Film Independent Screenwriting Lab
Entry Fee: Free-$65
Submission Period: July 19-September 1 (September 14 for Film Independent members)
Film Independent, perhaps best known for the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, champions independent storytelling from artists who personify “diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision,” as the group explains online. Its Screenwriting Lab is open to writers with a completed draft of the feature they hope to workshop during the program.
Those selected as Screenwriting Fellows will get to take part in a two-week workshop in Los Angeles, early in the year, and will be paired with a creative advisor who will help develop the idea in one-on-one and group sessions. They will also meet with industry veterans who can help them learn the craft and business of screenwriting. Guest speakers will offer further insights, and a final pitch event gives fellows the chance to get individualized feedback from executives.
Filmmakers should also take a close look at Film Independent’s Project Involve, in which creators from different fields, including writing, directing and cinematography, collaborate to create a short film.
Entry Fee: $50-80
Submission Period: Screencraft has multiple contests throughout the year
Screencraft cultivates genre-specific relationships, and winners get introductions to managers, accepted into the Screencraft development program, and a $1,000 cash prize.
Screencraft also offers a Screenwriting Fellowship, where you will not only get meetings with execs from heavy-hitting production companies, but can also connect with industry professionals and mentors. Recent mentors include Julie Plec (Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Roswell), David Rabinowitz (Oscar-winning screenwriter of BlacKkKlansman), and Javier “Javi” Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, Cowboy Bebop).
Entry Fee: $45-70
Submission Period: Script Pipeline has multiple contests throughout the year
Script Pipeline has a variety of competitions, including TV Writing, First Look, Idea Contest, and its Screenwriting competition. One thing that makes it unique is that it works hard to help not just finalists, but quarterfinalists.
“We decided recently to limit our quarterfinalist selections, work with those writers further, and give them an opportunity to connect with reps and producers. It’s something I wish more competitions and fellowships offered, to bring further weight to what our small sector of the industry accomplishes,” senior executive Matt Misetich told MovieMaker.
Screenwriter Crosby Selander says landing as a finalist “led to hundreds of meetings. All of this during COVID. Now I’m in active development at Legendary with a director attached, and I’m developing a television show for Village Roadshow. All because Script Pipeline championed a script that I was ready to give up on. Script Pipeline is the real deal.”
Joslyn Jensen, a script reader at Slamdance. Photo by Frank Mosley
Entry Fee: $30-115
Submission Period: February 28-July 26
Slamdance’s screenplay competition, like the Slamdance Film Festival overall, looks for emerging writers with bold, uncompromising voices — and doesn’t mind if those voices are a little raw. If you don’t like screenwriting formulas and despise Hollywood cliches, this is the competition for you.
Also read: 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2022
“Slamdance hires readers from across the globe to search for immersive, original and well-crafted screenplays,” says Slamdance reader Joslyn Jensen. “I’m excited by stories that are raw and uncompromising, with well-rounded, three-dimensional characters — so if you love your work-in-progress but fear that it’s too out there to be embraced by the Hollywood overlords, it’s probably right up our alley!”
Entry Fee: $38-50
Submission Period: December 15-February 20
Stowe Narrative Labs takes place over four days, and focuses on everything from story to pitching to development to production to finance to distribution. The Stowe Mentors don’t just give you notes — they comb your script to offer feedback on story structure, theme, character and genre.
Past mentors have included Alex Boden (Cloud Atlas, Sense8), David Magee (Finding Neverland, Life of Pi), and Amy Hobby (Secretary, What Happened, Miss Simone?)
It costs $2,500 to participate, but Stowe offers financial support and fellowships.
“Some of the writers I met there are not only now some of my closest friends, but have connected me with numerous professional opportunities. A great weekend getaway to focus on my work with other interesting artists,” says 2019 Stowe Narrative Lab Fellow David Wappel.
Main image designed by Ryan Ward / Shutterstock
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