ACADEMY NICHOLL SCREENWRITING COMPETITION
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
INFO: Each year, the Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriters. To enter, submit a feature length screenplay and entry fee via the online application when the competition is open for submissions. Fellowship winners are invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars and expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during the Fellowship year.
QUALIFICATIONS: Screenwriters who have not earned more than $25,000 writing fictional work for film or television. Entry scripts must be the original work of one writer, or of two writers who collaborated equally, and must be written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible.
PRIZES: Up to five $35,000 fellowships are awarded each year to promising new screenwriters. From the program’s inception in 1986 through 2019, $4.58 million has been awarded to 176 writers.
FELLOWSHIP OBLIGATIONS: Up to five fellows in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition will be invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars in November. Fellowship recipients will be expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during the fellowship year. Fellowship payments will be made quarterly subject to satisfactory progress of the recipient’s work, as judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee. The Academy reserves the right to grant no awards if, in the opinion of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, no entry is of sufficient merit.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Original feature film screenplay (no shorter than 70 pages and no longer than 160 pages) in PDF format only
Completed online application form
Early entry fee of US$48 (by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 6) or regular deadline entry fee of US$63 (by 11:59 p.m. PT on April 9) or late deadline entry fee of US$88 (by 11:59 p.m. PT on May 1).
DEADLINE / SUBMISSION FEE: May 1, 2020 ($88 entry fee)
Full-time students at an accredited college/university are eligible for a discount on their entry fee in 2020. Indicate your status in the demographic section of your online application. The discount will be offered in the payment section.
https://www.oscars.org/nicholl/about
Shore Scripts Short Film Fund
INFO: The Shore Scripts Short Film Fund offers an opportunity for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers to have their short film financed and produced.
The Fund welcomes submissions from screenwriters and filmmakers from around the world. We accept short scripts, animations, and proof of concept shorts for TV pilots and features.
PRIZE: The Grand Prize Winner will receive:
$10-$15K Production Budget Grant
Free Camera Equipment from ARRI Rental
Full Production Support
DEADLINE / SUBMISSION FEES: May 2, 2020 ($50 - $175)
https://www.shorescripts.com/shortfilmfund/#link_prizes
2020 Scriptapalooza Fellowship
INFO: The Fellowship Program was developed for dedicated writers and help further their creative process and skills. Writing in itself is a journey and we would like to facilitate the process by giving the fellows the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded professionals and individuals.
Fellowship Recipient Will Receive:
All expenses paid to a Robert McKee Story Seminar.
Airfare and Hotel to Los Angeles or New York.
6 month mentorship with Scriptapalooza mentor.
Access to over 90 producers thru Scriptapalooza's network.
1 year subscription to Scriptation.
5 Recipients Will Receive:
3 month mentorship with Scriptapalooza mentor.
Access to over 90 producers thru Scriptapalooza's network.
We will offer advice, guidance and direction on your script.
1 year subscription to Scriptation.
Fellowship Fees:
Fellowship entry only $45
Fellowship entry with 4-5 pages of feedback $155
DEADLINE: May 13, 2020
https://fellowship.scriptapalooza.com/
REEL SISTERS OF THE DIASPORA FILM FESTIVAL & LECTURE SERIES
INFO: The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series is a two-day annual film festival founded by African Voices magazine and LIU's Media Arts Dept., Brooklyn Campus. Reel Sisters has expanded to include a six week season with a kick off in Harlem and awards ceremony. Established in 1997, Reel Sisters (www.reelsisters.org) is dedicated to providing opportunities for women of color to advance their careers in the film industry. Reel Sisters accepts films written, directed, or produced by women/non-binary filmmakers of color. Reel Sisters is the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women of color across the globe.
Reel Sisters 23 Anniversary event will take place from Oct. 24-25, 2020 in NYC. Reel Sisters is a competitive festival and films are selected by an independent jury. Please submit films early as deadlines are final. The festival provides quality customer service and does not offer fee waivers. The fee helps pay for a small fraction of the administrative costs for running a professional film festival.
Reel Sisters accepts all genres and formats with a special interest in submissions from animated and web series producers. Send us films that will make our audience “cry, dance, laugh, sing and explore." Reel Sisters is an Academy Qualifying Film Festival for Short Narratives. The festival curates events throughout the year so all entries will be considered for Reel Sisters Tea & Cinema series. Join our worldwide community of film professionals in celebrating stories produced, directed and written by women of color!
REEL SISTERS HIGHLIGHTS
• Listed in Film Daily's Top 10 Women Centered Film Festivals (2018)
https://filmdaily.co/news/female-focused-film-festivals/
• Profiled in Bushwick Daily, Shadow & Act, Film Daily, the Washington Post and Black Enterprise for presenting outstanding films by women of color from across the globe!
• Reel Sisters is a top tier film festival that provides a chance for women to gain distribution, network and access to opportunities in the film industry.
Awards & Prizes
Reel Sisters screens original films by women across the globe each year — the festival has screened over 5,000 films since its inception. Awards for Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, Best Experimental, Best Animation, Best Feature, Best Short, Best Narrative, Best Web Series, Best Original Soundtrack and the Reel Sisters Spirit Award are selected by an independent jury composed of filmmakers, community leaders and artists. In 2016, Reel Sisters presented the Reel Sisters/Centric Awards, which includes a distribution deal with Centric/BET Networks. The cash awards depend on our funding level. It was a pleasure to bring back our scholarship awards to the film festival and with your support we can continue this tradition.
CASH AWARDS FOR 2020
Best Narrative Short - $1,000
Best Director - $500
Best Screenplay - $300
Best Animation - $200
DEADLINES:
Regular - May 15, 2020
Extended - June 15, 2020
https://filmfreeway.com/ReelSistersoftheDiasporaFilmFestival
Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival
INFO: The ttff seeks to highlight excellence in filmmaking through the exhibition of fiction and documentary feature and short films made in T&T, the Caribbean and its diaspora. We therefore accept submissions from Caribbean filmmakers, Caribbean filmmakers in the diaspora, and international filmmakers with films from or about the Caribbean or its diaspora.
Submissions must have been completed after 01 January 2018.
Films screened in competition are eligible for one or more jury prizes. There are also several people’s choice awards. All submissions must be made online, via FilmFreeway.
Awards & Prizes
Jury Prize: Best Narrative Feature
Jury Prize: Best Documentary Feature
Jury Prize: Best Narrative Short
Jury Prize: Best Documentary Short
Jury Prize: Best Student Film
Jury Prize: Best Experimental Film
Youth Jury Prize: Best Feature-length Film
People's Choice: Best TT Feature
People's Choice: Best TT Short
Spirit of Trinidad & Tobago Award
DEADLINE: May 15, 2020
WeScreenplay Shorts Screenwriting Competition
INFO: The WeScreenplay Shorts Competition is dedicated to connecting talented short film writers with Oscar-nominated short film directors and creators for advice on how to create emotionally impactful storytelling in short-form content.
WeScreenplay believes that every entrant of a contest should benefit from entering – whether the writer wins or not. That is why we offer one page of feedback on every short script that is entered.
PRIZES + BENEFITS:
The focus of short scripts is to get them produced to highlight the writer’s skill. As such, the prize is particularly focused on the Oscar contenders in the jury.
The top scripts will receive:
Notes from the Oscar-nominated filmmakers in the WeScreenplay Shorts Jury!
Plus, the Grand Prize Winner receives up to $3,000 in crowdsource matching funding for your short screenplay.
DEADLINE / ENTRY FEES:
Regular: May 15, 2020
Late: June 15, 2020
Final: July 15, 2020
CINEODYSSEY FILM FESTIVAL
INFO: The CineOdyssey Film Festival showcases diverse, contemporary films from around the world, featuring cutting edge works by filmmakers of color from the African, Caribbean, Latino, Asian, and Native American diasporas, as well as the U.S.
It serves to bring together diverse audiences, bridge cultural understanding, and encourage the artistic development of aspiring filmmakers. Through workshops, panel discussions, celebrated guest speakers, and educational programming throughout the year, the festival's intent is to entertain, enlighten, empower, and engage. The impressive lineup of films boldly address the multicultural issues of today, which meet at the intersection of race, class, and gender, as well as celebrating the creative craft of the art form.
AWARDS CATEGORIES:
Best Feature Film
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Short Film
Best Student Film
Best Regional Film (North Carolina or South Carolina, short or feature)
Best Documentary Film
Best Animated Film
Best Smartphone Film
Best Web Series
DEADLINE: May 22, 2020