Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition
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About
2025 Big Apple Film Festival (Spring Edition) will take place May 12- May 15 at Look Dine-In Cinemas NYC.
SUCCESS
Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition prides itself on its long list of acclaimed participants the festival has welcomed throughout its 22 year history.
Congratulations to BAFF participants featured in the 97th Academy Awards:
BAFF official selection and award nominee, "I’M NOT A ROBOT", Oscar® winner in the Live Action Short Film Category; Festival alumni Krushan Naik served as producer on the Oscar® nominated short film ANUJA; and congrats to BAFF Golden Apple Award recipient Jesse Eisenberg on his Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for A REAL PAIN. Big Apple Film Festival was proud to present the NYC premiere of Jesse's earlier film, THE LIVING WAKE, now streaming on Prime and Apple TV.
FESTIVAL EVENTS
In addition to film screenings, the festival includes its Screenplay Competition, Meet The Agents and Managers Conference, industry panels, and year round networking and mentorship sessions. The festival also includes an Awards Presentation and Receptions. ALL submitters to the BAFF Screenplay Competition will receive complimentary access to select networking and mentorship events.
MEET THE AGENTS AND MANAGERS CONFERENCE
BAFF Meet The Agents and Managers Conference provides career advice, strategies, guidance and networking opportunities with top agents and managers representing filmmakers and screenwriters. The conferences will assist filmmakers and writers in learning strategies for acquiring representation, selling/optioning/licensing material to TV/streaming networks, theatrical market, production companies, studios, distributors, development executives and more...
Participating agents, managers and industry professionals this season include reps from:
● The Gersh Agency
● William Morris Endeavor Agency
● Gramercy Park Entertainment
● Stage Coach Entertainment
● Magnolia Entertainment
● Culture Creative Agency
● Zero Gravity Management
● Kaplan Stahler Agency
● 3 Arts Entertainment
● Alexander Creatives
● Writer Guild of America East
MEET THE AGENTS AND MANAGERS CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Upon submitting a project on Coverfly, submitters have the option to register for a prepaid All Access Pass at a 50% discounted rate to the Big Apple Film Festival Meet the Agents and Managers Conference. This event takes place virtually in conjunction with the festival in May 2025. The All Access Pass will provide entry to all general conferences and workshops, which will focus on various topics on assisting filmmakers and writers in learning strategies for acquiring representation, understanding the process of selling/optioning/licensing material to TV/streaming networks, theatrical market, production companies, studios, distributors, development executives and more..
Submitters who choose this option will receive a code approximately two weeks before the event to redeem your prepaid All Access Pass.
NOTE: All submitters who register for a prepaid All Access Pass to the Meet the Agents and Managers Conference at the time of entry, will automatically receive their pass in May 2025, regardless of whether or not their project advances in the screenplay competition.
YEAR ROUND INDUSTRY NETWORKING, MENTORING AND PITCH SESSIONS
In an effort to support and connect filmmakers, screenwriters and series creators to industry professionals throughout the year, BAFF offers a series of year round virtual networking, mentorship and pitch sessions.
For upcoming industry networking, mentorship and pitch sessionsvisit https://bigapplefilmfestivalindustrynetworkingevents.eventive.org/schedule
Networking conferences throughout the years have included representatives from agencies, management companies, studios and production companies including William Morris Endeavor, The Gersh Agency, A3 Artists Agency, Anonymous Content, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Magnolia Pictures, NBCUniversal and many more..
INDUSTRY JURORS
● Matt Giacheri (Writer/Producer - Netflix, Amazon, SXSW)
● Jake Alden-Falconer (Producer - Netflix, PBS, Picturehouse, Apple TV, Prime)
● Mike Gerbino - (Writer - Apple TV, Amazon)
● Colin Henning (Actor/Director - Hulu, Prime Video)
● Emma Steiger (junior executive, HappyBad Bungalow Productions)
● Leonora Pitts - (Actor - Hulu, ABC, HBO)
● Thomas Ferguson (Writer - Amazon, Tubi, Roku)
● Matilda Szydagis (SAG Award winner, Amazon Studios, Hulu)
● Vincent Veloso (Writer/Director/Actor - Netflix, Prime Video, Roku, Paramount)
● Shara Ashley Zeiger (Actress - HBOmax, Hulu, TBS)
● Stephanie West (Author)
● Alex Forestenhausler (Writer/Story Editor/Creative Consultant - Amazon, Apple TV, Nicholl Fellowship Quarter Finalist, FOX Pilot Competition Finalist)
● Nela Stachalek - (Production coordinator, Production manager - HBOmax, Hulu)
● Eva Von Schweinitz (Writer/Filmmaker - Big Apple Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Screencraft Fellowship semi-finalist)
● More to be announced...
NOTABLE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS:
BAFF Screenplay Competition has had the honor of seeing entries from participants such as:
● Shia LaBeouf - SAG Award, People's Choice Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee
● Elizabeth Page - Six time Emmy Award and three time WGA Award winning writer and playwright (ABC, CBS, TBS)
● Caytha Jentis - written/directed/produced projects for HBO, Warner Bros., Amazon
● Ron Friedman - Emmy nominee and WGA Award winner
● Matt Giacheri (producer of NETFLIX's "The Block Island Sound", "Funeral Kings", SXSW premiere, available on AMAZON)
● Vanessa Esteves (creator and writer of "Super Wish", series distributed by Discovery Kids and Warner Bros., available in the U.S. on NBC's Peacock Network)
● Emily Lansbury (writer and producer of "Story of a Girl", starring Kevin Bacon, directed by Kyra Sedgwick, distributed by Lifetime Network)
● Mike Gerbino (writer of "Freelance", distributed by Gravitas Ventures, previously on Apple TV and Amazon)
● Silvan Schmid (writer of "Humans", released theatrically in France, distributed by Overlook Entertainment)
● Leonora Pitts (TV credits include "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "The Rookie", and is a recurring character on the Apple+ series, "For All Mankind". Leonora collaborates with the Duplass Brothers, co-starring in the films "The Freebie", and "Manson Family Vacation", and guest-starring on two of their HBO series, "Togetherness" and "Room 104")
● Jyllian Gunther - Emmy Award winner, producer for NBC, ABC, A&E
● Kent Moran - Feature films have been released by Warner Brothers, Netflix, Showtime, Paramount+, Starz, Apple, Hulu, Amazon, Hallmark, Lifetime, LMN, Regal Cinemas
● Nicole Delprado - Development Producer, Flying Bark Productions (Netflix, Hulu, Paramount +, Disney, NBCUniversal)
● Geoffrey Colo - Worked in development at Universal, followed by producer roles including 8 seasons of FOX's House M.D. and 6 years of Marvel TV dramas, earning him an Emmy nomination, 2 PGA nominations and 2 Webby awards
● Rosemary Griggs - 2x Quarter Finalist, award winning author, published by Fence Publishing
● Harris Gurny - Producer, "Coup!" starring Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Peter Sarsgaard, "The God Committee", starring Emmy Award winner Kelsey Grammer, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee Julia Stiles and Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo
● Alex Forstenhausler - optioned screenwriter, Finalist Fox Comedy Pilot Competition
● Lindsay Heiman - showrunner's assistant, credits include “CONAN”, Warner Bros., “VEEP” Paramount, “INSECURE” HBO, “THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS” HBO Max, "THE GIRLS ON THE BUS" and "MORE," both premiering on HBO Max
● Sheena Lambert - Author, "The Lake", published by HarperCollins, optioned TV projects in various stages of development, represented by Blake Friedmann Agency in London
● Thomas L. Ferguson - writer, "Forgotten" starring Tom Sizemore, available on Amazon, Tubi, Roku
● Larry Collins - Emmy Award Winner, NBCUniversal/Peacock Network
● Henry Sarwer-Foner - Directors Guild of Canada Award nominee
● Daniel Talbott - writer ABC's "The Conners", "The Mist" produced by The Weinstein Company and Spike TV
● Ken Krauss - writer - Hallmark Channel
● Kevin Emerson - author of over twenty novels published by HarperCollins, Random House, Scholastic
● Linda Shayne - writer/director "Undercover Kid" released by WARNER BROTHERS, HBO Family, "Little Ghost,” distributed by PARAMOUNT video airing on HBO
● Chris Phillips - Finalist - Sundance Institute Development Track, Award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting-New York International Fringe Festival
● Maia Henkin - repped by Abrams Artists Agency
● Aimee Pitta - writer of HULU's "Christmas on Repeat", "The Clue to Love" (Reel One Entertainment), "Love's Second Chance" (Reel One Entertainment)
and many more...
TESTIMONIALS
"Since being a finalist with Big Apple, I was signed by A3 (Abrams) and have taken meetings with Starz, Lionsgate, and Anonymous Content (among others). I was also recently a Semi-Finalist for the Sundance Episodic Lab!" -Maia Henkin
"My feature script The Tenant recently became a finalist in the Big Apple Film Festival. This accolade moved my script onto Coverfly's Red List. This helped in querying representation and getting signed by a literary manager."
-Janet J. Lawler
"I wanted to thank you, I have signed with an agent. I met her because of the Big Apple Film Festival" - Andrea Careri (BAFF screenplay winner, Agents and Managers Conference participant).
"Two of the agents I’ve practiced-pitched to have requested my script and one has followed up with a phone call to discuss representation. Your service is career-changing" - Nate Bynum (screenwriter)
Benefits
Our network of professionals from previous years have included representatives from: HBO, NBCUniversal, Academy Award winning Killer Films, William Morris Endeavor Agency, The Gersh Agency, APA Agency, Magnolia Pictures, Film Rise(distributor of numerous Oscar Award winning and Emmy Award winning films), Emmy Award winning Gigantic Productions, Cinepointe Advisors(legal counsel on numerous Oscar nominated films), Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning filmmakers, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning screenwriters, Filmmakers with projects released through Sony, Disney, Lions Gate, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Hulu, and theatrically, as well as staff writers for CBS, ABC, Lifetime, and more...
These meetings are designed to provide winning screenwriters with direct access and live interaction with industry professionals to provide strategies, guidance and mentorship to emerging screenwriters.
Conferences take place virtually allowing participants to join remotely.
2. Winning screenplays will be promoted to Big Apple Film Festival's list of alumni filmmakers, many of which include filmmakers who have had film released theatrically, as well as on numerous major distribution platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, Apple TV, NBCUniveral and more...
3. Winners will receive a complimentary all access badge to Big Apple Film Festival film screenings, access to select industry networking and mentorship sessions and receptions.
4. Winners will receive a complimentary InkTip listing, which will provide access to InkTip's entire network of producers, filmmakers, agents and managers. Producers have made over 400 films discovered thru InkTip.
Writer Success
Announcements
Rules
1. Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition accepts submissions as feature length screenplays, series/episodic pilot scripts and short scripts. Feature length scripts must be a minimum of 60 pages and no longer than 150 pages. Series/episodic and short scripts must under 60 pages.
2. Submitted screenplays cannot have been optioned, purchased, or otherwise produced at the time of submission.
3. Writers may submit as many screenplays as they’d like to the competition, however each script requires a separate application and payment.
4.All entries must be submitted in English.
5. Submissions must include the title, author(s) and any relevant registration or copyright information.
6. Screenplays must be submitted in PDF or MS WORD.
7. All screenplays are considered complete once they are received by the Big Apple Film Festival. No revisions or updated copies will be accepted.
8. Submission fees are non-refundable.
9. Please be sure to read all rules and regulations prior to submitting your project.
10. SUBMITTERS MUST HOLD ALL NECESSARY RIGHTS AND CLEARANCES TO ALL MATERIAL SUBMITTED TO BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL, LLC
11. The organizers of the Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition wish to make it clear that while we welcome and appreciate all submissions, we are unable to provide individualized feedback on entries. Furthermore, the selection process is subjective and may involve various factors. BAFF is under no obligation to provide feedback or comments regarding submitted projects to any applicant. As such, Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition is not obligated to explain why a particular project was not selected for inclusion in the festival, or why a particular project did not advance in our screenplay competition. Our decisions are final and not open to negotiation or appeal.
12. All submitters who register for a prepaid All Access Pass to the Meet the Agents and Managers Conference at the time of entry, will automatically receive their pass in May 2025, regardless of whether or not their project advances in the screenplay competition.
13. Entrants hereby acknowledge and agree that the identities, business affiliations, and contact information of script readers shall remain strictly confidential and will not be disclosed under any circumstances to the submitter.
14. Big Apple Film Festival reserves the right to withdraw any project from our festival program or entry pool at any time for any reason we deem necessary.
15. All information provided on this page may be subject to change, including but not limited to: event dates, event details, networking opportunities, event format, guest speakers, jurors, awards, venue, etc.
16. All questions or concerns may be forwarded to general@bigapplefilmfestival.com.
