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WeScreenplay
WeScreenplay Short Script Lab
2022
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2017
6 writers will be selected for a multi-day virtual Shorts Lab! Plus, free feedback for all entries.
View Latest Season
This season has closed, but there's a new season open now!

About

Short scripts are a fantastic way to get your screenwriting feet wet, explore a new genre, hone your craft, and get noticed. With so many Oscar-qualifying film festivals, it’s one way to gain recognition within the entertainment industry!

For this competition, all winners will be invited to take part in our exclusive Virtual Shorts Lab to help define the next steps in their projects journey – whether that’s self-producing, crowdfunding, or connecting it with a production company looking for short content. Plus, every entry receives one page of feedback from a professional reader!

Our industry jury is chock-full of experience bringing compelling shorts to life — and have the accolades to prove it.

We’re also excited to welcome back crowdfunding platform and specialists Seed&Spark as an official partner for this year’s competition! Seed&Spark will meet with this year’s Top 25 Finalists to offer 1:1 mentoring.

Ready to turn your short script into long-term success? Submit today!

Benefits

THE JUDGES

Top scripts are considered by our incredible industry jury that includes:

NATALIE METZGER - Producer, Vanishing Angle

Natalie is a Spirit Award nominated producer whose films have premiered at top festivals around the world including Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, and Locarno. She is best known for critically acclaimed IFC release THE BETA TEST, WEREWOLVES WITHIN, Jim Cummings’ THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW, Sundance darling GREENER GRASS, and SXSW Grand Jury Award winner THUNDER ROAD. Her feature writing/directing credits include LGBTQ sports documentary ALONE IN THE GAME and medical documentary SPECIAL BLOOD. She has also directed numerous award-winning commercials and short films.


MEGHAN ROSS - Head of Creator Success, Seed&Spark

Meghan Ross is currently the Head of Creator Success at Seed&Spark and previously worked for VICELAND and SundanceTV. She’s also a writer/director, comedian, and activist based in Austin. Her short films have made The New Yorker’s Best Shouts of 2020 list and she was nominated for The Webby Awards 2021 for her short, If You Ever Hurt My Daughter, I Swear to God I’ll Let Her Navigate Her Own Emotional Growth, which features narration by Jon Hamm. Meghan’s writing has appeared in Reductress, IFC, Slackjaw, VICE's Broadly, TV Without Pity, The Toast, and some other defunct but beloved sites. She’s currently a fellow in the Sundance Episodic Lab with her pilot Here to Make Friends, which is also her personal tagline.


JASMINE JOHNSON - EVP of Development, Crypt TV

Jasmine Johnson originally hails from Bowie, Maryland. She attended Temple University where she received her B.A. in Film and Media Arts. After graduation, Johnson moved to Los Angeles where she cut her teeth in talent management, working at various companies including Anonymous Content. She transitioned to development at Gulfstream Pictures, helping shape a diverse slate of film and television projects across genres. She now serves as Crypt TV's EVP of Development and is a Co-Executive Producer on Peacock's THE GIRL IN THE WOODS. She's spoken at Los Angeles Comic Con, New York Comic Con, the American Film Market and RTX in Austin, TX. Collectively her projects have garnered over 200 million views across platforms.


MARIA GRACIA TURGEON - Academy Award-nominated Producer, Midi La Nuit

Canadian producer and two-time Academy Award nominee Maria Gracia Turgeon co-founded Midi La Nuit with producer/director Annick Blanc. She has produced numerous short films including Brotherhood by Meryam Joobeur (92nd Oscar nominee, Best Canadian Short TIFF 2018, Sundance 2019), The Color of Your Lips by Annick Blanc (Canadian Screen Awards, Best Fantastic Short – Austin Fantastic Fest 2019), FAUVE by Jérémy Comte (91st Oscar nominee, Sundance Special Jury Award 2018, Telluride 2018), Marc-Antoine Lemire's PRE-DRINK (Best Canadian Short TIFF 2017), How Tommy Lemenchick Became a Grade 7 Legend by Bastien Alexandre (Tribeca 2018). Maria Gracia Turgeon has also line-produced short films such as François Jaros’ Oh What a Wonderfull Feeling (Cannes Critics' Week, TIFF, Slamdance), and Meryam Joobeur's Born in the Maelstrom starring Sasha Lane (American Honey).


VIDHYA IYER - TV Writer

Vidhya's journey is a classic, age old Hollywood story. Born in Nigeria. Moved to India at 12 where she lived alone in an apartment with no adult supervision till 18. Majored in Computer Engineering in college while running a franchise of an Italian restaurant with her brother. Then made the natural transition into writing TV comedy. She's worked with Imagine Entertainment, Disney TVA, Netflix Animation and Apple TV. She is currently writing on Season 4 of Hulu's 'Solar Opposites'. Oh and she's been profiled in Vogue!


DANIEL SECO - Literary Manager, Empirical Evidence

A graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Florida with a master’s degree in journalism, Dan Seco is currently a literary manager and partner at Empirical Evidence where he represents both writers and directors for film and television. Previously, Dan served as a literary manager at Schemers Entertainment (STRANGER THINGS; THE GREATEST SHOWMAN) and was a motion picture literary coordinator at Writ Large (SHIMMER LAKE) and an assistant for a motion picture literary agent at CAA. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Seco worked as a sports journalist covering MLB, US Soccer, and the NBA, as well as a special education teacher in New Orleans.


ALLIE WATSON - Manger of Development, Rooster Teeth

Allie Watson is currently a Manager of Development on the Rooster Teeth Studios team where she focuses on scripted development and current series as well as podcast development and production. She has spent the past four years at Rooster Teeth helping to grow their studios business covering series including GEN:LOCK for HBO Max and podcasts including Ryan Condal & David Mandel's THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE OF. Originally from Texas, Watson spent five years in Los Angeles working in television development after graduating from The University of Texas in Austin. In that time, she worked on the drama development and programming team at FOX and before that, for Ellen Pompeo's production company Calamity Jane under their deal at ABC Studios. 


RUSSELL KAHN - Producer, Scrap Paper Pictures

Russell Kahn is an actor and producer born and bred in New York City. While in highschool, his first short film project as a producer premiered overseas at London's Raindance Film Festival. He has since held posts on both coasts at Hollywood's Creative Artist Agency, and currently serves as an executive at Scrap Paper Pictures - Emmy and Golden Globe winner Rachel Brosnahan's Amazon Studios first look deal. At Scrap Paper Pictures Russell has managed development and production of TV, Film, Theatre, and Podcast projects, including the Gracie Award winning and two-time WGA Award nominated Amazon Prime special, Yearly Departed. Russell is a co-founder of the indie multimedia storytelling hub, Voyeur, whose most recent short film, CHAPERONE, premiered at Sundance  2022 and was designated as a top title of the festival by Indiewire and Filmmaker Magazine. Voyeur's 2018 immersive performance installation ARCADE AMERIKANA enjoyed a sold out run, and was listed among New York's best immersive offerings by Time Out NY, Gotham, and Playbill. Other work by Voyeur has been celebrated at Tribeca Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortfest, Outfest, NewFest, Canadian International Fashion Film Festival, Seattle International Fashion Film Festival, and more. 


THE PRIZES

GRAND PRIZE: WeScreenplay Shorts Virtual Lab

Five winners will be invited to a day of exclusive virtual meetings with industry professionals to talk about the most effective ways to move forward with their short film scripts.

During this one-day Virtual Shorts Lab, we’ll explore topics such as securing financing, getting talent and producers attached to your project, tips and tricks for making the most of the festival circuit, and how to balance practical needs with getting your passion project off the ground. The small group setting will allow you to ask questions of creators who have been through it and execs who are looking for short form content. Learn how to get the most mileage out of your short script!

Our top scripts are read by our incredible industry jury and competition winners get access to ongoing mentorship from WeScreenplay including an initial phone call, guidance for drafting query letters, research methods for finding the right representation, prep before big meetings, and strategic planning for next steps in their careers — all based on the writer’s specific goals.

Through these efforts the WeScreenplay team has generated dozens of success stories that have led to writers signing with representation, staffing on shows, and more!

FINALISTS: The Top 25 Finalists will win 1:1 mentoring with Seed&Spark’s crowdfunding specialists!

We’re pleased to bring back our partnership with Seed&Spark, a crowdfunding platform with the lowest fees, the highest campaign success rate in the world (88%), and a track record of setting filmmakers on a path to success. Crowdfunding is not a stop-gap funding measure; it’s a tool in your professional arsenal to take control of your career.

ALL ENTRANTS: In addition to our FREE feedback, every entry comes with admission to a live webinar — CROWDFUNDING TO BUILD INDEPENDENCE with Seed&Spark, which will take place later in the year. Learn how to have a successful crowdfunding campaign…and career! You’ll learn how to find your audience, structure your crowdfunding campaign, pick the right goal and incentives, and more.

2023 Winners on Coverfly

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Announcements

Aug 25th
Semifinalists
Sep 30th
Finalists
Nov 1st
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.

  1. Screenplays entered must:
    1. Be under 35 pages – Anything over 35 pages will be charged an extra $1 per page.
    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. 
    3. Be owned solely by the writer or writing team listed. It may be an adaptation or reimagining of true events or fictional stories. Spec scripts of existing shows are NOT accepted at this time.
    4. Be written in English. However, scripts from anywhere in the world will be accepted.
    5. 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: Short script
  7. Entrant’s total earnings for writing produced or unproduced, published or unpublished, must not exceed $35,000 in the previous 18 months from submission. A writer’s lifetime earnings can’t exceed $300,000 from writing anything produced or unproduced, published or unpublished. 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 2 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.