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HollyShorts
HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition
2020
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2012
View Latest Season
This season has closed, but there's a new season open now!

About

HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual, academy award qualifying short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films and short screenplays from around the globe. The festival is looking for the best short screenplays 30 pages or less.

The 7th annual HollyShorts Screenplay Contest is part of the 14th annual HollyShorts Film Festival (August 13-22, 2020). 

All Semi Finalists will be announced and invited to the festival with an all access pass.

Top 3 screenplays will be announced/awarded at the HollyShorts Awards Ceremony and the winning scripts receives production deals courtesy of The Seattle Film Summit. Top 3 winners receive Final Draft software. The completed short will screen at the 2021 HollyShorts Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatres and receive automatic distribution on Bitpix!

Benefits

HollyShorts is an Academy Qualifying Festival

Best Short Screenplay -- Cash: $10,000 + Production and Film Festival Screening

  • The first place winning short screenplay will get produced by our production company sponsor Seattle Film Summit, to be completed and screen at the HollyShorts Film Festival in 2021.
  • The short based on the winning script will be Academy Awards Qualifying!
  • Finished film will get an automatic screening at HollyShorts!
  • Receive a meeting with Buffalo 8.
  • Sponsor: Seattle Film Summit Cash Award Value: 10,000 U.S. Dollar Value of Goods/Services: 10,000 U.S. Dollar
  • All completed winning scripts get automatic distribution on Bitpix.

2nd Place

  • Final Draft Software Sponsor: Final Draft Value of Goods/Services: 300 U.S. Dollar

3rd Place

  • Final Draft software prize Sponsor: Final Draft Value of Goods/Services: 300 U.S. Dollar Quarter and Semi Finalists 

Film Augusta Prize

  • $10,000 value in production to make the winning screenplay in Augusta, GA. Completed film will screen at HSFF.

Best Female Short Script -- Cash: $1,000

  • Cash Prize -- $1,000
  • Production and camera equipment to shoot the short film

All semi-finalists are invited to attend the festival, all access pass. Value of Goods/Services: 600 U.S. Dollar

2023 Winners on Coverfly

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Announcements

Sep 25th
Semifinalists
Oct 23rd
Finalists
Nov 15th
Winners

Rules

At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.

All entries submitted are eligible to win the top prizes. Employees (and their immediate families (parent, spouse, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and those living in their same households, whether or not related) of HollyShorts and any of their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising and promotion agencies or festival sponsors, are not eligible to win. There is no limit on the number of short screenplays you can submit; however, each short screenplay submitted by you must be original and different from any other short screenplay submitted by you, submitted separately and accompanied by its own completed submission form and participant agreement. Short screenplays may be a maximum of 30 pages, must be in English and must be submitted in proper script format. HollyShorts reserves the right to reject any short screenplay that it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, contains prohibited content or is offensive, inappropriate or otherwise unacceptable. All eligible entries received by HollyShorts will be judged by the HollyShorts selection committee and the production company sponsoring the contest. By submitting your script for consideration for the HollyShorts Screenplay Contest, you agree for HollyShorts and its contest sponsor to produce your short screenplay if selected as the overall winner. The completed film(s) will premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival and on our distribution platform Bitpix.