More info coming soon
We welcome screenwriter Kari Stringham-Drake (SEVERANCE, LOST IN SPACE) as Grand Prize Mentor for this year's competition. Kari will select one writer or writing team from our finalists to connect with for virtual meetings and script feedback.
More info coming soon
Signed with a literary manager
"When the phone isn't ringing, and your work isn't selling, it's very easy to doubt — to wonder, "Am I good at this?" "Was I ever good at this?" And that's not something you may be able to answer. After some initial success and some near misses (hits?), I felt like my star had completely burnt out. And, just before the ScreenCraft win, I had parted ways with my long-time manager, so in many ways, I felt like I was back at the beginning, staring at this impossibly steep mountain, having to climb it all over again. I’ve been aware of ScreenCraft for a long time and have entered the competition over the years. And, in a crowded field, ScreenCraft has always come across as one of the legit organizations in the contest space. I enjoyed chatting and working with ScreenCraft."
Signed with Manager at Heroes and Villains Entertainment
"This is my first script, so I was brand new! I’d always wanted to write, but hadn’t put myself out there yet. So taking the step to open my work up to contests was a vulnerable one. After winning, I grew confidence and a thicker skin. I spoke with a producer from my jury who was generous and encouraging, and found my manager whom I adore, as well as the producers who are developing my script into a feature. It is truly a lifelong dream realized. Put yourself out there. It is NEVER too late. I’d recommend ScreenCraft to anyone to hone their skills, work on receiving feedback, and find support and connections in the industry. The ScreenCraft staff and judges are amazingly kind, and their website and emails are a great source of education. What a precious resource for screenwriters starting in the industry!"
Hired to write a feature for an acclaimed director
"I grew up in a lower-middle-class household outside a God-fearing rural community in western Wisconsin. Both of my parents grew up on farms and most of my relatives still work in the agricultural field. Suffice to say, the career path of “screenwriter” seemed nothing more than an absurd pipe dream from the moment the thought entered my brain. I started at the very bottom of the proverbial barrel, with no connections, little in the way of support, and barely a sliver of light to give me hope down in the mire — the only thing I could do was write myself out. The biggest things that drew me to ScreenCraft were the general word-of-mouth and the amount of genre specificity baked into the competitions to ensure you’re swimming in the right pool. Weeding through screenwriting contests to find the right ones, especially early on in your career, can be daunting; I’ve found that the ones with concrete anecdotal support from real people in your community are often the best bets and ScreenCraft was the cream of the crop in that regard. The most important thing I’d love to impart on myself a few years ago is to reach out to more peers. The connections that have been the most fruitful have been those with fellow filmmakers. "
Signed with Manager at Sugar23
"I was in constant communication with the ScreenCraft team, seeking advice and looking for guidance on how to navigate this very new situation for me and they couldn’t have been more helpful. I was fortunate enough to win the Sci-Fi competition and within 24 hours had been contacted by several managers who had seen someone re-tweet the notification of my win. A few weeks later I signed with my manager. A month later I had agents. Three months after that, I was flying into LA where I took around 40 generals in the space of two weeks (!). And it all started by taking a chance, a lot of luck, and this competition."
Finalist script, RUSALKA, now in casting and production
"I had some early success, that lead me to believe it all might come easy for me, but when it didn’t pan out and I faced the rather difficult realization I was not going to break early. This was was my first big hurdle, I had to answer the question, “Can I persevere? Am I in this for the long haul?" I persevered. And I am still grinding. Screencraft provided a real point of validation. As a repeat finalist it has offered me some “proof“ that my work can stand up to both scrutiny and competition. That’s a great feeling. Secondarily, it gave me another reason to reach out to potential agents and producers, which absolutely proved useful. "
Signed a shopping agreement
"I think my career has had a lot of little breakthrough moments. You encounter "No" all the time and the only way to get past all the "No" is to keep putting yourself and your work out there until someone says "Yes! I love it!". Every time I've encountered a road block I just go back to my work, remind myself what I found so exciting about it when I created it, and then take that enthusiasm on to the next opportunity. Your passion about your work is what breaks down any wall you encounter. That's how I've made my breakthroughs, and they've usually come from totally unexpected places. I was drawn to ScreenCraft because it offers such a diverse array of genre and format competitions and feedback. I write a lot of mixed genre material and getting ScreenCraft feedback is a great way to feel out if my scripts are leaning in any particular direction and how to maximize that through my storytelling."
November 22 | by Ken Miyamoto
Ah, fair wanderer of distant realms! Thou seeketh to weave a tale of fantasy, yet find thyself adrift in a sea of choices of realms...
November 14 | by Ken Miyamoto
Utopia is a narrative term created by writer Sir Thomas More as the title of his fictional political satire published in 1516. It created the...
May 31 | by Ken Miyamoto
The central character in the TV adaptation of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi video game The Last of Us is Joel Miller. He is a multi-layered antihero...
May 1 | by David Young
Sci-fi and fantasy move audiences because it shows reality in touch with something beyond their normal view. Worlds of these genres inspire wonder or even...
The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria:
In addition to the scoring criteria for the script, ScreenCraft may conduct interviews and send questionnaires to learn more about the entrant, their voice, perspective, and goals to help identify the winning projects. Top scripts are read by the industry jury who votes for their favorite scripts at their sole discretion.
ScreenCraft Add-on Prize Selection:
Criteria for Winners and Finalists:
More info coming soon