Screenplay Competition 2010: From The Desk Of A Submissions Manager . . .

Hey Slamdancers! This is your Submissions Manager writing about what's new around Slamdance and specifically our Screenwriting Competition, nearly in it's second month and now in full swing. We were thinking it would be good to start a blog for the website: a way to keep everyone updated on what's new and changing in the world of Slamdance. In years past, there has been several competitions spanning almost the entire year. This year, we've combined all of these into one big competition, taking place from March to July. This allows our Spring/Summer seasons to be focused on writing and the Fall/Winter, on, you guessed it, films. So, keep an eye out here, I'll update as often as I can, while still attempting to keep things relevant and informative, of course!

Recently, we were asked by long time friend of the festival, Heidi Van Lier, to participate in a bit of Q&A for her Film Independent e-newsletter. Looking it over, we figured it may also be useful information to those not receiving Heidi's newsletter, people just wandering over to our website and interested in our Screenwriting Competition. So here you go, I hope you enjoy!

Summre Gaston
submissions@slamdance.com

Hey, for those who might not know, can you explain exactly what the screenwriting competition is?

The Slamdance Screenwriting Competition offers writers a chance to put their work in the proverbial ring against scripts of all genres, on any topic, from all over the world, to compete. The best piece of writing will come out victorious and claim the grand prize of $5,000. There are smaller prizes as well for finalists in each category, but isn't everyone really after the $5,000 grand prize? Every script submitted will also receive brief feedback from our readers who are all writers in the industry. So in this way, everyone is a winner anyway, really. Full coverage, a three to five page breakdown of the script with advice for what to do next, is also available for an additional fee from the same readers.

And what are the most notable scripts that broke out as a result of winning awards in this competition?

Nicole Kassell, the writer/director of The Woodsman, Nancy Kissam of Drool, and Joshua Marston of Maria Full of Grace are just a few of the names that have won our competition in previous years.

Are there any common mistakes that writers make that you'd like to bring to light so screenwriters stop and think before sitting down with their blank Final Draft screen pages?

Often the screenplay is not ready to go out. One of the advantages of this competition is you can receive constructive feedback from an independent reader offering tips on how they can further improve their work. In our experience, neither directors nor writers usually seek enough feedback from their work before it is released. We know this because in hindsight both groups consistently say they wish they had done this! We know it's tough, but let go of your ego and angst and test it out... Chris Nolan still does.

What is the funniest thing you've ever read in a script for the competition? Without naming names, to protect the guilty...

There have been a few submissions accompanied with music and pages of instructions within the script on when to play certain songs...why these songs were chosen, and how best to imbibe in the "complete experience."

Example - "At this point play track two. DO NOT CONTINUE READING. Turn off the lights, spark a candle, and just listen. When track 2 has finished, turn on the lights and this time listen while you read the next scene." That's not an exact quote, but very close.

Anything else you want to tell screenwriters before they submit, little reminders, a nudge in the right direction...info on how to bribe you properly?

The coverage service we offer is a really great service for new writers, or writers who are stuck with their script and don't know what to do next. Or, you know something is horribly wrong, you're just not sure what because you've been working on it for so long and you're in need of a fresh pair of eyes. If you want someone to say your script is awesome, send it to your friends and family. If you want brutally honest feedback and a detailed breakdown of what's working and what's not, send your script to Slamdance and register for the coverage service. You won't regret it. Oh, and proofread. It's frustrating when we get a script chalk full of typos, or with pages missing and out of order. It sends the message that the writer doesn't really care. As for bribes, we're always keen on cases of beer.

Hmm, not sure if you are speaking directly to me about not getting enough feedback...but I'm really good at one thing about my work, denial, so I'll just pretend like you meant everyone else.