DTLA FILM FESTIVAL - 16th Annual Screenplay Contest

SCREENPLAY CONTEST

The 16th annual DTLA Film Festival – a leading showcase for independent cinema in Los Angeles – has announced its call for entries for its Screenwriting Contest. Scripts for feature-length and short films and TV pilot scripts are now being accepted.

New to the contest this year are awards for Best Topical Script (film or TV), which incorporate into the story one of the following themes:
• Immigration
• The Unhoused
• A.I.’s Impact
• Climate Crisis
• Reproductive Rights

Also new this year is an award for Best Pitch Deck or Lookbook, a nod to what has become an essential tool for writers in the marketing of their film-TV projects.

ABOUT DTLA FILM FESTIVALS (Los Angeles)

Set in one of the defining urban centers of the world, DTLA Film Festival (Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles) has as its mission to exhibit a wide array of independent film and filmmakers from throughout the U.S. and abroad with a primary focus on those that explore the history, architecture, cultural diversity and contemporary social and political issues of the modern urban landscape.

We also seek to draw worldwide attention to Downtown LA as the nexus of the creative capital of the world where film, music, video games and digital entertainment media converge.

DTLA Film Festival was established in 2008 and proclaimed by L.A. Weekly to be among the Top 5 Film Festivals in Los Angeles. The festival celebrates the renaissance of Downtown LA (DTLA) in all its facets - its historic movie palaces, its legendary cultural institutions, its thriving business and residential communities, and its unique ethnic-cultural diversity.

DTLA is in the midst of a historic building boom not seen since the 1920s. Dozens of restaurants, lounges, galleries and hotels continue to open in this great city. Established digital and other corporate brands, creative agencies and high-tech start-ups are setting up shop. DTLA is the most exciting place to be in Los Angeles - its new creative nexus - and DTLA Film Fest is the largest film event in DTLA. DTLAFF was just awarded best Annual Event by Downtown News.

Since 2008 the festival has screened more than a thousand narrative and documentary features and shorts. We embrace diversity in front of and behind the camera. We lean toward films that push the creative envelope and through the years we've honored an array of artists who have contributed to independent cinema: Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Malcom McDowell, John Hawkes, Laura Dern, Mark Ruffalo, Charles Burnett, Penelope Spheeris, Allison Anders and Robert Altman.

Our audiences are comprised of entertainment industry professionals: producers, agents, filmmakers, film financiers and other film, music, TV, video game, Internet, marketing, social media influencers, fashion industry creatives and cinephiles. Films at our festival enjoy the advantage of being seen by an array of the aforementioned industries that can make a difference in your film and your career. We are also known for our parties, and panels where everyone can network and have the full festival experience.

Our primary screening venue is Regal L.A. Live Stadium 14, in Downtown Los Angeles, featuring state-of-the-art a/v equipment and facilities. The multiplex is part of the larger L.A. Live Entertainment Complex featuring 25 restaurants and lounges as well as the Grammy Museum, the Staples Center and other entertainment venues. DTLA is the hub of Los Angeles, and L.A. Live is the hub of DTLA.

The majority of the festival's 100+ films screening annually make their Los Angeles theatrical premieres at the festival. DTLA Film Fest remains committed to its tradition of fearless innovation and diversity in programming.