WeScreenplay
WeScreenplay Feature Lab
2024
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2014
6 winners will be selected to participate in an exclusive virtual lab full of 1:1 meetings and workshops with industry professionals.
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About

The WeScreenplay Feature Lab is designed to provide access to Hollywood professionals and help you level up your craft at the same time. 6 fellows will be selected to participate in a jam-packed, multi-day interactive virtual screenwriting lab.

The lab includes group and 1:1 meetings with industry executives, hands-on workshops, and discussions with working feature writers. Previous labs have included industry pros from Make Good Content, Zero Gravity, Sony Television, MGM Studios, Lionsgate, Pascal Pictures, and more. This year’s Keynote Mentors are behind great films like THE CONJURING, THE WOMAN KING and 1917.

Benefits

KEYNOTE MENTORS

For every lab we invite an impressive list of Keynote Mentors to participate.


Chad & Carey Hayes

Writers, Producers

THE CONJURING franchise, HOUSE OF WAX, ANNABELLE


Identical twin brothers Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes have been mainstays of feature film writing since 2005, having written such films as HOUSE OF WAX, WHITE OUT and THE REAPING before creating THE CONJURING Franchise for Warner Brothers. They also wrote the screenplay for 2020’s THE TURNING and are working on projects for Fox, Sony, Mark Gordon’s eOne Entertainment, Universal/Amblin and more.


Shary Shirazi

SVP of of Creative Production for TriStar Pictures

THE WOMAN KING, A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD


Shary Shirazi is Senior Vice President of Creative Production for TriStar Pictures where she has led the development, production and acquisition of several films. Her recent projects include The Woman King, a ground-breaking historical epic directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Oscar-nominated A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and Happiest Season, a holiday romantic comedy. In 2019, Ms. Shirazi was also recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen List: 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under. She currently manages a robust development slate including adaptations of best-selling books, including The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and Burial Rights by Hannah Kent, along with musicals such as Guys and Dolls.


John Hilary Shepherd

Producer, Writer

1917, HACKSAW RIDGE, NURSE JACKIE


A graduate of the American Film Institute with an MFA in Screenwriting, producer John Hilary Shepherd is the founder of Flying Rhino Productions. Previously, John spearheaded development for Academy Award-nominated producer Brian Oliver at New Republic Pictures (1917) and Cross Creek Pictures (BLACK SWAN, HACKSAW RIDGE). John is also a WGA Award-nominated writer for his work on the Showtime television series NURSE JACKIE.


INDUSTRY GUESTS


Industry Guests will participate in the 2024 Feature Lab in either group sessions or 1:1 meetings with the winners. 


DOORIE LEE, Manager at 42 Management and Production

DOMINIQUE GRUND, Manager at Black Bear Pictures. 


GRAND PRIZE WINNERS (6)


Winners will take meetings with development executives, attend a notes session, and learn how to make the most of a client/rep relationship from managers and agents. It’s an exciting, hands-on schedule of events that will help you further your career — all from the comfort of your own home


Additionally, the winners get access to advice from WeScreenplay team, including guidance for drafting query letters, research methods for finding the right representation, and insight for actionable next steps in their careers — all based on the writer’s specific goals.

Writer Success

My writing partner and I wrote a feature historical drama script called JUMPMAN about the creator of Super Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, and the historic rise of Nintendo, which was already making a big splash in the screenwriting contest world. After placing among the Top 10 Finalists of the 2021 WeScreenplay Feature Competition, WeScreenplay connected us with numerous management and production companies. As a result, we had the wonderful privilege of interviewing with several managers. In the end, Mike Diaz of ATN Entertainment left a strong impact on us and seemed to share our vision for our careers, with additional support from manager Ben Pitts and ATN CEO Jennifer Aurianne DaRe. Today, we are excited to say that we are now signed with ATN Entertainment!
Alex George Pickering
2021 Finalist
Signed with Mike Diaz at ATN Entertainment
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Coverfly Program Insights
Coverfly vets all programs on its platform, but not every program is right for every writer. Program Insights help you decide where to submit your work.

2025 Winners on Coverfly

Top 1%
Feature  · Drama  · 114 Pages
Most criminals start as victims … how and why does this happen? An exploration into the trauma, nature, and nurture that shape the violent behavior of 3 best friends in suburban Florida circa 2004, while 1 searches for redemption and they all struggle to let go.
Windermere, Florida
Adopted at birth, Daniel experienced significant trauma while coming of age. He dropped out of high school at 16, but went on to meet a girl, Jenn, who turned his life around at 20. From there, Daniel majored in Criminology at UCF and graduated with a Law Degree cum laude from FAMU College of Law, both in Orlando, FL. A victim of abuse and former...
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Top 1%
Feature  · Comedy  · 107 Pages
A romantasy audiobook producer reeling from a break up accidentally opens up a portal that a hot knight from a magical world falls through, and now she must help him get back home while trying to keep her own life from falling apart. BOTTOMS meets ENCHANTED
Los Angeles, CA
Lissette Jean-Marie is a writer, improv comedian (UCB's Sing Out, Louise!), and Los Angeles local since birth. She plays D&D, flirts too much, practices witchcraft, and rewatches Fleabag Season 2 a worrying amount. You'll find her sipping on whiskey sours and arguing about the sex lives of Tolkien characters at bars after improv shows all around th...
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Top 1%
Feature  · Comedy  · 106 Pages
A single mother’s candid relationship with her daughter is tested when she secretly dates the father of her daughter’s dorm-mate. At the same time her body care store is threatened by a huge competitor moving in next door, and she turns to an online insomniac’s club for advice.
Toronto, Ontario, CA
Laura produced over forty projects, winning several awards, including an International Emmy, before focusing on writing. After writing on several tv shows, she developed her original voice on features. Exploring many genres including comedy, drama, science fiction, mystery and a family Christmas story, Laura's goal is to write entertaining features...
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Announcements

Apr 12th
Semifinalists
May 1st
Finalists
May 31st
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.

At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.

  1. Screenplays entered must:
    1. Be screenplays that are a minimum of 70 pages. (All scripts under 70 pages will be accepted, read, and considered through the finalist round – but cannot win one of the top 4 prizes)
    2. Be submitted in PDF form and must fit all standard screenplay format guidelines. Personal formatting conventions will be accepted but must not intentionally or accidentally alter the page count of the project as determined by the judges. Anything over 120 pages will cost $1 extra per page.
    3. Be owned solely by the writer or writing team listed. It may be an adaptation or reimagining of true events or fictional stories. Projects submitted should not infringe on the rights of any work not available in the public domain.
    4. Be written in English. However, scripts from anywhere in the world will be accepted.
    5. Have pages numbered. Scripts of any length will be accepted for an additional fee, but we’d advise that scripts over 150 pages should be edited down before being submitted.
    6. NOTE: WeScreenplay automatically removes the cover page before assigning scripts to readers, so writers may include any typical information on their cover page. Scripts are accepted with or without cover pages.
  2. Writer must be 18 years of age or older at the time of the winner's announcement.
  3. By entering this screenplay into the competition, you must have full permission from all co-writers and any attachments to the project.
  4. WeScreenplay claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remain with the original rights holder(s).
  5. Screenplays entered may be in any genre or combination of genres. All will be treated equally and read by an unbiased panel of readers and jury members.
  6. The following formats will be accepted: Feature screenplay
  7. Entrant’s total earnings for screenwriting for either film or tv, produced or unproduced, must not exceed $50,000 in the previous 18 months from submission or $250,000 lifetime earnings. This excludes any prize money from competitions or fellowships and only applies to fund or money transferred in exchange for an option or sale of a script, treatment, idea, intellectual property, or other writing for filming. Money earned from acting, directing, producing, or any other film work outside of writing is not included.
  8. Screenplays submitted must not have been previously sold or produced unless said sale or production was completed with no financial gain to the writer.
  9. Purchasing Additional feedback throughout the competition will in no way impact your standing or odds of advancement.
  10. For a submission to be valid it must be accompanied with the appropriate payment based on the submission deadlines.
  11. All deadlines are at 11:59pm PST on the date listed. Any deadline alteration or promotion of any kind does not make any entry valid for a refund of any kind.
  12. RESUBMISSIONS will be accepted. Alterations can be re-uploaded via our submissions management platform at coverfly.com for $6. New drafts of an entry will be accepted at any time during the contest.
  13. There are no refunds for any submitted screenplay. Coupons may not be applied to previously submitted scripts. Coupons deemed for WeScreenplay coverage may not be used for submission to the contest or addition of coverage to any submission unless explicitly stated or exempted on the coupon or by a WeScreenplay representative via e-mail communication only.
  14. There is no limit on the number of scripts a writer or writing team may submit.
  15. Prizes are awarded per script and teams of writers are expected to divide prizes on their own accord. WeScreenplay will send prizes to the writer who submits the project and will in no way be responsible for how the prizes are distributed among the writing teams.
  16. The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner. There is no score on a scorecard that guarantees advancement to the next level as advancement will be based on all scores in the competition.
  17. Scorecards can be accessed on the writer’s dashboard. Feedback will be delivered before the next announcement but usually sooner. Feedback for each round of the competition, whether it’s the 1 Page or 4 Page option, will be returned before the next competition announcement.
  18. WeScreenplay reserves the right to delay announcements for any reason. While we never anticipate any delays, such delays will not alter the standing of any screenplay entry and will not qualify an entry for a refund under any circumstance.
  19. By entering a WeScreenplay competition every entrant is agreeing to all WeScreenplay Terms of Service listed on the website and additional terms agreed upon at checkout. If you disagree with any terms you may not submit to the contest.
  20. By submitting to the contest you are releasing your script (but not it’s underlying rights) to WeScreenplay and holding harmless WeScreenplay or any affiliates from any claims, expenses, and liabilities, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, copyright, libel, trademark infringement, slander, personal property infringement, etc.
  21. Any prize winners will be required to sign an affidavit validating their entry into the contest.
  22. Any writer winning a cash prize of over $599 will be required to file the appropriate tax and legal documentation before the cash prize is distributed.
  23. All prizes provided by sponsors or mentors are subject to said sponsor or mentor providing the prize. WeScreenplay will do everything in its power to collect the prize packages promised, but is not responsible for a sponsor’s failed delivery.
  24. Former Grand Prize, Second Prize, and Third Prize Winners of the contest may enter so long as it is NOT the same script that won in a previous year. Any other placement in former years does not disqualify the script from being entered this year.
  25. By entering the competition, entrants are acknowledging their eligibility for the competition. 99.9 % of entrants enter in good faith, and validating everyone at that stage would be inefficient and take away from efforts reading and finding the best scripts. We do check eligibility at the finalist stage before picking winners or distributing any prizes. We also advance a few additional scripts to ensure no one is missed by someone entering who is not eligible. We check all finalists and on a case by case basis in earlier rounds if something seems like it may not be eligible.
  26. Void where prohibited.
  27. Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to WeScreenplay and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  28. BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You agree to release and hold harmless WeScreenplay, Red Ampersand, Inc., Industry Arts, LLC., WeScreenplay.com, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, Prize contributors, judges, screenplay readers, Sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Contest and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the WeScreenplay.org and its Sponsor, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorney’s fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or entrant’s use or misuse of Prize. Employees of WeScreenplay and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately disqualified. ENTRY TO THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED or restricted by any Federal, State or Local law. Voided entries will be refunded. Recipients’ eligibility will be verified before the grant is awarded and the winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility.