Victor Osorio Laita: Production assistant and screenwriter in Los Angeles, California.

Hi guys! I recently finished my first feature script in English and I would like to send it to some contests but everything I find is very expensive. Do you guys know of free or at least not that expensive contests? Besides keep writing, what other advice do you guys have for someone who doesn't know a lot about the industry? Thanks so much!

I know a bunch of writers, particularly at Facebook, that enter lots of script contests and film festivals with the hope it will further their career. In fact, I just read one of the best spec comedies I've ever read from a good writing pal. I advised him he should start pitching that script to anyone looking for a romcom. He told me he was entering Page International and Nichol Fellowship and would wait to see what happens with both of those well-regarded script contests before he starts pitching. Well shit my brother, you're going to be waiting months for that to happen and possibly lose opportunities to see your work get made into a film.

Though I often compete in contests and have placed at Page, Austin, Screencraft and many others, I do it for fun and have no illusions that those venues will be a pathway to selling my work. Therefore, I also look for every opportunity to whore my wares to anyone interested. And for the folks thinking if they only win one of the top ten contests, they'll soon after acquire an agent, you may be waiting a long time. Though I briefly worked with a literary agent on one project, I've spent little time trying to score an agent. I've repped myself and used my wife's legal brain to review any contracts that have come across my desk. And I'm having some success doing that.

So before you lay your shekels down for lots contests, look at why you're doing them. If your goal is not to have fun and compete with other good writers, you may be wasting your money.

https://www.inktip.com/main_total_deals_closed.php?l_id=3254#.WoNdz1YgDe...

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-5-film-festivals-where-I-can-sell...

Hi Victor. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 400,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

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RB

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