Screenwriting : Shorts Question by Jeff Lyons

Your question is a little ambiguous to me. Are you talking about scripts or short films?

Scritps for short films...

Hey Jeff

Depends what you want from the competition really, e.g. if you want to be able to say 'Award winning screenwriter' on your resume go for ones with low entrant numbers, if you want to win $s look or those with good prize payouts, if you are looking for feedback on your script then see who offers notes/coverage (usually for a little extra)...

However, if you are looking to get noticed by producers then that's really the domain of feature competitions like Page, Nicholl etc.

You can find info on short script comps at Withoutabox, Filmfreeway and MovieBytes... all let you filter comps so you can find the ones most suited to your requirements.

And if you are a genre specialist then see if there's any specific to your genre of choice, there often is.

My own personal recommendations

1) Screencraft

2) Nashville Film fest

3) Page Award

4) Scriptapalooza

5) Fresh Voices

That's just a selection, there's hundreds out there!

Austin now does shorts

That's a great question....and everybody's advice is right on....meaning (in the subtext) it's all about what you want out of it. My sister won the Final Draft contest a few years ago and, like all winners, got a check out of the deal, and, like most winners, struggled with the usual emotional highs and lows until, in the end, nothing came of it. Another friend won the big one sponsored by Screenwriter magazine....same deal. Nice check, nothing came of it on the screen. Nicholls maybe be a bit different in that regard....a # of the winners and semi-finalists have seen their work go into production. I suppose a good rule of thumb is to simply keep your expectations in check.

jeff

Many contests don't let pros enter; "pro" meaning there is a salary cap ceiling of $$$ from writing.

Thanx everybody :)