San Francisco International Screenwriting Competition & Film Awards

Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only through our partner websites like FilmFreeway.

No limit to the length of the projects you submit. Projects can be in script or treatment form.

No limit to the number of projects you may submit.

Scripts must be written in English, but can be in any film or television genre in either script or treatment form.

Entry fees for screenplay entries are posted on our partner websites and are non refundable.

Employees and family members of the film festival are not eligible.

Entrants must be 18 years or older to enter the contest. Misrepresentation of age, upon discovery, will forfeit entry and fees to the contest.

Entries must be received on or before the deadlines and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable

All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).

All entries must be the original, and unpublished, un-produced, un-optioned work of the entrant. The entrant ensures that he or she is the sole author of the work and that it does not infringe on any existing copyright.

All winners are responsible for their own U.S. income tax withholding.

The competition, its judges, and its officers accept no liability whatsoever for any claims of damages, real or perceived, by any entrant(s) as a result of their participation in this contest.

Industry distribution should in no way be interpreted as a guarantee of future representation or success. Whether or not industry partners choose to work with finalists, or even contact finalists, is done so at the sole discretion of each and every individual company. We can not force our industry partners to option your property and or sign you as a client.

Contest is void where prohibited by law.

All entrants must be eighteen years of age.

All people of all shapes and sizes from anywhere in the world are eligible; however all material submitted must be in English.

Material submitted to other competitions or contests is eligible.

Professional writers, journalists, poets, and previous contest winners are eligible.

There are no requirements as to when the material was written.

Material must be your original work.

The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.

We do not provide feedback, notes, grades, or rankings of any kind. We assume you already know how to write at a professional level and that is why you are entering this contest.

By submitting your material you agree to be added to our email list, but can remove yourself by unsubscribing at anytime.

This festival is produced by Cinema Public House, a US based company that produces festivals, events, and competitions all over the world.

Please note that the San Francisco International Screenwriting Competition is in no way affiliated with any other film festival, screenwriting competition, film school, or film related enterprise or organization including, but not limited to SIFF, ACT, SFIA, the City of San Francisco, or any other civic organization.

By submitting your material you agree to be added to our email list, but can remove yourself by unsubscribing at anytime.

SFISC reserves the right to revoke recognition status at any time with or without cause.
Only our Grand Prize Winner and top two Finalists will receive industry distribution and prizes. Semi-Finalists will only be rewarded by recognition like in most screenwriting competitions.

Past prizes listed in winner reviews should not be construed as current prizes. All current prizes are spelled out on our website. We also do not reveal the names of recipients on our industry distribution list.

All judging is done at our sole discretion. We may have outside input, but all judging and all decisions are made at our sole discretion. Furthermore, unless otherwise noted, we do not use "celebrity" judges or "industry" judges and we do not advertise that we use "celebrity" judges. We use intelligent readers with a passion for cinema who love to read. We distribute our winners' scripts to industry executives who provide consultations, but those executives do not judge our contests. To prevent tampering we do not reveal the identities of our judges. Entrants are prohibited from contacting the judges during the competition. Any entrant who attempts to contact a judge will be disqualified and their entry fee forfeited. The decision of the judges is final.

We do not offer script notes unless paid for in advance. We are looking to reward professional level writers that we can help get to the next level by recognizing their work. If these are services you desire, we recommend hiring a script consultant. These services can be found via a simple google search.

By submitting your film: 
You agree to use parts of your film (including trailer/teaser/film poster/stills) for promotional purpose. 

Entry fees are non-refundable.

Entries may be entered in multiple categories. 

We do not make films available online. 

We may promote some of the films by uploading the trailers/teasers/posters/production.

We do not accept: Extremist content from religious or political organizations, or pornographic content.

By entering the competition you hereby accept these competition rules.

See festival website for complete list of terms and conditions.