Nashville Film Festival Pitch Competition
Enter Now
About
The Nashville Film Festival is excited to announce the third NashFilm Pitch Competition..Do you have a great idea for the next hit Netflix show or an original feature film? We’d love to hear your pitch! Writers from the NashFilm Pitch Event have had projects produced.
A cash prize of $500 will be awarded to the winning pitch in both episodic and feature. In addition to the cash prize, winners will receive support for their project with mentoring to get the project developed.
The final round of the pitch competition is LIVE in NASHVILLE, TN as a part of our festival’s Creator's Conference and will be presented to an audience and a panel of jurors who will provide up to five minutes of live feedback on your project. All advancing projects will be awarded a festival badge.
If you can't make the trip to Nashville, your entry won't be eligible to win the final prize.
Prices & Deadlines
|
Jul 1st
Regular/Final
|
|
|---|---|
|
Episodic Pitch
|
$40.00
|
|
Feature Pitch
|
$40.00
|
Benefits
Finalists in each category will receive a full festival badge for the 2025 Nashville Film Festival and an entry fee waiver for the 2026 Nashville Film Festival screenplay competition. Winning pitch from each category will receive a one-on-one coaching session from an industry professional post-festival. The winning episodic pitch and the winning feature pitch will receive a cash prize of $500.
Announcements
No announcement dates listed.
Rules
Submit a Word or PDF document with your logline of approximately 30 words or less for the opportunity to pitch in either the feature or episodic category. You may enter both categories, and you may enter as many loglines as you choose. Each logline must be a SEPARATE entry.
You DO NOT need to include a script, lookbook, or other documentation. The Word/PDF logline document is what you will upload when it prompts you to upload the script.
Selection Process:
A logline is essentially your sales pitch for any project in Hollywood. If your logline does not contain the necessary information to command the time of an industry professional, they will never request more information. The logline should showcase your main character and the story elements that will make it interesting to an audience. Pitches for derivative material (i.e. stories we have seen before) should include elements that differentiate the story from previous work.
Twenty-five loglines will be selected in each category to pitch via Zoom. Selections are made based on multiple elements including:
Originality - is this a memorable story?
Stakes - will the audience want to keep watching?
Character - is this a character we will want to root for (or against?)
Market relevance - is this a project that streamers/network/studios want now?
From the recorded Zoom Pitches an industry panel will select the ten finalists from each category based on:
- 1. Market relevance (are there companies looking to make this project now)
2. Originality (will we remember this project after reading the logline)
3. Pitch Content (did the pitch include the elements needed to request the script/pitch deck)
4. Pitch Execution (did the pitch finish on time, was the pitcher prepared, was the pitch engaging)
5. Budget (projects that require significant financial investment are difficult for writers looking to break in - those include stories that require significant special effects, animation, and settings that require props, costuming and sets that differ from what is easily available today)
All pitches must be original work. No loglines for existing property other than what is in the public domain will be accepted. Loglines should be 30 words or less. Pitches should be two minutes or under. Any pitches that run over will be stopped at the expiration of two minutes.
25 semi-finalists in each category will be chosen to move to the next round and pitch their ideas to the industry panel virtually. 10 finalists that are willing to make the trip to Nashville will be chosen by the panel to participate in the Pitch Event on September 21st at the Nashville Film Festival Creator's Conference in front of a live industry panel and audience. The live pitch round will also be two minutes with five minutes of feedback from the panel.
Entry Deadlines / Notifications:
Open for Entries: December 6, 2024
Final Deadline: July 1, 2025
Semifinalist notification: July 8, 2025