This screenplay competition seeks to honor great stories in short and feature-length scripts. Submissions are judged on story, structure, and script format.

Short Screenplays - Up to 30 pages.
Feature Screenplays - Up to 120 pages.

SEMI-FINALISTS
Semi-Finalists will be announced by Nov 15, 2025 and receive digital laurels.

FINALISTS
Finalists will be announced by Nov 25, 2025 and receive digital laurels.

WINNERS
Best Short Script and Best Feature Script winners will be announced by December 1, 2025. Winners will receive a physical trophy (shipped free of charge) plus digital laurels.

Submissions that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Refunds are not issued to disqualified submissions, so please make sure that your entry is compliant with the competition rules before submitting.

1. All entries must be written in English.

2. All entries must be sent via FilmFreeway. Please do not send any hard copies or downloadable files to us directly.

3. Title Pages are not counted as part of the total page count of a submission.

4. Entries are assigned to judges shortly after they have been received, so any updated drafts should be submitted as a separate entry. If you change the files on your original submission after entering this competition, we cannot guarantee that the newer one will be the one that is evaluated by the jury.

5. All entries must be original works. No sequels, prequels, “fan films” or adaptations unless adapted from the film-maker’s own original story/novel or a work that is the public domain.

6. There is no age restriction on screenplays. but they must be un-produced and not under option at the time of the competition.

7. Only the writer may submit. The person submitting a project to this competition affirms that he/she is the writer of the work and he/she remains responsible before the law. In the case of multiple writers, only one need to submit the work but all authors must be credited on the entry and have agreed to enter this competition.

8. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim made by you or any third party due to or arising out of project(s) you submit to this competition. You understand that there are thousands of film-makers, writers and other artists and the similarities in story, characters, etc... of two or more submissions are certainly a possibility. The contest directors and judges will not knowingly share your submission with any third party.

9. The jury decisions are final and may not be disputed.

10. Submission fees must be in U.S. dollars. These fees are non-refundable, even in the case of disqualification or withdrawal of an entry. There are no exceptions to this policy.

11. We do not offer student discounts or hardship waivers for the submission fees. There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.

12. You may submit more than one project, but each must be submitted with a separate fee. There are no discounts for multiple submissions.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Excellent festival. Outstanding communication throughout the judging process. Hoping to be part of it again in 2025!

    November 2024
  • Gary Anderson

    Honored to have my feature screenplay, Suckle, chosen as a finalist. Definitely worth entering. Thanks to the folks at Grande Stories.

    November 2024
  • So exciting to have our screenplay, “The Merriest of All Christmases” awarded as a FINALIST in the company of such incredible writers. So grateful to staff and organizers of this notable Festival.

    November 2024
  • Kelly Ann Guglietti

    I am so flattered to have won The Best Short Screenplay for the Fall of 2023. I had just started submitting my short to various festivals, before I received notifications of moving up the ranks to that of winner. Thank you so much!

    February 2024
  • This was a great opportunity to see if my screenplay is appreaciated by others. I realize I still have more work to do, but I'm grateful to Grande Stories for having this competition.

    February 2024