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Short scripts are a fantastic way to get your screenwriting feet wet, explore a new genre, hone your craft, and gain recognition within the entertainment industry!
At least 4 winners will be invited to take part in our exclusive Virtual Shorts Lab to help define the next steps in their projects journey – whether that’s self-producing, crowdfunding, or connecting it with producers looking for short content.
$10,000 SHORT FILM GRANT
Presented by Talon Entertainment Finance
This year WeScreenplay is excited to partner with Talon Entertainment Finance who will select one project from this year’s submissions to receive a $10,000 short film grant! Talon Entertainment will also offer development mentorship and support to the selected project and writer. They will also review all of this year’s lab finalists scripts and meet with select finalists.
Plus, every entry receives one page of feedback from a professional reader!
Early
Apr 15, 2023
Regular
May 15, 2023
Late
Jun 15, 2023
Final
Jul 15, 2023
Quarterfinalist
Aug 15, 2023
Semifinalist
Sep 6, 2023
Finalist
Sep 29, 2023
Winner
Nov 1, 2023
Paul Guay’s movies have grossed over half a billion dollars. He conceived and co-wrote LIAR, LIAR, at the time of its release the sixth-highest grossing comedy in history. The screenplay received an Honorable Mention in Scr(i)pt magazine’s list of the Best Scripts of the Past 10 Years. He co-wrote THE LITTLE RASCALS, Universal’s second-highest-grossing film of the year; co-wrote HEARTBREAKERS, starring Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Gene Hackman. He polished THE NEVERENDING STORY, the beloved children’s fantasy which spawned two sequels, two TV series, three computer games, a stage play, a ballet, and an opera. After directing the most successful comedy (or for that matter, drama) in the 75-year history of Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre, Paul made his movie-directing debut with three short comedy films he wrote: THE GODFATHER, THE VAMPYRE, and WHO GUARDETH THE GUARDS? The films will be unleashed in 2023.
Sammy Warshaw began his career at WME, working in the Motion Picture talent department. His obsession with horror movies lead him to Blumhouse Productions, where he worked on films such as HAPPY DEATH DAY, INSIDIOUS 4 and BLAKKKLANSMAN. From Blumhouse, Sammy joined Neal Moritz’s company Original Film (FAST & FURIOUS SAGA, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 1-2, 21-22 JUMP STREET) as an Executive. At Original Film, he worked closely on the development, prep, production and post-production process on SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ESCAPE ROOM, and SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL. While his passion for genre filmmaking remains strong, he’s dedicated to championing unique & fresh voices across all genres.
A.J. Briones has over 20 years of film and games experience with an emphasis on visual storytelling, animation and performance capture. His began his career in the videogame industry, where he worked at various roles at Sega of America, Midway Games and High Moon Studios. In 2007, A.J. began working as an animator. Over the years, he has collaborated with directors Matt Reeves, Brad Bird, Peter Berg, Chris Colombus and others, designing iconic shots and sequences for films such as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Iron Man 2, and the Planet of the Apes franchise. Currently, A.J. is working at Lightstorm Entertainment as a Sequence Supervisor on James Cameron's Avatar sequels. This year he was recognized with a Visual Effects Society award for Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project for his work on Avatar: The Way of Water. A.J.'s short horror film The Smiling Man has screened internationally in over 60 film festivals, including SXSW, and won numerous awards. The Smiling Man debuted online via Blumhouse and Crypt TV, going viral with over 10 million views, and had its network television premiere on Robert Rodriguez’ El Rey Network Horror Anthology, presented by John Carpenter.
Andrea Dimity is a film producer and literary manager based in Los Angeles. She started working in the entertainment industry while attending the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. Since then she has worked for such prolific producers and directors as Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Todd Phillips and Chris Meladandri in feature film development. Before starting Pannon Entertainment Inc., a Los Angeles based production/management company, she has collaborated on several projects with the Walt Disney Studios. She is currently executive producing “Burn Run” a spec script that was set up at Thunder Road Pictures.
Matthew Breault and Alex George Pickering are an LA-based screenwriting team repped by Citizen Skull Management. Originally from Colorado Springs and Boston, MA respectively, they met at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where they earned an MFA in Cinema-TV Production and collaborated on the FotoKem gold-winning short Efrain, USC's best film of 2011. Since then, they have written webisodes of Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda for DreamWorksTV (now Peacock Kids) and optioned several scripts, including the upcoming features Crate and Impulse Control. They also won the Filmmatic Drama, Shore Scripts Drama, Script Pipeline TV and Script2Comic contests, as well as finalist awards in the Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Film Festival, WeScreenplay, ScreenCraft and more. Matt directed the Streamy-winning series The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy, and Alex wrote the Ryan Coogler-directed short film Fig, distributed on HBO, and the upcoming comic book series Heard, based on his award-winning feature script. Most recently, they set up their feature historical drama Jumpman with a prominent production company.
Theodore Schaefer is a New York-based filmmaker and producer. His directorial debut, GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY premiered at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival and is being released by Cinedigm and Fandor. Through his work at Dweck Productions, Theodore produced WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR (Sundance 2021, released by Utopia and HBO MAX) and THE ADULTS (Berlin 2023, released by Universal). He began his career working as a first assistant director on independent features including HOW HE FELL IN LOVE and FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN, before joining Dweck Productions in 2018.
Alexis Bronte is a screenwriter and development executive whose scripts have won several awards. Prior to her executive work in development, Bronte was mentored by two award-winning screenwriters of Disney/Universal hits and a Golden Globe/BAFTA-nominated director, who she continues to consult with today. She later worked as a script consultant and on several independent features, eventually landing on Disney’s Christopher Robin. Bronte has a unique grasp of story that connects on both a deep personal level and large scale. Bronte started as Head of Development at Mammoth Pictures in 2021.
Talon Entertainment Finance will select one project from this year’s submissions to receive a $10,000 short film grant! Supporting this initiative is Talon’s Managing Partner Steven Demmler and Board Member Tony Armer.
Steven Demmler is the Managing Partner of Talon Entertainment Finance, which focuses on investing in everything from film equity and debt to the financing of LED Volumes for virtual production facilities. He is the recipient of screenwriting fellowships with the Raindance Film Festival and WeScreenplay. Previously he worked on the crew of Saturday Night Live for more than 100 episodes. Recently he served as a production executive on Mack & Rita and co-executive produced Spider & Jessie starring McKenna Grace and Jesse Williams. Currently Talon Entertainment Finance is Executive Producing Ant Timpson’s directorial effort Bookworm starring Elijah Wood.
Tony Armer is the Film Commissioner and Director of Creative Industries for Dallas, TX. He was the Film Commissioner for St. Petersburg Clearwater, FL from 2014-2022. He is the Co-Founder of Film USA, the National Association of Film Commissions for the United States. He is on the Board of Advisors for Talon Entertainment Finance. He is an Award Winning Filmmaker and the Co-Founder of the internationally acclaimed Sunscreen Film Festival. Tony has developed, produced and directed top-level award-winning film, TV, and media content over the years. Concept development, writing, pitching, financing, production, sales, and distribution.
WeScreenplay Shorts Virtual Lab
At least 4 winners will be selected to participate in this game-changing virtual lab. This two-day lab will be PACKED with virtual meetings with industry professionals, workshops, and more so you can learn, network, and gain exposure.
Winners will also receive:
• A copy of Final Draft screenwriting software
• Ongoing mentorship from WeScreenplay team including an initial phone call, guidance for drafting query letters, research methods for finding the right representation, prep before big meetings, and strategic planning for career next steps.
Our virtual labs have directly led to writers getting staffed, signing with their dream reps, and more.
$10,000 Short Film Grant Award
Talon Entertainment Finance will select one project to receive a short film grant and mentorship
Finalist scripts read by Talon Entertainment Finance
Talon Entertainment Finance's Steven Demmler and Tony Armer will review all of this year's finalists. They will also meet with a select number of finalists.
Free page of feedback
All entrants will receive one page of feedback from a professional reader.
See what some of our past Lab Mentors and Lab Winners had to say!
Notes Session
Workshops
Group Mentorship Meetings
Before the lab, we will share all the winning scripts with the group. During a one to two hour session, the group will share script notes verbally. While all the winning scripts are already strong, the purpose of this notes session is to refine your work, to get thoughts on next steps, and to practice giving and receiving notes.
We will have exciting workshops for winners to get hands on experience with industry professionals. Winners participate in curated workshops with screenwriters, literary managers which have included managers like AE Jones of Stagecoach Entertainment, and a Pitching Masterclass with Jim Arnoff.
Writers will meet with executives, literary managers and working writers to learn more about the craft and industry for a deeper 360 perspective of a career in screenwriting. Each session includes a mentor who will share their experience and area of expertise followed by a Q&A with the writers.
Check out more of our Writers’ Successes.
After placing as an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Shorts Contest, WeScreenplay connected Shaun & Jay with an Oscar-nominated short filmmaker and prepped them for meetings with reps. They've signed with one of the top agencies in Australia, and their short is now in pre-production!
“WeScreenplay has been instrumental in our career, their coverage was exactly what we needed to strengthen our resolve. Otherwise, we would still be fumbling around the intricacies of the industry, lost and without the tools required to bang down the door. Their dedication, support and insight is unique and something to celebrate. There is no doubt in our minds that without WeScreenplay we would not be in the exciting position we are. “
After placing in the 2019 WeScreenplay Shorts Contest and being encouraged to adapt the short into a feature script, Sam Thompson signed with a manager at AK Management.
“What drew me to WeScreenplay was their fast turn around on note services, and the quality of the readers. A few years ago, I was writing an early draft of the first feature I had ever written, and they were the first service I turned to for notes. To this day, those notes still rank among the best notes I’ve ever gotten. I entered a short script of mine to their short screenplay contest, and the reactions to it were eye opening in a good way. This pushed me to adapt the short to a feature script, and that script ended up getting me my manager.”
After winning the Fall 2020 Diverse Voices Competition, WeScreenplay set Junot up with numerous meetings with literary reps. After fielding multiple offers, he signed with manager Cameron Cubbison at Zero Gravity and agent Halle Mariner at APA!
“WeScreenplay gave me inspiration and encouragement. It just takes one person to believe in you to help you get a running start. WeScreenplay filled those shoes, and I’m grateful. The world is hungry for fresh news in the form of story, and you as the artist are their chosen messenger. Your story and voice are worth it. WeScreenplay treated us all with care, support, and insight. My first reader’s notes were the most helpful, actionable notes I’d ever received.”
After winning the Fall 2020 Diverse Voices Competition, WeScreenplay set up Elise with a general at UCP. Shortly after the Diverse Voices Lab, Elise got staffed on CANDY for UCP/ Hulu, starring Elisabeth Moss.
“Diverse Voices was an incredible experience, and one that I’m very happy to have had. Sarah Eagen and the staff at WeScreenplay put a lot of (very appreciated) work into creating a lab that would prepare us for the next step in our careers, while encouraging us and doing anything they could to help move us forward. Once you’re part of the WeScreenplay family, it feels like they are truly rooting for your success and do what they can to help you achieve it. “
A FREE, 1-page mini-version of our phenomenal coverage from the entry’s first round judge, including their scores!
*Note: You can upgrade your free Judges Notes to the 2-page Classic Notes for an additional fee.
A new reader and another read for every script that makes it to this round.
*Note: You can upgrade to include Judges Notes for a small fee!
Another new reader and another full read for every script that makes it to this round … and you are welcome to submit an updated version of your script for only $6.
Scripts that make it to this round will be read internally by the WeScreenplay team as well as our industry jury. Scores will not be provided for this round, as judging will be discussed privately.
The top scripts selected by the Judges and WeScreenplay team! We’ll be reaching out to the winners to invite them to attend our exclusive Virtual Shorts Lab.