Dallas International Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition
Subscribe
Currently Closed. Subscribe to receive a notification when the next season opens.
Dallas International Film Festival
Dallas International Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition
Fall 2020
Active Since 2020
Submissions get a scorecard from a rep company reader and illustration of the script’s first scene. Winners have their script read by actors at DIFF.
Subscribe
Currently Closed. Subscribe to receive a notification when the next season opens.
About
Screenwriting is a business and the best screenwriters have a brand. A special writing style or talent that makes them unique and easy to recognize. Filmmakers needing a story that centers on a big idea or great characterization or engaging dialogue or a compelling theme are able to seamlessly identify the best writer for the project when the writer is branded as a specialists in one of those needed areas. The DIFF 2020 Screenplay Awards recognizes writers who specialize on a specific writing element and works to elevate their overall brand awareness.
Benefits
This competition allows writers 5 different chances to win by submitting to the category/categories they feel their script is most suited.
Winners are awarded:
- 12 month ISAconnect membership
- A celebrity endorsement
- 2021 DIFF Star Pass
- Two tickets to the Luxury Gala Oscar Screening in LA
Announcements
Feb 1st
Winners
Apr 27th
Today
Rules
- Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only, between June 3, 2020 and January 3, 2021.
- Entry fee is $55 for each feature film screenplay until the early deadline on July 26, 2020. Entry fee is $65 for each feature film screenplay until the regular deadline on September 27, 2020. Entry fee is $75 for each feature film screenplay until the final deadline on January 3, 2021.
- Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback after an entry is submitted will not be accepted.
- Screenplays must be a minimum of 75 pages and a maximum of 150 pages.
- There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
- Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Central Time, 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).
- Material must be submitted by the writer. 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 title page.
- If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money.
- Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with resubmission through Event Horizon Films. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.
- It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.
- Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.
- All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.
- All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible. However, a writer who has earned more than $50,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional writing services for film or TV in the preceding year is not. (Contest winnings not included.)
- 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.
- There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
- Screenplay and intellectual property must be wholly owned and submitted by the writer(s).
- 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.
- Entries for this competition are managed on the submission platform Submittable.
- Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.
- The recommended length for feature film scripts is 100-120 pages. Scripts over 120 pages are fine and will be accepted, however please note that there is a small page overage charge of $1 per every page over 120 pages to compensate the judges for the extra time invested in reading longer scripts.
- Feature screenplays longer than 150 pages will not be eligible.
- All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.
