More info coming soon
The Grand Prize Winner this year will receive a mentorship with Carlos López Estrada, the Academy Award nominated filmmaker behind RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON and BLINDSPOTTING.
Carlos’s debut film, BLINDSPOTTING earned him a nomination from the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film. He also directed the films SUMMERTIME and RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, the latter of which was a nominee for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards in 2021. Through his production company Antigravity Academy, he produced the film DIDI which won the audience award at Sundance in 2024.
The Runner Up for this year's will receive a mentorship meeting with Academy Award nominated producer Maria Gracia Turgeon
Canadian producer and two-time Academy Award nominee Maria Gracia Turgeon has produced highly successful short films through her company Midi La Unit, including FAUVE and BROTHERHOOD, both of which were nominated for Best Short Film at the Academy Awards.
Staffed on a Freeform series
"When I was told I needed to prepare pitches for the final interview of the Disney Writers program, I asked the Screencraft team if I could practice on them. They were insightful and encouraging which was so helpful when I thought I was going to die of nerves. With every year you are going to learn more, experience more, and practice your craft more, all of which will make you better. Be kind to yourself, but be persistent and find ways to create your own opportunities, because there is no straight path. And never compare yourself to others, even though sometimes it's really hard not to."
Signed option agreement
"I typically don’t write something unless I know I’m able to self-produce it on a shoe-string budget. But over the last few years, the stories I wanted to tell got more complex. This is a deeply personal script that I wrote in honor of my mother, and as I started the budgeting process I realized that I didn’t want to compromise on its potential to be beautifully executed and highly impactful. I started exploring funding avenues and the ScreenCraft Short Film Competition came up. Opportunities for short films are rare, and I loved how in addition to the cash prize, ScreenCraft offered mentorship and career support."
Signed with a literary manager
"When I saw ScreenCraft Comedy open up, I felt like this could be the perfect exposure to connect me with the right reps. And it did! This win pushed me over the edge and I was linked with Najeeb Khuda at Zero Gravity who is incredible."
October 12 | by Ken Miyamoto
A short script can't just be a feature condensed into smaller perimeters — the same way a feature script can't just be a lengthened short. They...
August 13 | by Ken Miyamoto
Screenwriters are always told what they should do during a pitch — but what are the things they should not do? Knowledge is power. You...
May 13 | by ScreenCraft
Writer, Director and Producer Dante Russo, winner of 2015's ScreenCraft Short Screenplay Contest (which is currently open for entries until August 15th), also a fellow from the 2016...
September 27 | by David Young
Everyone needs a good scare now and again. Over the years, we’ve all found a 6-minute or half-hour-long horror film that gave us pause, made...
The reading and judging of the scripts will be 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. Selected Finalist scripts are read by the industry jury who votes for their favorite scripts at their sole discretion.
Criteria for Winners and Finalists:
More info coming soon