To apply, there are two documents required:
A Script or Treatment — this doesn’t have to be a completed screenplay if you’re applying for a documentary or if your film is already in production. It can be a treatment, a PDF with links to footage, or any other pitch document that shows the project’s potential.
A Cover Letter — A letter that expresses your vision for your project. Help the judges get a sense of your creative vision and professional experience. Let us know if you’ve begun production and what you’d be able to use the funding for. We recommend 1-2 pages in length.
Accepted formats for Film Fund include Narrative (Features, Series, Shorts), Documentaries (Features, Series, Shorts), and Unscripted (Features, Series)
For Narrative format submissions, screenplays must be submitted in industry-standard formatting as a PDF file, along with a Cover Letter. Because different formats are accepted, scripts and submissions may be any page count. However, any submission longer than 120 pages will incur a $1 per page overage fee for each page over 120.
For Documentaries, instead of a screenplay, a treatment about the project will be accepted, which can include links to video footage (YouTube, Vimeo, etc), along with the Cover Letter.
For Unscripted format submissions, please submit a treatment about the project and highlight any exclusive access to intellectual property or a public figure. Links to video footage can be included, along with the Cover Letter.
Optionally, you can include a PDF document that includes any other information. This can be anything from a full series bible to a line-item budget, to links to footage or a sizzle reel. We recommend only including information that gives a better sense of the specific project, but please include anything that will help our judges understand the creators and the project.
When reviewing your submission we will consider your primary document (varies depending on your project format) and your cover letter. Additional optional materials, will be reviewed as needed.
Grants shall vary in size up to a maximum of $30,000 (USD) per project. Grant amount will be determined by the jury consisting of executives from ScreenCraft. Any grant funds disbursed may be subject to conditions predicated upon the Recipient's fulfillment of specified requirements, whereupon disbursements shall be made in distinctly outlined installments.
Applications are accepted via electronic submission only.
There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
Applications must be received on or before the deadlines and application fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission.
All application fees are non-refundable.
All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
Material must be submitted by the author or owner of the material. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on the title page.
Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material are not allowed. Please proofread your script very carefully before submitting.
In the event a juror, partner organization, mentor, or prize partner is no longer able to serve in their specified capacity, ScreenCraft will make its best effort to secure a replacement. ScreenCraft is not responsible for the failed delivery of any prize package by a juror, sponsor, or partner organization.
Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.
ScreenCraft reserves the right to change deadline and announcement dates at any time.
ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
Grant funding is conditional upon the selected recipient(s) going into production on selected project within twelve (12) months of when the grant was awarded.
For a full list of rules and eligibility please visit ScreenCraft.
Eligibility
All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible.
All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English (occasional dialogue in other languages is acceptable, if subtitle translation is provided).
All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this contest.
Projects must be owned and submitted by the writer or owner.
There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
Scripted material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or director or the work is in the public domain.
All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF. Broken files or non-PDF files may be accepted, but if the file cannot be read ScreenCraft will not judge the submission.
Prize winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and proper tax documentation before prizes are released.
By entering the competition, user acknowledges their eligibility for the competition. ScreenCraft will verify all eligibility requirements at the finalist stage of the competition and before distributing any prizes.
ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
Criteria for Winners and Finalists:
The winners and top finalists may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers.
Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges’ verification of eligibility.
Any entrant may be deemed ineligible as a Finalist or Winner at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft.
All recognition, placements, and winners are chosen at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft.
Finalists may be required to sign and return within seven (7) business days of receipt a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and a Release and Indemnification and proof of valid passport and any other documents that ScreenCraft or any other partner may require before receiving prize payment. Failure to respond to the initial notification within ten (10) days or return of notification may result in disqualification.
We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.
COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP: ScreenCraft or any other partner, employee or agent associated with this contest claims no ownership nor first right of option to any original screenplay submitted to this contest. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made.
PUBLICITY: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to ScreenCraft and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of entrants' information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
REFUND POLICY: All entries are non-refundable.
SITE TERMS OF SERVICE. All ScreenCraft Terms of Service apply in addition to these rules and eligibility criteria.
DATA MANAGEMENT AND PRIVACY. Entries for this competition are managed on the submission platform Coverfly, and ScreenCraft (a d/b/a of Red Ampersand, Inc) uses other data management tools, including but not limited to, Google Services and Amazon Web Services, to securely manage your data. ScreenCraft is not accountable for any data hacks (internal or external) or user errors that may release scripts or writer data unintentionally.
ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE: BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless ScreenCraft, ScreenCraft.org, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, Prize contributors, judges, screenplay readers, Sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Contest and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the ScreenCraft.org and its Sponsor, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or entrant’s use or misuse of Prize. Employees of ScreenCraft and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately disqualified. ENTRY TO THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED or restricted by any Federal, State or Local law. Voided entries will be refunded. Recipients’ eligibility will be verified before the grant is awarded and the winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility. By entering the contest, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party online and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, managing and/or transmitting your submission file(s). The governing law is California.
