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Enter on or before October 23rd to save $10
Sep 12th
Super Early Bird
Oct 2nd
Early Bird
Oct 23rd
Regular
Nov 13th
Final
Nov 18th
Extended
Stage 32
Stage 32 Feature Drama Screenwriting Competition
2024
Active Since 2021
Stage 32 is proud to present the 5th Annual Feature Drama Screenwriting Competition!
Accepting Features
Enter Now
Enter on or before October 23rd to save $10

About

The Biggest Feature Screenplay Contest in the World is Back!

Ever dreamt of seeing your feature film script come to life on the big screen or streaming on TVs in living rooms across the country? This is your chance to turn that dream into reality! Our Grand Prize Winner will be flown to LA to meet industry professionals who’ve worked on iconic hits like MONKEY MAN, FIRST REFORMED, BEAU IS AFRAID, VOX LUX, HER SMELL, WIND RIVER, BLONDE, INFINITE, UNPREGNANT, and many more!

But that’s not all! Every finalist’s logline will be featured in a Stage 32 Look Book sent to over 500 top entertainment industry executives, giving your work unparalleled exposure.

Open to Feature Film Scripts!

Drama is the basis of every story that endures throughout entertainment. From the world-altering tension of OPPENHEIMER to the relentless turmoil of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and the emotional depth of THE HOLDOVERS, audiences can’t get enough. This year alone, films like CHALLENGERS and IT ENDS WITH US have crushed it at the box office. The appetite for scintillating drama is insatiable, and we want your story to be the next smash hit!

We’re on the lookout for all types of feature drama scripts! Classic family melodrama? Atmospheric psychological mind-bender? Passionate period piece? Genre-twisting Legal, War, Musical, Sports, Fantasy or Sci-Fi? The next legendary biopic? We want to see it all!

Feature film scripts like:
CHALLENGERS, THE HOLDOVERS, AMERICAN FICTION, PAST LIVES, ANATOMY OF A FALL, IT ENDS WITH US, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, THE IRON CLAW, OPPENHEIMER, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, MAY DECEMBER, THE GODFATHER, THE TRUMAN SHOW, LOST IN TRANSLATION, KRAMER VS. KRAMER, GOOD WILL HUNTING and many more.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re hungry for fresh, unique, and vibrant original dramatic ideas that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats!

For over a decade, Stage 32 Contests have been a launchpad for success stories. We’ve helped writers land representation, secure options, and get produced. Now, it’s your turn. If you’ve got a dramatic story burning inside you, this is your moment to shine. Let us help take your writing career to the next level!

Prices & Deadlines

Oct 23rd
Regular
Nov 13th
Final
Nov 18th
Extended
Submission
$69.50
$79.50
$84.50
Submission + Coverage + Resubmission Option
$168.50
$178.50
$183.50

Benefits

Our Grand Prize Winner will:

-- Be flown to LA to meet with top industry pros like who have worked on projects like MONKEY MAN, FIRST REFORMED, BEAU IS AFRAID, VOX LUX, HER SMELL, WIND RIVER, JOHN WICK, BLONDE, INFINITE, UNPREGNANT,  and many more!

-- Work with Stage 32 to develop a market-ready pitch deck for your winning script.

-- Have your logline and bio sent out and pitched to an exclusive roster of agents and managers actively seeking new talent.

-- Receive a free membership to the Stage 32 Writers’ Room, gaining access to over 3,000 hours of educational content and networking with industry heavyweights.

-- Continue to receive support from the Stage 32 team, who will work tirelessly to get you in front of decision-makers.

And that’s not all—if you make it to the Finals, you’ll still get massive exposure to key industry players. Finalists will receive a free month in the Stage 32 Writers’ Room and have their logline and bio included in our sought-after Look Book, sent to over 500 industry execs!

Our Feature Screenwriting Contest Winners See Results!

Stage 32 has launched the careers of hundreds of writers over the last 12 years. Stage 32 has quickly emerged as the leading source for industry executives to uncover new talent! Is this your year to move the needle on your career?

Our 4th Annual Feature Drama winner, Laura Preble gained massive traction on her winning script ANNA INCOGNITO, as she took a full slate of meetings in LA with Literary Managers, Development Execs, and Producers from Imagine Talent, IPG Literary Management, Empirical Evidence, Perfect Storm Entertainment and more! -- all actively working on and looking for features.

Our 3rd Annual Feature Drama winner Kelly Nugent signed with a manager at Wonder Street Entertainment after winning with her script THE OTHER MOTHER CRIED!

Our 6th Annual Feature Screenwriting winner, Jeff Galante signed with a manager at Primary Wave, and he is currently working on a slate of feature films with producers. Jeff's gone on to create/produce TV pilots for NBC and A&E and has consulted on projects for Ron Howard, Chris Moore, and Warner Bros animation.

Our 5th Annual Feature Screenwriting winner, Eric Jeske signed with a manager at Heroes & Villans Entertainment.

Still don't believe us? Previous contest winner Diana Wright was signed to The Cartel and Abrams Artists Agency!

Previous contest winner, Christina Pamies, was signed by "Billion Dollar" Literary Manager, Jake Wagner. After that, he got her a paid gig with StudioCanal adapting the recently released film BAGHEAD, which was co-produced by The Picture Company and released via AMC+ Networks!

Previous Contest Winner Jonathan Jordan was signed by major literary agency Verve, and worked on a script currently in production through them. He has also signed with a manager and is currently working on a new film.

Previous Contest Winner Greg Mania was signed by Cohn/Torgan Management.

At Stage 32, we will set you up on more meetings and put you in front of more Hollywood executives who are actively working in the industry than anyone else!

What Are You Waiting For? Submit Now!

Stage 32 has launched the careers of countless writers, helping them secure representation, land paid gigs, and see their scripts come to life. Could this be the year your career takes off? Our previous winners have gone on to work with major studios, sign with top managers, and see their films produced.

Drama films are bigger and better than ever, and we’re here to make sure your script rises to the top. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be discovered—enter now and let us champion your story!

Judges

Grand Prize winner will be flown to LA for meetings (travel permitting) to meet with:
AGX Films

Luca Borghese (Beau Is Afraid, Nyad)

Producer

AGX Films

Luca Borghese is one of the most prolific Producers working today and a partner at AGX Films. His films have screened at festivals such as Sundance, the Berlinale, SXSW, Cannes ‘Directors’ Fortnight, Locarno, and the Tribeca Film Festival and have been distributed theatrically both internationally and domestically by Sony Pictures Classics, Neon, IFC Films, Oscilloscope Laboratories, and Strand Releasing, amongst others.  His producing and co-producing credits include movies such as BEAU IS AFRAID (Ari Aster), NYAD (Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin), SPACEMAN (Johan Renck), PROJECT POWER (Henry Joost and Rel Schulman), CAPTIVE STATE (Ruper Wyatt), OKJA (Bong Joon Ho), LOST CITY OF Z (James Gray), TRIPLE NINE (John Hillcoat), YOUNG ADULT (Jason Reitman), RAMPART (Oren Moverman), MONSTERS AND MEN (Reinald Marcus Green) THE BEAVER (Jodie Foster), THE MESSENGER (Oren Moverman), and ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL (Sasha Gervasi). Luca worked at Sony Pictures Classics from 2004 to 2007. He graduated from Yale University in 2000 with a degree in Music.

CAA

David Romero (CAA)

Literary Agent

CAA

David Romero is a literary agent featured in Deadline representing high-profile clients who have worked on films and TV shows such as HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, FAST AND FURIOUS 6, MORTAL KOMBAT, Amazon's JUBILEE, and more critically acclaimed showrunners, writers, directors, and producers, providing unmatched expertise and tactical advice. For nearly a decade he's been a TV Literary/Scripted Agent at powerhouse agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). He began his career at The Shuman Company in management and producing before joining CAA's Scripted Television department, where he assisted Bruce Vinokour and Michael Gordon, as well as working as a Scripted TV Coordinator. David is open to finding to writers with great materials.

Sydney Foos (Vox Lux)

Creative Executive & Producer

Sydney Foos develops and produces projects for film, TV and podcasts and has developed projects with Amazon, AMC, Peacock, Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, and many more notable production companies. Sydney served as the Vice President of Development at Jay Ellis and Aaron Bergman’s Black Bar Mitzvah where she brought in multiple projects, both original ideas and based IP. She set up and sold half-hour and one-hour television pitches, features and podcasts, acquired financing for various projects, widening Black Bar Mitzvah’s presence in the marketplaces and managed the development slate of 40+ projects across film, TV and podcasts, including packaging, filling open assignments, preparing pitch materials and script drafts. She oversaw a slate of various projects including ALL THE SINGLE LADIES (OWN), SUE BIRD: IN THE CLUTCH, which was acquired by Wolfe Releasing, the largest exclusive distributor of LGBTQ+ films, following its buzzy Sundance debut. She previously worked as a Creative Executive at Killer Films (MAY DECEMBER), where she Executive Produced the Gotham Award nominated limited docu-series PRIDE for FX. She also contributed to projects with a wide range of independent filmmakers across all genres and budgets, such as Paul Schrader’s FIRST REFORMED, Brady Corbet’s VOX LUX, Wash Westmoreland’s COLETTE, Todd Haynes’ DARK WATERS, and Josephine Decker’s SHIRLEY. Sydney loves meeting and developing new writers with unique, fresh ideas!

Thunder Road Pictures

Danny DiMaso (Thunder Road Pictures)

Creative Executive

Thunder Road Pictures

Danny DiMaso is a Creative Executive at Thunder Road Films (JOHN WICK franchise, SICARIO, THE TOWN, WIND RIVER) which recently released films such as MONKEY MAN, SILENT NIGHT, KANDAHAR, and JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, and has on its slate the upcoming sequel to GREENLAND, the John Wick spinoff film BALLERINA, and RELAY, among others. Thunder Road is run by Basil Iwanyk and has grossed over $3.8 Billion at the box office worldwide. They have been nominated for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Producers Guild Awards, Writers Guild Awards, Directors Guild Awards and the AFI Awards. They are known for supporting the directorial debuts of Taylor Sheridan, Halle Berry and Dev Patel. Prior to this, he worked at YMH Studios developing film, TV, and podcast projects and held positions at Proxima Media and the short-form video company Triller where he developed and produced original content for the app and their PPV endeavors. He began his career in entertainment in the mailroom at A3 Artists Agency in Los Angeles. Danny loves finding and working with new writers to develop unique scripts with universal appeal.

Bellevue Productions

Maddy Weese (Bellevue)

Junior Literary Manager

Bellevue Productions

Maddy Weese is a Junior Literary Manager at Bellevue Productions. Prior to literary representation, she worked as a Creative Executive at Beacon Pictures overseeing development of both film and television. She has worked as an independent producer and has been a writers' assistant and script consultant on many projects. She got her start in the industry working on the original TV series CSI: LAS VEGAS and also worked as a writer for two of the CSI Video Games. She was raised in Southern California and she attended Loyola Marymount University.

IPG Literary Management

Joel Gotler

CEO & Literary Manager

IPG Literary Management

Joel Gotler is the CEO of Intellectual Property Group, a literary management company representing some of the world’s best-selling authors and screenwriters. He is responsible for selling the underlying book rights to hundreds of films, including INDECENT PROPOSAL and CHOCOLAT. Joel also works as a producer, with credits like THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, FERDINAND, MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS, and the documentary SID & JUDY.

Jay Silverman Productions

Bethany Cerrona

Producer

Jay Silverman Productions

Bethany Cerrona is the Producer at Jay Silverman Productions, the film and TV production company headed by industry veteran Jay Silverman. The company has just completed post-production on their latest inspirational feature film, CAMERA starring Beau Bridges, Jessica Parker Kennedy & Bruce Davison. Other films include the inspiring drama SAVING PARADISE, available on Tubi, and the romantic comedy OFF THE MENU which premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and was released by Sony, HBO, and is currently available on Amazon and Tubi. The company’s first feature film drama GIRL ON THE EDGE, was released to huge critical success, including 13 Festival Award wins. Picked up by Showtime, the script was penned by Joey Curtis (BLUE VALENTINE) and stars Peter Coyote, Taylor Spreitler, Gil Bellows, and Makenzie Phillips. On the TV side, Silverman worked on A&E’s “THE CLEANER” as Co-Executive Producer and creator. On the heels of these amazing productions, Jay Silverman Productions is looking for its next feature to develop. Silverman gravitates toward character-driven and inspirational material, including stories of unlikely heroes, small-town secrets, and characters that showcase the best of humanity, with themes of acceptance, love, and hope.

Propagate Content

Catalina Ramirez

Co-Head of Propagate International

Propagate Content

Catalina Ramirez is the Co-Head of Propagate International at Propagate Content, one of the world’s fastest-growing independent content creation companies, Propagate’s portfolio includes projects with Apple, Valhalla Entertainment. At Propogate, her duties include managing, resourcing, and producing different projects from the early stages of conception and development to sales and exhibition. Catalina also co-leads the distribution, partnerships and co-productions of Propagate's catalogue including the successful format JANE THE VIRGIN, LA FIRMA, MASKED SINGER, CRIME SCENE KITCHEN, and NEXT LEVEL CHEF along with the HBO documentary LFG. Catalina produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary IN HER HANDS with Senator Hillary Clinton which was sold to Netflix as well as the upcoming TV series 90 MINUTES which was sold to NBCUniversal. She was previously at Gunpowder and Sky where she led the international team and helped shape the content strategy for titles such as the SXSW documentary EVERYBODY'S EVERYTHING and the punk tale HER SMELL starring Elisabeth Moss. Prior to that, she worked at Magnolia Pictures where she handled sales and foreign festivals for films including the Oscar-nominated RBG and LUCKY starring Harry Dean Stanton.

831 Entertainment

Alex Pelham

Literary Manager

831 Entertainment

Alex Pelham is a Literary and Talent Manager at 831 Entertainment which is involved in the highly anticipated upcoming BUMBLE biopic starring Lily James, VAMPIRES OF THE VELVET LOUNGE starring Mena Suvari and FINEST KIND starring Scotty Tovar). He represents a diverse group of writers, directors, and actors between the US and Canada. His literary clients have staffed on Stephen Colbert's TOONING OUT THE NEWS on Paramount+ and SOFT FOCUS WITH JENNA FRIEDMAN on Adult Swim, while his talent clients have appeared in Amazon Prime's WITH LOVE, NBC's YOUNG ROCK, and CW's WALKER. Alex started his career at Cross Creek Pictures and Ghost House Pictures and he previously worked with the Austin Film Society. Alex has a strong grip on what makes a great story and loves working with writers. He's looking to find fresh new voices he can represent in film and television.

507 Collective

Adam Gerhleter

Creative Executive & Producer

507 Collective

Adam Gheleter is a Creative Executive and Producer at 507 Collective, a distinguished film production company known for its focus on independent and diverse storytelling. Films in the 507 Collective include ONE TRUE LOVES for Apple, SAM & KATE with Vertical Entertainment, DEVIL'S PEAK(starring Billy Bob Thorton, Robin Wright, and Jackie Earle Haley), BLOOD FOR DUST (starring Scoot McNairy and Kit Harington), AMBUSH starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and STOWAWAY (starring Ruby Rose, Frank Grillo, and Patrick Schwarzenegger) and many more. Recently 507 Collective worked in conjunction with several producing partners on 57 SECONDS starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson and the Action-Thriller feature film MUZZLE directed by John Stalberg and starred Aaron Eckhart that sold to RLJE and was announced in Variety. As a longtime development producer at 507 Collective, Adam oversees script development and project packaging. He has developed a keen eye for identifying top writing talent, developing projects and getting them to the screen.

Empress Films

Eben Davidson

Executive Producer

Empress Films

Eben Davidson is a producer and studio executive with a career spanning over two decades in the entertainment industry. Eben serves as Executive Producer at Empress Films and 308C Productions, Davidson has played pivotal roles in shaping numerous successful projects such as the Oscar-nominated film ARRIVAL and the TRANSFORMERS franchise.  With previous positions including Head of Scripted Entertainment at Invisible Narratives and Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming at Blumhouse Television, Davidson's expertise encompasses both creative development and strategic oversight. With a strong foundation built during fourteen years at Paramount Pictures, where Davidson held various senior roles, including Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Production, his track record speaks volumes about his commitment to quality storytelling and effective production management.   As a feature film executive, Davidson supervised projects grossing over $1 Billion and earning 18 Academy Award nominations. Some notable films that Eben oversaw and brought into the company are ARRIVAL, FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS, TOP FIVE, ANOMALISA, EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA, JACKASS 3D, JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER, KATY PERRY: PART OF ME, and FOOTLOOSE.

2023/2024 Winners on Coverfly

See Other Placements

Announcements

Jan 31st
Semifinalists
Feb 14th
Finalists
Feb 28th
Winners

Rules

ENTRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Void where prohibited by law.

This Stage 32 Contest is an international contest. Must be 18 years or older to submit.

Entrant agrees to Stage32.com terms and conditions.

This Stage 32 Contest is not a game of chance. All material is read and reviewed by industry professionals.

All quarterfinalists, semi-finalists, finalists and winners are subjectively determined by our judges.

There is no limit to the number of screenplays an Entrant can enter. The same screenplay cannot be submitted multiple times under different names. If so, you will be disqualified.

Entrant must not be an immediate family member or friend of any of the judges or their respective companies.

Entrant acknowledges that because of the judges' and mentors' position in the entertainment industry they receive numerous submissions of ideas, formats, stories, suggestions and the like and that many such submissions heretofore or hereafter received by them are similar to or identical to those developed by them or their employees or, if an agent, are otherwise available to them.

Entrant acknowledges that they will not be entitled to any compensation because of the use by judges or mentors of any such similar material.

Entrant acknowledges that no fiduciary or confidential relationship now exists between Entrant and judges or mentors, and Entrant further acknowledges that no such relationships are established between Entrant and judges or mentors by reason of this contest entry.

Entrants must submit screenplays and payment online.

Entrants must upload their submission within 72 hours of entry purchase.

Entry fees will not be returned or adjusted.

No waivers are available for this contest.

SCREENPLAY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Screenplays should be written in English and in standard industry format.

The rights to the Entrant’s screenplay should not have been previously optioned or sold.

The Entrant retains the rights to his or her screenplay at all times.

Entrant’s screenplay must not have been produced.

The screenplay can be submitted with or without a title page and/or contact information.

After a screenplay is entered, no new drafts or corrected pages can be made by the Entrant unless it is confirmed in our records that the Entrant has paid for the "Resubmission" option.

Screenplay must be submitted as a PDF document.

Screenplay must be the original work of the Entrant and may not be based whole or in part on any fictional or non-fictional material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced for which the Entrant does not have rights. Neither Stage 32 nor its judges investigates or attests to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights secured. By entering the competition, you are acknowledging that you have secured all necessary rights.