Kansas City Women in Film & TV
KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest
TWO WAYS TO ENTER:
1) Submit through the Kansas City FilmFest.
OR
2) Submit your payment now using PayPal, then email your screenplay to: contest@kcwift.com
Discounted Entry Fees:
*The discounted entry fee for Moviebytes subscribers, and for IFC and Women in Film members is available only through our website.
*To join KCWIFT or renew your membership, make your payment through PayPal, then contact Treasurer Stacy Rich to request your promo code for the KCWIFT member discount. IFC members should contact the Membership Coordinator and members of other WIF chapters should contact their treasurer for the promo code.
*Select your discounted contest entry fee from the PayPal dropdown menu and, at checkout, click "Add" under your shipping address to enter your promo code.
*If the name and/or email address associated with your PayPal payment differs from the name and address on your emailed screenplay submission, please note that fact in the body of your email.
*Only after the KCWIFT Treasurer confirms receipt of payment will your screenplay be entered for consideration in the contest.
*If you have additional questions, please contact the Screenplay Contest Chairperson.
Congratulations to Jennifer Friend (below), 2012 WINNER of the KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest $1,000 GRAND PRIZE! For an update on Jennifer's contest-winning film, "The Rest of Her," check out her KC Live interview with KCWIFT President Michelle Davidson and Annie Walsh, chairperson of the 2013 KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest committee. And for more information about how winning the contest helped this talented filmmaker, read Jennifer's 2012 interview on the bottom of this page.
"Do You Have a Minute?"
"Just Three More Days With You"
"The Misadventure of Josie and Kitty Mae"
"The Oblate"
"The Status Update"
"Validation"
Congratulations to our 2013 Finalists !
PRIZES:
FIRST PLACE:
$1,000 Grand Prize to bring your short screenplay from page to screen.
FINALISTS:
A festival pass to the 2013 Kansas City FilmFest, and a staged reading of finalists' screenplays during the festival.
FINAL DEADLINE:
March 1, 2013
ENTRY FEE:
$55 per screenplay postmarked or received electronically on or before March 1, 2013
MISSION OF CONTEST:
Kansas City Women in Film and Television (KCWIFT) is pleased to announce the second annual KCWIFT & Kansas City FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest. With regard to our mission of empowering, promoting, and mentoring women in the entertainment, media, and communications industries, KCWIFT has partnered with KC FilmFest, presented by the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, to host an annual short screenwriting competition exclusively for female filmmakers/screenwriters. The contest winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize to make her winning script into a short film.
*Find complete contest rules, regulations, terms and conditions by clicking on the PDF link below. More information can be found at the festival's website. Finalists will be announced March 14, 2013, and the contest winner will be announced at the 2013 Kansas City FilmFest. Screenplays NOT adhering to rules and regulations are subject to disqualification at the sole discretion of the judging panel.
*Electronic submissions must be properly formatted PDFs (see all contest rules and regulations). The title of your short screenplay must appear on your attached script and in the body of your email submission.
*The following identifying information MUST NOT appear on your attached script but MUST appear in the body of your email submission:
- Writer's/Co-writers' name(s)
- E-mail address(es)
- Mailing Address(es)
- Phone Number(s)
Watch the interview to the right with
Loren Halifax, of Fox 4 News, and Amber Rapp (above) to find out how joining KCWIFT
and becoming a finalist in the 2012
KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest helped launch Amber's filmmaking career!
One of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,’” Danielle Lurie is a New York City-based filmmaker and photographer. Danielle’s debut short film, “In the Morning,” premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and screened at more than 35 film festivals, winning six of them. The film also screened before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on Honor Killings and the U.N. Development Fund for Women. Danielle is now developing the short into a feature titled Fortunate Sons. Danielle’s other short films include “81-Year-Old Sweethearts,” and “Tiny Miny Magic.” Danielle has also filmed a documentary in Uganda and a feature documentary of Sheryl Crow’s Global Warming tour. Her narrative work includes screenplay adaptations of Jamaica Kincaid’s novel Lucy, to star Zoe Saldana, as well as an excerpt of Nicholas Kristof’s book Half the Sky.
Michael Brandt is a writer and director who grew up in Kansas City and now lives in Los Angeles. While attending Baylor University, where he received a master of arts in communications, he met his frequent collaborator Derek Haas. Michael has worked in the editing rooms of Miramax, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Michael and Haas penned the screenplays for 2 Fast 2 Furious, directed by John Singleton, 3:10 to Yuma, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and Wanted, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. In 2011, Michael made his directorial debut with his and Haas’s original screenplay for the spy-thriller The Double, starring Richard Gere, Topher Grace and Martin Sheen. Most recently, Michael co-created, directed and executive produced, along with writing partner Haas, the NBC drama Chicago Fire.
A freelance screenplay analyst and script consultant since 1998, Elizabeth Stevens has evaluated nearly 3,000 scripts and novels for their suitability as feature film projects. Her clients have included Sandra Bullock’s Fortis Films, Bel-Air Entertainment, Lifetime Television and Permut Presentations, among many others. She reads screenplays each year for the Final Draft Big Break Contest, judges submissions for entry into Film Independent’s Filmmaker Labs, and critiques scripts for screenwriting students at the University of Kansas. In addition to working with Hollywood producers, film industry organizations and film schools, she is available to consult with individual screenwriters and Elizabeth also provides support for expert witnesses in film-oriented litigation, doing comprehensive analysis and reporting on source material, scripts and movies.
**The Final Deadline for 2013 submissions has passed. Please check the contest page or join us for CineWomen on March 14th for our announcement of finalists.
Hannah Leskosky
Daniél Minton
Misti Boland
Gary and Beth Hoover
Jessica von Schramm
Berenice Freedome
Urbana, IL
Camp Hill, PA
Lawrence, KS
Chicago, IL
Austin, TX
Vancouver, BC
Success Stories from the 2012
KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest
Gene Willis is the Director of Marketing for Universal Uclick, the world's largest independently-owned comics/content syndicate. In this and his past role as a Film Marketing Manager for AMC Theatres, he has strived to bring the stories of great creators to the masses. Gene was a partner in the genesis of a new independent film program at AMC Theatres, AMC independent, bringing the stories of the world to large and small movie theatres around North America. In the past two years, he worked on the release of the 2012 SXSW film Small Apartments, starring Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan and James Marsden, along with Kevin Hart's Laugh At My Pain, the highest-performing independent film of 2011. Gene also has acted in Kansas City filmmakers Justin Gardner and Trevor Hawkins' "We Will Make You Whole Again", which was shown at the 2011 Kansas City FilmFest.
Finalists receive a festival pass, a staged reading of their screenplays,
and a chance to win the $1,000 Grand Prize!
JUDGES for the 2013 KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Screenplay Contest:
Jennifer Friend
Amber Rapp
2013 KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest
Rules & Regulations
Nancy Logan is a Kansas City native, who grew up in Overland Park before moving to Lawrence to study film at the University of Kansas. After receiving her degree, Nancy moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. After a quick stint as an intern for Convergence Entertainment, she landed a position at a newly formed independent studio, Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company. In the following years, Nancy grew with the company as a floating assistant, working in various facets of the industry, from Home Entertainment and Business Affairs to assisting the company’s President and CEO. She eventually landed a position in the Publicity department, where she worked on such films as The Twilight Saga, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Academy Award-winner The Hurt Locker.
"Beckett's Gift"
"Burned Raw"
"Caller#101"
"Emma's Gift"
"Iris"
"My Daughter's Penis"
"Summer's End"
"The Kindergarten Graduate"
"The Peace Pilgrim"
"The Piece"
2013 Semi-Finalists:
Erin Hamer
Jessica Farrell
Rebecca Williams
Brenda Lowry
Chris Hager & Alli Jordan
Kristina Smith
Jacquelynn Sims
Danielle Smith
Lynelle White
Lydia Mallison-Jones & Matt Worwood
Prairie Village, KS
Milwaukee, WI
Madison, WI
Oklahoma City, OK
Kansas City, MO
Alburnett, IA
Kansas City, MO
Omaha, NE
O'Fallon, IL
Grandview, MO
Congratulations to our 2013 Grand Prize winner,
Jessica von Schramm, of Austin, Texas! Jessica's screenplay, "The Status Update," not only earned her our $1,000 cash prize but also earned her a free copy of Final Draft software, the industry standard for screenwriting, used by renowned writers like Aaron Sorkin and Sofia Coppola.
Special thanks to Final Draft for extending a $60 discount to ALL KCWIFT members for a limited time. We can't wait to see your screenplay submissions for next year's contest!
For 2013, KCWIFT introduced a special Audience Choice Prize and we are delighted to announce that
Berenice Freedome's "Validation" was chosen by the audience at our staged reading as the Audience Choice winner for favorite screenplay! Berenice, who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, not only was selected as a finalist for this year's contest but also made it to the finals in our inaugural contest and we can't wait to see her script come to life on screen next year!
Many thanks to all of our finalists and to the talented actors who helped bring their scripts to life:
2013 KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Staged Reading Cast
Narrator: Jon Specht
The Misadventure of Josie and Kitty Mae
Josie: Andrea Strickler
Kitty Mae: Erin McGrane
The Status Update
Rose: Jenn Seward
David: Davis DeRock
Sasha: Misty Dixon
Just Three More Days With You
Maria: Alicia Cabrera
David: Thomas Barnes
Do You Have a Minute?
Man: Darren Kennedy
Driver: Davis DeRock
First Activist: Laurie Crawford
Second Activist: Anita Cordell
Third Activist: Krystal Heib
Validation
Cassandra: Meagan Flynn
Phil: Chris Blysma
The Oblate
Thomas: Michael Reiser
Elias and Randall: Trevor Martin
Virgil, Cecil, and Murray: Christian Robinson
Jeremiah and Francis: Doug Dresslaer
Ansel and Dominic: Jeff Freling
Very special thanks to all of our judges, to Dennis Conrow for assistance with audio engineering, and to the following people and organiziations for assistance with printing, gift bags, gear, and other support: Kevin Mullin and the department of Communication Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Vicky Bates, Cheryl Kimmi, and Glenn Lewis of the KC Fringe Festival; Matt Connolly and Tim Harvey of Kansas City's Independent Filmmakers Coalition; Veronica Loncar, David Barnard, Jeph Scanlon, Nadine Mummaw, Cathy Runyan-Svacina, and Bobby Thompson of the KC FilmFest; Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; Englewood Church; Christopher Elbow and Christopher Elbow Chocolates; Beauty Brands; Indigo Wild; Allied Integrated Marketing; and Final Draft.
