COMPETITION BRINGS SCRIPTS-TO-SCREEN IN SEVEN DAYS

The Duke City Shootout Digital Filmmaking Competition is prepping for its 10th Anniversary edition to run July 24 - August 1 next year.

Each year, seven scripts are chosen from hundreds of submissions from writers across the country. The scriptwriters are then flown to Albuquerque and given everything they need to bring their script to life—a cast, high-definition digital camera and lighting equipment, a production crew, post-production facilities, transportation and more. Then, at the end of the week, the seven 12-minute films are premiered before a live audience in Albuquerque.

For more information on the Duke City Shootout, including details on script submission guidelines and deadlines for 2009, visit www.dukecityshootout.org.

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL TO PRESENT SAM SHEPARD WITH DISTINGUISHED SCREENWRITER AWARD

The Austin Film Festival has announced that screenwriter, actor, director and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard will accept a Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 15th annual Austin Film Festival (October 16-23). Shepard will receive the award at the Austin Film Festival Award Luncheon on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at the Austin Club.

The Festival was the first and remains one of the only film festivals in the country with the primary focus on the writer. “Sam Shepard has changed the landscape of American film and stage with his work as a playwright, screenwriter and actor,” said Barbara Morgan, AFF co-founder and executive director. “His work represents the spirit of the Distinguished Screenwriter Award and we are thrilled to honor him.”

Originally from Illinois, Shepard moved to New York City’s East Village in the 1960s where he became involved in writing for Off Off Broadway. Shepard’s playwriting credits include Angel City, Curse of the Starving Class, Killer’s Head, The Mad Dog Blues, Cowboy Mouth, The Rock Garden, True West and The God of Hell. In the late 1960s Shepard wrote his first screenplays, Me and My Brother (1968) and Antonioni's Zabriskie Point (1970); in 1979 he received the ultimate writing honor when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his three-act play Buried Child. Shepard later wrote and directed the Pulitzer-nominated and Obie-winning play Fool For Love, which Shepard also adapted for Robert Altman to direct in the 1983 screen version starring Shepard along with actress Kim Basinger. He wrote the screenplay and collaborated with Wim Wender on the highly acclaimed 1984 film Paris, TX and also wrote and directed the features Far North and Silent Tongue.

He began his acting career in 1978 in Bob Dylan’s Renaldo and Clara and went on to impress critics in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven. A number of strong appearances followed including his role as Chuck Yeager in Philip Kaufman’s The Right Stuff, which earned him an Academy Award® nomination, and Dash and Lilly, which brought him both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for his performance as writer Dashiell Hammett.

The Austin Film Festival (October 16-23) and Conference (October 16-19) will be held at the Driskill Hotel, InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel and other venues in Austin, Texas. Confirmed panelists include screenwriters John August, John Lee Hancock, Buck Henry, Jake Kasdan, Jeff Nathanson, Dan Petrie Jr., Phil Rosenthal, Kirsten Smith, Eric Red, Terry Rossio and Robert Townsend. For a complete list of panelists and events, more information, or to register, go to www.austinfilmfestival.com or call (512) 478-4795 or (800) 310-3378. Conference Badges and Film Passes can be purchased online or by phone.

SCREENWRITER-FRIENDLY FILM FESTS

This section (updated regularly) lists screenwriting competitions and sidebars associated with or sponsored by film festivals.

WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS
Some film festivals present industry workshops, labs and conferences on the subject of screenwriting:

The Austin Film Festival was the first film fest dedicated to celebrating the writer as the heart of the collaborative filmmaking process. The festival holds a Heart of Screenwriting Conference and Competition which attracts major screenwriters and producers as speakers. For more details, go to:
www.austinfilmfestival.com

The Los Angeles Film Festival presents "Coffee Talks" with a panel of screenwriters and holds a 7-week Screenwriters Lab.
www.lafilmfest.com

The Nantucket Film Festival offers a number of panels focusing on screenwriting as well as a series called "Morning Coffee With...", which enables festival-goers a chance to meet with screenwriters. For more info, go to:
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org

The Rhode Island International Film Festival presents a Master Class in which the grand prize winner will have segments of the work produced and video taped. For more info, go to:
www.film-festival.org

The San Diego Film Festival collaborates with the American Screenwriters Association to present the "Selling to Hollywood" conference. Also a competition with cash and prizes and a development package. Go to:
www.sdff.org

Each February the Santa Barbara International Film Festival manages to round up all or most of the recently Oscar-nominated screenwriters for a seminar held during their festival February. Go to:
www.sbfilmfestival.org

The Sundance Film Festival is sponsored by the Sundance Institute. In addition to the annual festival, the Institute puts on a Screenwriters Lab (a five-day workshop for developing scripts) twice a year in January and June. Those chosen to participate develop their films under the concentrated guidance of veteran filmmakers and actors. Go to:
www.sundance.org

STAGED READINGS
Screenplay readings are staged by some fests, including these:

At the Atlantic Film Festival one writer will be chosen to receive a live staged full read-through with local actors at the Scrip Out Loud session during the festival. Go to:
www.atlanticfilm.com

The L.A. International Short Film Festival (L.A. Shortsfest) provides staged readings of selected screenplays by professional actors. Go to:
www.lashortsfest.com

The Slamdance Film Festival holds an annual screenplay competition and then puts on a staged reading of the winning script during the festival held each January.
www.slamdance.com

The Seattle International Film Festival presents a theatrical read-through of the winning script in the Washington State Screenwriting Competition. For more information, go to:
www.seattlefilm.com

The organizers of the Nantucket Film Festival describe it as "a screenwriter's festival presenting features, short films, documentaries, staged readings and panel discussions." Writers are encouraged to present their films and works-in-progress and get feedback from other writers and filmmakers.
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org

The The Ohio Independent Film Festival presents a year-round screenplay reading program called Script Mill.
OhioIndieFilmFest@juno.com
In addition, the winner of the Ohio Independent Screenplay Awards will be read at the fest.
www.ohiofilms.com

The Rhode Island Film Festival holds a script competition. The winning screenplay receives a staged reading at Scriptbiz, a script marketplace and seminar. www.film-festival.org

The Tribeca Film Festival develops and showcases scripts with scientific and technological themes and or characters in its Tribeca/Sloan Screenplay Program. Go to:
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

The Women's Image Network, which puts on the WinFilm Fest, conducts "WinFemme Monthlies," an industry staged reading of selected screenplays. www.winfemme.com

The Breckenridge Festival of Film gives awards to screenplays in each of four categories: Adult Drama, Comedy, Action-Adventure and Children-Family. For further information go to:
www.breckfilmfest.com

The Great Lakes Film Festival has a scriptwriting competition for screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays. Prizes for the winning script include $500, 2 complete passes to and accomodations at the festival. For more info go to:
www.greatlakesfilmfest.com.

The motto of the Hollywood Film Festival is: "Bridging the gap between Hollywood and emerging independent filmmakers and storytellers." Toward that end, it presents Discovery Programs and Awards. Go to:
www.hollywoodfilmfestival.com

Film Fest New Haven hosts the not-for-profit New Century Writer Awards which is open to writers of all nationalities, backgrounds and countries. Works accepted in two categories. Category I includes screenplays and stage plays. Category II includes short stories and novel exerpts. The top three prizes are cash awards for both categories I and II. Top fiction winners are also considered for publication in Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope All Story literary magazine. One screenplay or stage play is selected from each year's competition to be presented as a stage screenplay reading during the film festival weekend. For more info go to:
www.filmfest.org

The Nantucket Film Festival (see above) gives the Tony Cox Award for screenwriting, sponsored by ShowTime Networks, Inc. The winner receives a cash prize and a first-look option from ShowTime. Go to:
www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.

The Ohio Independent Film Festival awards for Best Screenplay and Best Northcoast Screenplay.
www.ohiofilms.com

The Santa Monica International Film Festival has included a screenwriting competition as part of its Moxie! Awards.
www.smff.com

SPECIALIZED AWARDS
Some competitions have been established for scripts with particular subject matter or setting:

The Asian American International Film Festival has an annual Screenplay Competition every spring where five finalists are chosen by readers and a final winner chosen by a panel of judges. The winning screenplay gets a live staged reading and Q&A with the writer during the festival, in addition to other prizes. Go to: www.asiancinevision.org/festival.html

The International Family Film Festival in Santa Clarita, California is a family-themed festival which has a showcase for screenplays that have "no gratuitous sex, violence, nudity or obscene profanity." Go to:
www.iffilmfest.org

The Flicks on 66 Wild West Digital Shootout solicits short scripts from around the world, selects the six best, then brings the writers to Albuquerque for one week in July to shoot, edit and premiere their movie. For more info, go to:
www.flickson66.com

Moondance Film Festival has an award program "to promote and encourage women screenwriters, playwrights and filmmakers." Go to:
www.moondancefilmfestival.com

WinFilm Fest (formerly the WIN Femme Film Fest), the Women's Image Networks' Film/Video/Screenplay Festival, is dedicated to promoting positive images of women in the media. Screenplays must have a positive female protagonist. They award a staged reading of the winning screenplay and hold a screenplay pitch session with film executives. For more info, go to:
www.winfemme.com

The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema presents a "Set in Philadelphia" Screenwriting Competition. The scripts must be set primarily in the greater Philadelphia area and preference is given to "scripts which capture the spirit, characters and/or locations of the region."The winning screenwriter is awarded cash and two professionally cast readings of the screenplay.In addition, the Irene I. Parisi cash award is given to an outstanding writer under 30. Go to:
www.phillyfests.com/pfwc

AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPETITIONS
The Hollywood Black Film Festival, held at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, holds a "Storyteller Competition" for black screenwriters only. For more information call (310) 348-3942 or go to:
www.hbff.org

The IFP Market gives a cash award -- The Gordon Parks Award -- to an African American Screenwriter. Go to:
www.ifp.org

Urban World Film Festival holds a screenplay competition with the 5 finalists presenting staged readings at Tribeca during the festival.
www.urbanworld.org

The Hollywood Film Festival has a market for works-in-progress.
Call (310) 288-1882 or go to:
http://HollywoodFilmFestival.com

Worldfest Houston has an entry category for unproduced screenplays.
www.worldfest.org

Big Bear Lake Film Festival
www.bigbearlakefilmfestival.com

Carolina Film & Video Festival and Screenwriting Showcase
www.carolinafilmandvideofestival.org

Cinequest (San Jose Film Festival)
www.cinequest.org

Great Plains Film Festival
www.rossfilmtheater.org/gpff.html

Jackson Hole Film Festival
www.jhff.org

Jacksonville Film Festival
www.jacksonvillefilmfestival.com

Kern Film Festival
www.kernfilmfestival.com

Lake Arrowhead Film Festival
www.lakearrowheadfilmfest.com

New Hampshire Film Expo
www.nhfx.com

Screamfest Horror Film Festival
www.screamfestla.com

Shriekfest
www.shriekfest.com

SoCal International Film Festival
www.socalfilmfestival.com

Valley International Film Festival
www.viffi.org