Action On The Side is a collaborative weekend filmmaking project designed to get people together and creating a short film in a month. The project has been running since July 2013 and has produced 30 short films.

This Script Award is designed for scriptwriters to develop their scriptwriting and pitching skills. We are supporting writers to pitch their scripts for funding. Receive feedback and support from our experienced team.

Submit your short film script for consideration for our Award.

Awards & Prizes

The successful UNPRODUCED script will receive £120, at least one virtual workshop on how to produce the script into a film.

The successful PRODUCED script will receive £100 and at least one virtual workshop on distributing the film or career development.

The winners and finalists in each category will receive a digital certificate, laurels, and short feedback on their script.

The winning scripts will be announced on the AOTS website and social media sites.

Rules & Terms

The script must be a maximum 10 pages (excluding title page).
Short film scripts must be original content or adapted from a story in the public domain.

PRODUCED SCRIPTS
These are scripts that are either completed (e.g. shot, edited) or are currently in the process to be made (preproduction, production, postproduction).

If there is a completed film, submit the script and a video link.
If the film is in the process of being completed, submit the script and pitching material (e.g. look book, treatment)

UNPRODUCED SCRIPTS
These are scripts that have not been made and are not in the process of being made.

Submissions for unproduced scripts must be accompanied by a pitch video, uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo, maximum 8 mins. In the pitch video:

- introduce yourself
- introduce the concept with a 1-2 sentence logline
- outline key beats in the story
- outline how many cast, what locations, and how many scenes are in the film
- challenges with making this film (e.g. location, actors).

The video pitch does not have to have high production value: speaking to camera or slides with a voice-over are sufficient.

1 Review
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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  • Chloe Banks

    Fabulous to have a festival that is so good at communication - keeps to their timeline and sends regular friendly emails etc. They also award actual prizes which isn't always the case - and those prizes are awarded promptly too. Had a great experience in the first year of this one and would definitely recommend entering.

    July 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the glowing review, Chloe. We look forward to seeing your future submissions as well