Shore Scripts Short Film Fund
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About
Turn your calling card script into an attention-grabbing short film with our $15,000 cash production grant!
As much as we love to read scripts, too many excellent shorts never progress beyond the written word, which is why we established the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund to help take those compelling stories off the page and onto the screen.
Many of our previous 19 funded short films have played at some of the top film festivals in the world, including Sundance, Tribeca, BFI London, Austin, Cannes, Encounters, and Palm Springs. They’ve even won a BAFTA! Those writers have gone on to gain representation, sold screenplays, and been staffed on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, & BBC shows as a direct result of winning and producing their shorts with us.
New this season! We are excited to offer a 2nd Place cash grant of $2,500 specifically for finishing funds submissions. As filmmakers, we know it can be challenging to get a short over the finish line, and a little extra support toward post-production and/or distribution can go a long way.
New projects are funded each season, offering screenwriters and filmmakers the fantastic opportunity to finance and produce their short scripts with a $15,000 cash grant towards production or finishing funds. It’s one of the single best ways to showcase your creative talent, receive festival exposure, and open doors within the industry – so what’s stopping you?!
Here's the lowdown:
- Grand Prize Winner - A Cash Grant of $15,000 and support from Shore Scripts to take your screenplay through pre-production, production, post, and distribution. Plus, free camera equipment rental from ARRI Rental for the duration of production (some restrictions may apply). On top of that, our winner will receive a Film Festival Strategy Package with Tribeca programmer, filmmaker, and Academy member, KIMBERLEY BROWNING.
2nd Place Winner - A Cash Grant of $2,500 in finishing funds for projects that have already been filmed, and support from Shore Scripts through post-production and distribution.
Both Winners will connect with two-time Oscar-nominated producer MARIA GRACIA TURGEON for development, production, and career guidance. Both Winners will also have the opportunity to have their completed films circulated to select members of our Industry Roster and Directors, will receive a free 30-minute consultation with our new partner Seed & Spark, and free access to a Stage 32 Webinar of their choice.
Top 5 Finalists – will receive feedback on their scripts from one of our esteemed Judges. And, new this year, one US-based writer will get on a call with NATALIE GERGELY (VP, Scripted at Gunpowder & Sky) and one European-based writer will get on a call with KIRSTIE MACDONALD (Creative Director of TV at FilmNation) to discuss their projects and receive career advice.
Top 15 Finalists – will have the opportunity to have their scripts circulated to select members of our Industry Roster and Directors.
As a new writer, getting a script produced is a transformative career milestone that can lead to new opportunities and help you pitch your stories to producers, managers, and agents. Our Short Film Fund was established to commission production projects from emerging screenwriters and create another avenue for you to get your work seen by the industry.
Our Award-Winning Judges including filmmakers, festival programmers, and former Fund winners will decide this season’s Grand Prize Winner. The 2nd Place Winner will be chosen by members of the Shore Scripts team.
The Fund accepts submissions from writers, directors, and producers from around the world. We are open to working with directors attached to the project, even first-timers. However, if you are a standalone writer, Shore Scripts can assist in attaching a director and team to the project, if needed. We also accept submissions from produced shorts seeking finishing funds.
The Fund accepts scripts for narrative short films (live-action & animation), web series pilots, half-hour TV pilots, and proof-of-concept shorts for TV series and features.
Screenplays must be in English; however, the production can be filmed in any country and any language (English subtitles in the finished film are required).
We can offer end-to-end support from script development to post-production and film festival distribution.
We do not seek to obtain any rights over your script or the finished film at any time. For those who take the funding, we ask for a production company credit and access to promotional material for the resulting short film to promote the project and Fund in the future.
READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE SHORT FILM FUND: https://www.shorescripts.com/historyoftheshortfilmfund/
Plus, every writer who enters will be sent our FREE 18-page booklet on HOW TO GET YOUR SCREENPLAY PRODUCED straight to their inbox.
Benefits
Grand Prize Winner will be awarded a Cash Production Grant of $15,000, free camera equipment rental from ARRI rental for the duration of production (some restrictions may apply), a Film Festival Strategy Package from Tribeca programmer KIMBERLEY BROWNING, and a free online or in-person All Access Badge to HollyShorts 2024. Once the film is complete, the Winner will also have the opportunity to circulate the finished film to members of our Industry Roster of producers, agents, and managers.
2nd Place Winner will be awarded a Cash Finishing Funds Grant of $2,500 and support from Shore Scripts through post-production and distribution.
Both Winners will connect with two-time Oscar-nominated producer MARIA GRACIA TURGEON for production and career guidance. They will also have the opportunity to circulate the finished film to select members of our Industry Roster of producers, agents, and managers, as well as receive a free 30-minute consultation with Seed & Spark, and free access to a Stage 32 Webinar of their choice.
Top 5 Finalists will receive feedback on their scripts from one of our esteemed Judges and a free copy of “(Not Just) Another Book on the Craft of Screenwriting" by the International Screenwriters' Association's (ISA) Director of Education, Max Timm, Founder of The Story Farm, and a Free 6-month ISAConnect membership. Plus, one US-based writer will get on a call with Natalie Gergely (VP, Scripted at Gunpowder & Sky) and one European-based writer will get on a call with Kirstie MacDonald (Creative Director of TV at FilmNation) to discuss their projects and receive career advice.
Top 15 Finalists (including the Winners) will have the opportunity to have their scripts circulated to select members of our Industry Roster and Directors.
Semi-Finalists (and above) will receive a PDF of the Shore Scripts Film Festival Guidebook.
Writer Success
Announcements
Rules
* Scripts should be within 2-30 pages. Writers can exceed the recommended limits by up to 15 pages (for a total of 45 pages maximum) for an additional fee of $1 per page.
* We welcome submissions from all countries. All scripts must be written in English. The winning short(s) can be filmed anywhere in the world.
* We accept foreign language films (as long as the script is in English). The finished film will need to have English language subtitles.
* You do not need to be a screenwriter to enter, however, whoever enters the script must have the prior approval and agreement to do so from the writer(s).
* All submitted screenplays must be the writer’s original work or they own the copyright.
* If a writing team enters, both/all writers must consent.
* We accept scripts for narrative short films (live action & animation), web series pilots, half-hour TV pilots, and proof-of-concept shorts for features and TV series.
* We accept scripts for short films that have already been filmed or are in the process of production and need additional finishing funds. Submissions for finishing funds must be entered as a Standard Entry but with the Format marked as “In Production Film.” Then include a password-protected link to a Vimeo or Youtube screener where we can view your work-in-progress film or footage in the text box provided. Please note that we do not offer feedback or coverage reports on rough cuts, shot footage, or finished films.
* Finishing Funds submissions will be considered for both the Grand Prize and the 2nd Place Prize.
* Previous Short Film Fund applicants may apply, including Finalists. Grand Prize and 2nd Place Winners are ineligible.
* All ages can enter; however, the funds would need to be transferred to a legal adult’s account or business account if won.
* You may enter a script that has been previously submitted to the Fund.
* You may submit as many scripts as you wish.
* We accept all genres. If your script is a combination of multiple genres or sub-genres, use the Coverfly Genre dropdown to indicate the main genre on your submission, and make a note of other genres, and any other information you feel will be relevant to the reader in the Comment to Reader field.
* To help the environment, Shore Scripts only accepts electronic entries. We prefer scripts to be sent as a PDF file.
* Please only include the Script Title on the cover page.
* Scripts should be properly formatted according to industry standards at size 12-point Courier.
* Each writer, or writing team, may not have earned more than $50,000 in screenwriting fees in the preceding 18 months. This clause is in place to help us support emerging talent. (Contest and Fellowship awards and writing fees received outside of fiction screenwriting do not count toward this total).
* Shore Scripts staff and associates are unable to enter this fund.
* You may enter a newer draft of an already submitted script. There will be a small fee involved. You may re-enter your script through the Resubmission page.
* The decision of Shore Scripts is final. By applying to the Fund each participant agrees to hold Shore Scripts, our judges, and sponsors immune from any competition disputes, claims, liabilities, and expenses.
* If Shore Scripts helps a writer gain representation, option, sell, or have their screenplay produced, then we are entitled to state this on our website and any other platforms whenever we see fit.
* The Winners consent to Shore Scripts using their name, script title, and any other relevant information for promotional purposes on our website. This will be used to inform other contestants and the media of the results. We will also be unrestricted in how and where we promote the finished film once it is officially released.
* The Winners agree to cut a trailer and provide a poster of the film for Shore Scripts to use on our website, social media, and other promotional platforms.
* If the writer wishes to direct their own script, then it will be given serious consideration. A previous portfolio of work will help in making this decision. We are also open to working with first-time directors.
* The Winner’s filmmaking team will have the final call on cast, crew, and edit. Shore Scripts will ask to see the audition tapes of the lead character(s) before they are cast.
* Shore Scripts will be listed as one of the ‘Production Companies’ on the project and also receive an ‘Executive Producer’ credit. The Shore Scripts logo will need to be added to the end credits.
* Winners who take advantage of the ARRI Rental camera package should also add the ARRI Rental logo to their film’s end credits.
* The funds can be transferred to a freelance producer or production company attached to the project, or the winning writer or writer/director.
* We are open to working with filmmakers known to the Winner. We are also open to co-productions and additional funding from outside sources.
* Shore Scripts is flexible as to the production dates of the winning project(s). However, if said projects haven’t been filmed within 12 months of our winner’s announcement, Shore has the discretion to transfer the funds to another submitted project. If the project has been filmed but not completed within 18 months of our winner’s announcement, Shore has the discretion to take over and complete the project internally.
* Please note that our sponsor ARRI may not be able to supply equipment if the project is to be filmed in a country where they do not operate. Production will also need to cover any logistics and costs of getting camera equipment to the set.
* By entering a Shore Scripts fund or contest, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party online, cloud-based, and email services and databases for hosting, managing, and/or sending/transmitting your submission file(s).
Please contact us at shortfilmfund@shorescripts.com if you have any questions.
ALL THE INFO: https://www.shorescripts.com/shortfilmfund/
