Reader Question: What do you think of screenplay competitions?

From comments in a post the other day from George:

Scott and All,
What is your opinion of Screenwriting contests?

As opposed to me posting my thoughts first, how about we open up this one for GITS readers. I’ll provide my feedback after you folks weigh in with your opinions.

One thing is for sure: They’re certainly are a lot of them.

UPDATE: I used to have a rather skeptical view of screenplay competitions, mostly because I had no need to enter any so I never did. And frankly, some of the ones that flitted through my emailbox seemed rather cheesy, i.e., no names of actual professionals attached as judges or on the board, not much in the way of legitimate contacts in Hollywood, etc.

As I started teaching and my students asked me for advice, I did some research. I feel completely comfortable endorsing three competitions: The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Competition, the Austin Film Festival Heart of Film Screenplay Competition, and the Scriptapalooza International Screenplay Competition which is, by the way, the only screenplay competition endorsed by the WGA. These are all totally legitimate operations with major upside for winners. In fact, I personally know writers who have won the Nicholl and the Austin competitions, and they parlayed their success into obtaining agents and managers.

Per the rest, as noted by some of the comments, there are others that seem to be viable options.

My overall view of competitions is this:

* If you have the discretionary funds available and you do your research to find the best contests for you as a writer, then why not enter?

* Entering a contest can provide motivation to the writer to write a screenplay and even better, write a great screenplay.

* Screenplay competitions may provide networking opportunities.

So I’d say that my view of screenplay competitions has evolved over time to the point now where I can see some value in them, especially the big three noted above.

But as always, buyer beware. There are a lot of them out there. Make sure you do your research before spending your money.

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