Screenwriting : Can film festival wins push a writer's career? I have several so hoping for good mojo. Your thoughts... by Richard Heard

Absolutely Richard Heard. Festivals definitely can open doors in a writer's career. Wins are always impressive and show people you can stand out from the pack. Winning is also great marketing for you as a writer, as its an auspice that can help you get read more frequently. They can be useful for sure and winning obviously has the most benefit

Thanks Pat. Cool

Short answer - It depends.Winning a major contest/festival can immediately give you a leg up into the industry. Winning smaller or independent contests/festivals are good for the resume but may or may not help you break into the industry. Its all about skill, luck and tenacity. One contest win I had over a year ago got me a writing assignment a few months ago. I'm waiting to hear if the film ever gets made.

I've had luck finding another writing assignment that I'm currently working on. I've been writing for over 10 years, but if I had given up after my first, second or even my tenth year of writing, I would never have gotten these two opportunities.

Contest and festivals can help but don't count on them being the be-all-end-all of success. It takes work. Remember, overnight success is merely the culmination of years of work and suffering in the dark before your talent is suddenly thrust into the light.

Yes Anthony... I have experienced winning small, medium festivals. The biggest accolade being Big Apple Film Festival. Also, I've had the suffering years you mentioned and didn't quit.. I am hoping all the eggs I have in baskets will produce multiple chickens

I've won 3. Best way I can put it is that it's like getting a College Degree,. Great to win the award, to get the praise, but does not guarantee going on to the next step. With my scripts that won, I submitted them to other festivals and was not even chosen. (??) Very subjective. For a lot of the festivals, just a way for them to make money.

Thanks for that feedback Richard...

It can help build pedigree, which can help you with leveling up. The secret is to treat your writing like a business endeavor.

You should be choosy with contest and (like characters) have a goal. I scanned many over the last couple years, picked some good-looking ones to get pro-level feedback. All the while I got familiar with the really high level ones that I'll submit to once my work is up to scratch.

Anyone telling you they are effective needs to be able to back it up with facts. For over ten years now, I've watched writers tell each other things like festivals work with substance to those claims other than speculation.

There's a lot on contextual elements to consider too. Which festivals? Appealing to what demographic of industry members? What type of success?

My feeling is that things like festivals should not be valued in terms of kicking off a career. That doesn't really happen. In terms of validation, networking, and experience though - there's value there.

All awards are good awards, in my view. They're independent proof that people besides yourself (and those who know you) like your writing. That's invaluable in many ways - not least the impetus to have belief and keep going in this sometimes heartbreaking endeavour. You can quote awards in pitches to get a nod. You can put them on author bios. And if you rack up a few awards across different scripts, well, then you're not just a one-trick pony. Some competitions may have more brand cache than others, but none will get you greenlit. None will open the gates of major studios. None, really, are a guarantee of anything. Use them as you see them benefitting you, and make the system work for you.

They're a good thing to add when pitching yourself or a project, as its an indication to the person you're pitching to that others have read your work and like it.