Big Apple Film Festival (Spring Edition) takes place May 23-27 in the heart of NYC. BAFF will be presenting selected films at the state of the art SVA Theatre, NYC.

BAFF, named one of MovieMaker Magazine's top "25 Film Festivals Worth The Entry Fee,” top "25 Coolest Film Festivals,”, CBS New York's "Best Film Festivals in New York...,” and FilmFreeway's "Top 100 Best Reviewed Festivals", is dedicated to showcasing, highlighting and supporting the most innovative, purposeful and influential filmmakers and screenwriters.

Big Apple Film Festival script entries are reviewed by readers who have had experience in either one or more of the following areas: screenwriting, film production, creative writing, film festival programming, film and/or screenwriting review and analysis, film, screenwriting and/or creative writing education. 

OUR ESTEEMED LIST OF JUDGES INCLUDES:

Writers, Directors and Producers who have developed projects for:

• Netflix
• Twentieth Century Fox
• CBS
• Paramout
• Disney
• Hulu
• HBO
• NBCUniversal

​Agents and Managers from the following companies:

• Anonymous Content
• APA
• Stobby Entertainment

​Additional examples of our readers credits include:

• Academy Award nominated writer/director
• Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner who has written and produced for for studios and networks including HBO, Paramount, Fox, Universal, CBS, and SyFy
• Senior Director at NBCUniversal
• Script analyst providing coverage for Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Academy Nicholl Fellowship, NBC/Universal Studios Writers Program, Writers Guild of America-West, Final Draft Big Break Screenplay Competition
• Script analyst who has provided coverage for outlets including HBO, Sony International, Amazon and Sundance Feature Lab, instructor for UCLA MFA program, as well as mentor for CineStory TV writers program
• Writer Guild of America Member, Global Independent Film Award winner, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards nominee, reader for screenplay competitions including Final Draft, Screencraft, Nantucket and more...as well writer, director of producer of numerous films featuring leading international cast members, films distributed by Hewes Picture
• script reader previously for Warner Brothers, assisted in creative development at New Line Cinemas and NBCUniversal, consulted writers who have placed as Academy Nicholl Fellowship semifinalists
• writer for ABC, who has previously written and developed projects for Spike TV and The Weinstein Company
• writer/director who has had films released by Warner Brothers, Paramount and HBO

and more...

"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

PREVIOUS SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS AND FINALISTS INCLUDE: Shia LaBeouf (SAG Award, People's Choice Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee), Caytha Jentis(written/directed/produced projects for HBO, Amazon), Ron Friedman(Emmy nominee and WGA Award winner), Jyllian Gunther(Emmy Award winner, producer for NBC, ABC, A&E), 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), Michael Vaynberg (writer/director Cannes Film Festival selection "9.8 m/s²"), Shruti Tewari (member of the Sundance Collab Directing Program), Bill Brock (Semi-Finalist - Stage 32 Feature Screenwriting Contest), Ken Krauss (writer "Tom, Dick, & Harriet" - 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), and many more...

AGENTS AND MANAGERS CONFERENCE AND NETWORKING LABS:

Big Apple Film Festival is proud to present is our Agents and Managers Conference, which provides career advice, strategies, guidance and networking opportunities with top agents and managers representing filmmakers and screenwriters.

PARTICIPATING AGENTS AND MANAGERS INCLUDE REPRESENTATIVES FROM: 

• WME
• The Gersh Agency
• APA
• Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates
• Kaplan Stahler Agency
• A3
• Anonymous Content
• 3 Arts Entertainment
• Crystal Ship Artists
• Entertainment Lab
• Magnolia Entertainment
• Culture Creative Entertainment
• Meridian Artists
• Stobby Entertainment
• Sweet 180 Management
• The Jackson Agency
• Alexander Creatives

Additionally, for writers and filmmakers currently seeking representation, Big Apple Film Festival offers our Agents and Managers Networking Lab. Screenwriters selected for the labs will be given the opportunity to network with selected agents and managers in small group meetings to discuss and pitch their projects, ask questions, and receive feedback. (NOTE: Agents and Manager Networking Lab selections are separate from our screenplay competition selections, and will take place after the conclusion of the festival).

For more information on our labs visit bigapplefilmfestival.com/networkingevents.

Screenplay winners in each category will receive small group meetings with established producers and other industry representatives. These industry professionals will be selected from BAFF alumni and other members of our industry network. Screenplay winners will receive information on this year's selected industry reps in the weeks following the festival.

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, 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, Fimmakers 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.

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, iTunes, NBCUniveral and more...

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.

Screenplay Competition winners will receive a complimentary all access badge to Big Apple Film Festival events, including screenings, networking conferences and receptions. Festival takes place May 23-27 at the state of the art SVA Theatre, NYC.

AGENTS AND MANAGERS NETWORKING LABS

For writers and filmmakers currently seeking representation, Big Apple Film Festival offers our Agents and Managers Networking Lab. Screenwriters selected for the labs will be given the opportunity to network with agents and managers in small group meetings to discuss and pitch their projects, ask questions, and receive feedback. (NOTE: Agents and Manager Networking Lab selections are separate from our screenplay competition selections, and will take place after the conclusion of the festival). For more information on our labs visit bigapplefilmfestival.com/networkingevents.