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HollyShorts
HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition
2021
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 (HSFF) is an annual short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films and short screenplays from around the globe. The festival showcases the top short films produced 40 minutes or less and is looking for the best short screenplays 30 pages or less and TV pilots 50 pages and under.

Benefits

Best Short Screenplay
The first place winning short screenplay will get produced by our production company sponsors Seattle Film Summit and 88th Street Productions, to be completed and screen at the HollyShorts Film Festival in 2022. Finished film will get an automatic screening at HollyShorts and be qualified by HSFF for Academy Awards consideration! Top winner will also receive a meeting with Alta Global Media and distribution on Bitpix.

Sponsors: Seattle Film Summit and 88th Street Productions
Cash Award Value: 20,000 U.S. Dollar
Value of Goods/Services: $20,000 U.S. Dollar
*all completed winning scripts get automatic distribution on Bitpix, screen at the HollyShorts Film Festival, and will be qualified by HSFF for Academy Awards consideration. 

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

Hawk Films $20,000 Production Deal Prize 
We are thrilled to announce an additional production deal prize! 
Hawk Films will award one winner with a $20,000 dollar production prize. Hawk Films will produce the selected Award Winning script and provide all nuts and bolds to the production. Your script will be produced into a film in the UK. The award winner will have all travel expenses paid for to attend the shoot.
Hawk Films is a London-based production company founded by DoP and Producer Matthias Ashford.
With over 10 years of experience in storytelling, they have collaborated with names such as Richard Branson and Usain Bolt, and created content for brands like Lego, Ford and Kickstarter.
They work across feature and short films, documentaries, music videos and commercials, and rely on a strong network of award-winning professionals and creatives, armed with industry-leading equipment, to bring the best stories to life.
hawkfilms.co.uk

Best TV pilot
Option from 88th Street Productions for the winner of Best TV Pilot

Quarter and Semi Finalists
All Quarter and Semi finalists get invite to attend the festival, all access pass.
Value of Goods/Services: 1000 U.S. Dollar

Best Female Screenplay

All Quarter and Semi finalists get invite to attend the festival, all access pass and option from 88th Street Productions to make the film. $1000 cash for the shoot and Becine providing rental camera gear for the shot for the winner of Best Female Screenplay and completed film will screen at the HollyShorts Film Festival and be Qualified for Academy Awards consideration and receive distribution on Bitpix!
Value of Goods/Services: 3000 U.S. Dollar

2023 Winners on Coverfly

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Announcements

Aug 9th
Semifinalists
Sep 17th
Finalists
Oct 2nd
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.