The WIFM KC & Kansas City FilmFest International Short Screenplay Contest was started to support female identifying and gender nonconforming screenwriters, as well as to encourage all writers to create strong female protagonists. Contest winners will be eligible to receive prizes that support these goals!

Finalist scripts of selected categories will be presented in a staged reading at the 2024 Kansas City FilmFest International April 12-14, 2024. The contest winners of the Best Short Screenplay category, the Best Female Protagonist category, and an Audience Choice Award (chosen from finalists whose scripts are part of the live staged reading) will be announced at the WIFM KC/KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest ceremony.

WIFM KC & KCFFI Short Screenplay Contest
• BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY by a female identifying or gender nonconforming writer or an all-female identifying/gender nonconforming co-writing team: $1,000 Grand Prize
• BEST FEMALE PROTAGONIST (writers of all gender identities and writing teams are eligible): $500 Cash Prize
• AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD (all finalists are eligible): $250 Cash Prize
• FINALISTS: A festival pass to the 2024 Kansas City FilmFest International and a staged reading of finalists’ screenplays in selected categories during the festival.

WIFM KC & KCFFI Short Screenplay Contest
• Length of script must be TEN (10) PAGES OR LESS in the standard screenplay format. (Scripts 10 pages or more will be disqualified and entry fees won’t be refunded.)
• Scripts must be original screenplays. Scripts must be the sole property of the contest entrant(s). For legal reasons Women in Film and Media Kansas City (WIFM KC) and Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International will accept only original screenplays by copyright holders.
• Only female identifying and gender nonconforming screenwriters (including all-female identifying and gender nonconforming teams) may submit scripts of any genre for the $1,000 Best Short Screenplay Prize. Female identifying screenwriters of all ages are welcome to enter.
• Screenwriters of all gender identities may submit scripts of any genre for the $500 Best Female Protagonist Prize. Screenwriters of all ages are welcome to enter.
• All screenwriters for all categories must be residents of either the state of Missouri or Kansas at the time of submission to be eligible to compete. (Must indicate address on title page; see below.) Submissions from outside these two states will not be accepted for competition, will be disqualified and entry fees won’t be refunded.
• Entry fee is per script. Any female identifying or gender nonconforming writer who enters the contest is eligible for all 3 prizes for 1 script if she meets all 3 category eligibility requirements.
PROCEDURES REQUIRED
• Entrant(s) MUST include on the TITLE PAGE:
• Screenwriter name(s)
• Mailing address(es) – street or PO box, city, state, zip
• Email address(es)
• Phone number(s)
• Prize category(ies) you’re vying for: (1) BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY by a female identifying writer or an all-female identifying co-writing team; or (2) BEST FEMALE PROTAGONIST (all gender identities are eligible)
• Information about scripts adapted from or based on others’ works or stories – see below.
• Entrant(s) MUST include the script title on PAGE 1 of the screenplay (above “FADE IN”).
• There is no limit to the number of screenplays a writer may submit. However, a separate entry fee is required for each screenplay and if a previously submitted screenplay is resubmitted, the author(s) must pay additional entry fee(s) for each resubmission, in accordance with the submission deadlines.
• Collaborative work by two or more female identifying and/or gender nonconforming writers who share equally in its creation is eligible for the Best Short Screenplay Prize. Collaborative work wherein a female writer partners with a male writer in any capacity is eligible only for the Best Female Protagonist Prize.
• Collaborators’ names must be included during the submission process, and writing partners will divide equally any prize(s) awarded.
• Entries may be adapted from the entrant’s (or entrants’) original work but submissions may not be based, in whole or in part, on any other fiction or nonfiction material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced, unless the entrant(s) hold(s) a copyright to the original material on which the screenplay is based.
• If the script is based on a true story, historical or contemporary, that fact MUST appear on the TITLE PAGE and should be noted at the time the script is submitted. (You may provide documentation or documentation may be requested.)
• Scripts must be written or translated into English and may be submitted electronically. All scripts must be submitted through the KC FilmFest submission site FilmFreeway.com. Payments will be processed through FilmFreeway or PayPal. Scripts submitted without an entry fee will not be considered.
• Screenplays NOT adhering to rules and regulations are subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of the judging panel.
• Screenwriters who are disqualified are NOT eligible for refund of any submitted fees.
• WIFM KC reserves the right not to release judges’ comments or the number of scripts received.
• WIFM KC reserves the right not to choose a winner.
• Finalists will be announced in March 2024.
• Finalist scripts of selected categories will be presented in a staged reading at the 2024 Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International. The contest winners of the Best Short Screenplay category, the Best Female Protagonist category, and an Audience Choice Award (chosen from finalists whose scripts are part of the live staged reading) will be announced at the WIFM KC/KC FilmFest International Short Screenplay Contest ceremony. KC FilmFest International will be April 12-14, 2024.
• These people are ineligible to enter the contest:
• Current and past members of the KCWIFT board of directors who served, are serving or will serve during the 2019-2024 terms.
• Contest judges and readers for the 2024 WIFM KC & Kansas City FilmFest International Short Screenplay Contest.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
WIFM KC and Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International are hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any script submitted and accepted for promotional purposes. Due to the volume of submissions, WIFM KC will NOT return copies of submitted scripts. WIFM KC will request and is hereby granted the right to use footage from the project funded and created from the winning screenplay for promotional purposes related to WIFM KC and the WIFM KC & Kansas City FilmFest International Short Screenplay Contest. This includes but is not limited to the WIFM KC and the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International websites, screenings, and social media platforms. Neither WIFM KC nor Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International holds any ownership rights to projects completed as a result of the WIFM KC & Kansas City FilmFest International Short Screenplay Contest, nor are WIFM KC and Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee/Kansas City FilmFest International responsible for projects’ production, promotion or distribution.

Overall Rating
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Networking
  • One of my favorite film fest. So empowering!

    April 2021
  • Jared Goudsmit

    This is an awesome, well-organized contest: Warm, welcoming, and communicative, with a slate of great actors performing a staged reading of your work, and a qualified panel of judges. Totally worth the submission fee!

    April 2021