Whether you are finally putting that winning idea to paper, or digging out an old draft you never quite finished, we’re here to encourage you to take that next step! All submissions will receive written notes from the jury, but only winning scripts will receive an in-person feedback session. The winning short script (under 50 pages) will receive $250, and the winning feature-length script (50 page minimum.) will receive $500.
You are able to submit as many scripts as you like, but please ensure the scripts follow the eligibility guidelines. If you submitted last year and didn’t win, we welcome you to submit an updated draft of your script. For the purposes of this grant, Emerging Screenwriters are defined as individuals who have not previously had a screenplay produced by a third party or production company.
HOW IT WORKS
Please fill out the contact form on this page and attach your script(s). We advise that you include a synopsis (max 700 characters) and indicated a short section of the script that you feel best represents the film (max 20-pages). This is due to time constraints; jurors are not required to read every submission in full. Once you submit, our programming manager will contact you with an invoice for your submission(s). The cost to submit is $10 per script for FAVA Members, $20 per script for non-members. Submissions that are not paid for will not be evaluated by the jury; the deadline to pay for your script is one week after the submission deadline.
PRIZES
- Selected Feature Film Script (50 page minimum.): $500
- Selected Short Film Script (under 50 pages): $250
- A one-on-one feedback session
All submissions will receive written notes from the jury, but only winning scripts will receive an in-person feedback session.
Scripts must follow industry-standard formatting, include a title page and be submitted as a PDF. If you are not certain what industry-standard format looks like, please review THIS PAGE.
ELIGIBILITY
For the purposes of this grant, Emerging Screenwriters are defined as individuals who have not previously had a screenplay produced by a third party or production company. All submissions will receive written notes from the jury, but only winning scripts will receive an in-person feedback session. Screenwriters who have self-produced their work in the past are welcome to apply. Screenwriters can submit a short and a feature script, but will only be eligible to win in one category (if both are worthy, preference will be given to the feature). If you submitted in previous years and didn’t win, we welcome you to submit an updated draft of your script; previous Next Draft winning scripts are not eligible. Only those residing in Alberta are eligible.
If submitting multiple scripts, please fill out the submission form separately for each script.
