Was told the best way to get traction for my current project was to enter it into contests and lots of them. Is this true? and what are some of the best contests out there to enter?
Screenwriting : Writing Contests by Mark Mantastic
Writing Contests
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Script Pipeline, Scriptapalooza, Nicholl's Fellowship, Screencraft, Nashville Film Festival, Austin Film Festival are the best
Thank you Sonibel! Submitted it to Scriptapalooza today along with the LA Screenwriters logline contest. But always good to know the rest. I appreciate your help
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Not lots of them - the best ones. Also, query managers.
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Mark, I must stress some caution; screenwriting competitions are like playing subjective lotteries. Your script may place high in one and not even make the cut in another. They can be a HUGE waste of money, especially if your script is not "conventional." It's all based on opinion. Therefore it's best to only enter reputable competitions that offer real, tangible benefits for placing high or winning. A great one to enter is THE PAGE, because it's grouped into genres -- dramas compete against other dramas; thrillers against thrillers, et cetera. It's also highly regarded by the industry. Stage 32 Happy Writers puts together some good competitions as well; high placement gives writers exposure and personal meetings with executives. So, do your research and be very very selective. :) Best of luck!
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Nicholl, PAGE, Austin, Final Draft Big Break, Scriptapalooza, Script Pipeline, Sundance/Slamdance, TrackingB, Tracking-Board, Screencraft.. those are the biggest/best. There's probably another 5-6 that are also OK like Bluecat, Stage 32, Fresh Voices, Nashville, etc.
Thank you all for your feedback. Still learning the best ways to get stuff out there.
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I'm with Beth, Page contest.
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Just my 2 cents: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Screenwriting-Contests-that...
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Ooh, yeah, um... I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you-all there. As a later thread has already cited, quite a few scripts that made fine movies got terrible coverage early on, and it was only with much perseverance that they got produced at all. Conversely, it cannot be argued that a huge number of cr@p movies we've been subjected to lately didn't get glowing coverage and/or place high in competitions. I have entered quite a few 2015-2016 script competitions, and have done quite well so far, pulling Finalist in about 25% of them. Such positive validation more than offsets the sh!tty and unhelpful commentary from competition readers, or the "Sorry, Charlie" frank rejections from competitions that don't even give notes. Pinning all one's hopes on a couple of overcrowded top-drawer competitions is unwise: the more the merrier is a better approach, IMO! So what if my winning competitions be deemed insignificant compared to the name-brands? Who says that the latter's readers or judges are better, fairer, or more insightful than the former's? I have no intention of entering elitist competitions like PAGE that specifically exclude adaptations, which even Hollywood cynics must admit often make the best movies and have instant draw.