Screenwriting : A wee introduction to the Short Com and SI-FAN Comedy and Genre Feature Screenplay Competition by Chris Aitken

Hi all. This is Chris from the UK Comedy Film Festival Short Com and Scottish genre festival SI-FAN here. I just wanted to give a little introduction to who we are and the script competition, which we're delighted to have on the Stage 32 Global Contest Hub (thanks guys).

Short Com is a BAFTA and BIFA qualifying film festival that began with very humble beginnings in 2011 to put short comedy films on the big screen to a live audience and to champion emerging comedy filmmaking, writing and performing talent. We're now one of the largest comedy-specific short film festivals around the world with the simple principle, selecting good films on their capacity to make an audience laugh. Screening between London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. We love finding new filmmakers with hilarious shorts and we love to see audiences laugh at them.

SI-FAN is the 'baby sister' to Short Com. It shares a lot of the same principles as Short Com but we can select and celebrate other cool new filmmakers outside of comedy which qualify in the fantastic genre space.

We launched our first-ever joint comedy and genre feature screenplay late last year to find writers with interesting and marketable scripts. Partly because we know being a writer can be a very lonely experience if you don't have those connections to filmmakers and producers. And with our position as two respected film festivals renowned for curation, we have the confidence of the industry when we say we have something good for you to read. We have already helped some of our five finalists this year get meetings with major studios and one is already having conversations with a major streamer (or the major streamer).

It doesn't matter if your script is a low budget affair or a potential blockbuster extravaganza. The simple things we ask are, would we and producers love to see it in the cinema on a theatrical run or gain cult status on the film festival circuit. We just want to help good writers where we can.

The reading team are experienced and has read scripts by Oscar winners and Hollywood-produced scripts. They are also paid fairly for their time and expertise. That might sound like an odd thing to say, but we want people to know that their submissions are handled with care and respect. If anyone requests feedback and we think they don't need it, then they will get a partial refund. Also, we are considerate and understanding to those who are neurodiverse with difficulties in spelling and grammar.

You can find out more via https://www.stage32.com/happy-writers/contests/The-Short-Com-and-SI-FAN-...

Some shout out to our films of the year so far, in no particular order: Roofman, Splitsville, Self Driver, No Other Choice, Twinless, DJ Ahmet, Chainsaws Were Singing and Vampire Zombies... From Space! (There's still a load we need to catch up on.)

All the best peoples and feel free to comment on any comedy or genre films released this year to check out.