On a lark, I submitted a short to the Chicago Script Awards competition. The fee was relatively low, and the competition endorsed by Film Freeway, for whatever that is worth.
The results will be announced end of June, but a week ago, I got an email from them with a vague statement about how they thought my script would be "successful" in the competition, and encouraging me to list it on their site (no doubt for a fee). The suggestion seemed to be that if you paid for a listing, you could expect a placement of some sort. The site had no info about the fee, and the listing section did not look enticing or convincing. To list, you had to email them for details, which I didn't bother to do.
Since this came across as scammy, I checked a bit and found that what must be the same company also has a competition billed "London Script Awards" and possibly others. Question being, has anyone else had any experience with this outfit?
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Had the same experience. Not worth it.
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Dan Guardino Oh, I know, no worries. For this particular project, however, a couple of contest wins might be helpful in my local environment. So I entered it in a few. This particular one was obviously a complete dud, however :D Mainly posted as fair warning to others.
For shorts it is also a little different, in that some contests actually give a production budget to winners (although not the above one).
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Stage 32, ISA, AFF, and the Nichol Fellowship are all that I trust and spend money on. Most contests and screenwriting sites are set up to take advantage of writers.
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I got the same thing from them. How did you do in the final round? I was "selected" but nothing more.
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There was a clown who created over a dozen specialized competitions (LGTBQ, African-American, etc.) to generate capital not so long ago (forget their name). They were outed, folded their tent and skulked off into the darkness. This sounds like the same clown.
Caveat emptor.
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Stage32 is the right place. Thanks for sharing Christiane Lange !
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Bill Albert Crickets :D But the short did win a different one, so all good.