and on new talent schemes such as Cinema Extreme and Digital Shorts for the UK Film council.

ENTRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Void where prohibited by law.

This Stage 32 Contest is an international contest. Must be 18 years or older to submit.

Entrant agrees to Stage32.com terms and conditions.

This Stage 32 Contest is not a game of chance. All material is read and reviewed by industry professionals.

All quarterfinalists, semi-finalists, finalists and winners are subjectively determined by our judges.

There is no limit to the number of screenplays an Entrant can enter. The same screenplay cannot be submitted multiple times under different names. If so, you will be disqualified.

Entrant must not be an immediate family member or friend of any of the judges or their respective companies.

Entrant acknowledges that because of the judges' and mentors' position in the entertainment industry they receive numerous submissions of ideas, formats, stories, suggestions and the like and that many such submissions heretofore or hereafter received by them are similar to or identical to those developed by them or their employees or, if an agent, are otherwise available to them.

Entrant acknowledges that they will not be entitled to any compensation because of the use by judges or mentors of any such similar material.

Entrant acknowledges that no fiduciary or confidential relationship now exists between Entrant and judges or mentors, and Entrant further acknowledges that no such relationships are established between Entrant and judges or mentors by reason of this contest entry.

Entrants must submit screenplays and payment online.

Entrants must upload their submission within 72 hours of entry purchase.

Entry fees will not be returned or adjusted.

No waivers are available for this contest.

SCREENPLAY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Screenplays should be written in English and in standard industry format.

The rights to the Entrant’s screenplay should not have been previously optioned or sold.

The Entrant retains the rights to his or her screenplay at all times.

Entrant’s screenplay must not have been produced.

The screenplay can be submitted with or without a title page and/or contact information.

After a screenplay is entered, no new drafts or corrected pages can be made by the Entrant unless it is confirmed in our records that the Entrant has paid for the "Resubmission" option.

Screenplay must be submitted as a PDF document.

Screenplay must be the original work of the Entrant and may not be based whole or in part on any fictional or non-fictional material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced for which the Entrant does not have rights. Neither Stage 32 nor its judges investigates or attests to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights secured. By entering the competition, you are acknowledging that you have secured all necessary rights.

Using our new Feedback & Resubmission Option you will get 3-5 pages of coverage/notes back in 5-days with a guaranteed option to resubmit one (1) revised draft of your script up to 10 days after the Final Deadline! See what elements of your script are working and what still needs to be developed. You can position yourself for the best chance of success - all for an additional fee of only $99.

This option is good for a one-time use and is non-refundable/non-transferable if you do not enter an updated draft. Updated drafts will need to be sent to contests@stage32.com to be scored.