Founded in 1969 as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration, Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) is one of the longest-running film festivals in the country and one of the most acclaimed festivals in the South. Hosted in Music City, USA, NashFilm attracts enthusiastic film lovers from all across the country and has been praised by film-goers and filmmakers alike for its unique combination of big city festival atmosphere and laid-back Southern hospitality. With over 300 films from 56 countries, a screenplay competition, episodic competition, live music showcases, the new Creators Conference and parties almost every night, the 2017 festival drew approximately 40,000 attendees and sold out nearly 40 films and events.

Rules:

1. Original Content: All entries submitted to the Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) Screenwriting Competition must be original works by the applicant. If the script is an adaptation or based on source material to which the entrant doesn't own the rights, permission to adapt the original work must be submitted as the first page in the screenplay PDF.

2. Submissions: Submissions must be made online. No mailed or emailed entries are accepted. NashFilm does not allow changes to the categories after submission. All submissions are final, and NashFilm does not issue refunds or adjustments of entry fees. Each submission will be sent a confirmation email once payment is processed.

3. Multiple Categories: Entrants may submit the same entry to more than one category. Each category entered requires an entry fee for that category

4. Formatting: Screenplays must be formatted according to industry standards. Pages must be numbered and typed in 12 point Courier font. All entries must be submitted in English. Include title only on title page. The author’s name should NOT appear on the title page or anywhere on the script, to preserve anonymity and fairness. MovieMagic Screenwriter, Final Draft, and Celtx are suggested programs.

5. Lengths: • Feature Scripts: 40 – 130 pages • Short Scripts: 1 - 40 pages • Teleplay (30 minute pilot): 1 - 35 pages • Teleplay (60 minute pilot): 31- 65 pages

6. Revisions: NashFilm considers all entries to be complete. You may not send in revisions after the screenplay or teleplay has been submitted. In addition, we will not accept a script for a feature that is under 40 pages with a notice: “to be continued.”

7. Ineligibility: The NashFilm Screenwriting Competition does not accept novels, short stories, stage plays, treatments, synopses, reality show concepts, scripts for existing TV series, or works that are not original. Scripts also must not have been sold or currently be under option prior to 10/3/19. NashFilm employees, including seasonal staff, board members, sponsors, and their immediate families, are not eligible to submit in any category.

8. Judging: Scripts will be judged numerically on several different criteria (including, but not limited to, structure, premise, and entertainment value.) Awards, selections, and decisions of NashFilm are final.

9. Winner Notification: Semi-finalists and finalists will be notified by June 28, 2019. Winners in each category will be announced at the Screenwriting Competition Awards Ceremony during the festival in October 2019.

10. Co-Authors: If a screenplay has more than one author, it is up to the authors to decide how many authors to list on the application and who will be the primary contact e-mail. Awards are given per entry, not per author. Therefore, groups of authors associated with one entry are responsible for the division of awards, including laminates. NashFilm does not assume responsibility for arrangements with regard to laminate or cash divisions.

11. Tennessee Category: The writer must have been born in Tennessee, or currently reside in Tennessee. The entrant is responsible for the authenticity of this claim and any inquiry regarding that authenticity. You may be asked to provide proof of residence at any point during the duration of the contest.

12. Copyright: All entrants are encouraged to register their screenplays with the Writers’ Guild of America, East or West: www.wgaeast.org/script_registration, or www.wga.org/registration/index.html, and with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Nashville Film Festival offers $65,000 in cash and in-kind sponsor prizes to filmmakers with winners selected by industry power players - including studio representatives, producers laid-back and fellow filmmakers. The winning short films in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Short Film Competitions are eligible for Academy Award® consideration without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

Each winner in the horror, genre, and TV 30-min will receive a $750 cash prize, each winner in the drama, comedy, short, and TV 60-min will receive a $1,000 cash prize, and the grand prize winner will receive a $3,000 cash prize.