The Vail Screenplay Competition is a vehicle for aspiring screenwriters to have their scripts recommended to established film producers, managers, and agents who are actively working at the top level of the film industry.

The top finalist screenplays will be shared with industry executives from Miramax, Cold Iron Pictures, Fremantle, Untitled Entertainment, Paper Street Pictures, LD Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Spyglass Media Group, Imagine Entertainment, Village Roadshow, NBC Universal, and MGM.

Past Vail Film Festival special guests include Olivia Wilde, Aaron Paul, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Smith, Michelle Monaghan, Harold Ramis, Zach Braff, Julie Delpy, Jane Seymour, Christina Ricci, Tim Daly, Jesse Eisenberg, Luke Wilson, Allison Janney, Tate Taylor, Josh Lucas, Aya Cash, Michael Imperioli, Sophia Bush, Krysten Ritter, among others.

The Vail Screenplay Competition is a signature program of the Colorado Film Institute, producer of the annual Vail Film Festival, now entering its 20th year. The Colorado Film Institute is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization, supported by sponsorships, donors, and grants, including support from Colorado Creative Industries and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Awards & Prizes

The top finalist screenplays will be shared with industry executives from Miramax, Cold Iron Pictures, Fremantle, Untitled Entertainment, Paper Street Pictures, LD Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Spyglass Media Group, Imagine Entertainment, Village Roadshow, NBC Universal, and MGM.

1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place feature, short, and television screenplay winners will be included in a national press release, and will have their scripts recommended to key decision-makers at leading entertainment companies. All top placing screenplays will also be listed on the Vail Film Festival website as the top placements of the 2023 Vail Screenplay Competition. All semifinalists and quarterfinalists will also have their scripts listed on the Vail Film Festival website.

Rules & Terms

The Vail Film Festival Screenplay Competition welcomes Feature Screenplays, Short Screenplays, and Television Pilots.

Feature Screenplays must be between 60-140 pages in length, Short Screenplays must be between 3-59 pages in length, and television screenplays must be between 20 and 70 pages in length. All screenplays must be unproduced.
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  • Lynnette Woolery

    I am so honored to be a quarter finalist in Vail's Screenplay Contest. I have lived much of my life in Colorado which makes this award even more meaningful than winning in a major festival would normally be. Thank you so much!

    April 2023
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  • Kevin J. Howard

    I'm truly honored to have my horror thriller screenplay, "PROTECTOR OF THE EMERALD CITY", selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the 2022 festival! I’m also thankful my horror screenplay set in Yellowstone, “FAITHFUL SHADOW”, was selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the 2021 festival. Thank you so much!

    February 2023
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  • Erin Elizabeth Cook

    Great communication and wonderful competition! Thank you for choosing "The TentVille Knights" as Quarter-Finalist.🥰

    December 2022
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  • Anita Gupta

    Thank you, Vail, for the selection.

    December 2022
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  • Douglas May

    I was very excited to be part of the Vail Screenplay Contest and be awarded Quarterfinalist for my script, "Alcanza el Sol" (Reach for the Sun)! Thank you!
    Doug

    December 2022
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