The Short Screenplay Challenge

The Short Screenplay Challenge will be taking a break in 2023. We apologize to all the participants who have enjoyed this challenge over the years, and we do hope to offer it again in the future.

2022 Competition

The Short Screenplay Challenge 2022 is officially underway! All competition assignments and results will be automatically updated below. Best of luck to the 1,200+ writers participating worldwide!


UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS


Thank you to the participants for helping to donate $2,332 to global charities currently dealing with some of the most critical issues affecting our world. Click here to learn more.

How it Works

The Short Screenplay Challenge is a competition that challenges writers around the world to create short screenplays (5 pages max.) based on genre, location, and object assignments in 48 hours. Each writer will participate in at least two writing challenges and as many as four depending on how well they place in each challenge.

When the competition begins, writers are placed in groups where they will be judged against other writers within their same group. Each group receives its own unique genre, location, and object assignments (see past examples on our FAQ page). After two challenges, the top five writers that score the highest advance to the next challenge. In Challenge #3, writers are placed in new groups and given a new genre, location, and object assignment.

The top 5 writers from each of the groups in Challenge #3 advance to the fourth and final challenge of the competition where they are given the final genre, location, and object assignment and compete for thousands in cash and prizes. Sound like fun? Register below or keep reading for more details on how each challenge works. You can also visit the FAQ page for frequently asked questions. Good luck writers!

  • August 5-7, 2022

    In the first challenge of the competition, writers are placed into groups with other writers they will compete against. Each group receives a unique genre, location, and object assignment for their screenplays. Based on the scoring of the judges, the screenplays are ranked from first place to fifteenth place. First place receives 15 points, second place receives 14 points, and so on until fifteenth place which receives 1 point. Screenplays scoring outside of the top 15 places do not receive any points. Regardless of how many points a writer receives, everyone is still able to participate in Challenge #2.

  • September 16-18, 2022

    In Challenge #2, the writers remain in the same groups from the first challenge but each group receives a new genre, location, and object assignment. Everyone can participate in Challenge #2 regardless of how many points they received in Challenge #1. The top 15 in each group again receive points based on the same scoring system mentioned above in Challenge #1. The point totals are then added together from Challenges #1 and #2, and the five writers with the highest cumulative point totals advance to the next round of the competition.

    The points writers receive in the first two challenges are only used to determine which writers advance to the next round of competition and have no effect on the judging of future rounds.

  • October 28-30, 2022

    In Challenge #3, the advancing writers are placed into new groups and receive a new genre, location, and object assignment for their screenplays. The top 5 writers from each group in this challenge advance to the fourth and final challenge of the competition.

    The points received from the earlier challenges have no effect on the judging in this round.

  • December 9-11, 2022

    The top 5 writers from each group in Challenge #3 advance to Challenge #4. The advancing writers receive the final genre, location, and object assignment of the competition. The top 10 writers selected by the judges from Challenge #4 are named the overall winners of the competition and receive thousands in cash prizes.

Never written a screenplay before?

Click here to learn the basics

 A Few Reasons to Participate

What Our Participants Say

 

“That was the first screenplay I've ever written! I've been meaning to for a long time, and finally decided I needed a deadline. Looking forward to the next one.”

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— Amy L. (Oakland, CA, USA)

 

“A great challenge! My script is done and it is amazing what you can do within 5 pages! Mentally and artistically stimulating! Thank you!”

— Sergio S. (Bournemouth, GB)

“This was a fantastic challenge. Had to make a script using Suspense on a high speed train. Just a blast!”

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— Stephen W. (Wellesley, MA, USA)

 

“Submitted my Round 2 script. I whined the entire time. I will be all nerves until we get results. I LOVE this process. I can feel my growth as a writer/creative/human. Good luck to us all!”

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— Shia S. (Oakland, CA, USA)

How to Register

 

Registration is now closed. We’ll have many more challenges in 2022, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter to know when the next one is announced!

 

 

*Get $5 off the entry fee just for tweeting! Click here to make a post to Facebook or Twitter and receive a $5 promotional code.

 
 

We will be donating $2 from every entry fee to charities currently dealing with some of the most critical issues facing our world, and writers can choose where their donation goes. Click here to learn more.

 

Mark Your Calendar

 

While we send e-mails at the beginning of each round to all registered writers, many times e-mails go to junk mail folders, spam, or are blocked by servers for unknown reasons. We recommend that everyone marks their calendars with the start dates of each round, especially the first challenge at 11:59PM EDT (New York time) on Friday, August 5th so that you know when to expect an e-mail. Use the "Add to Calendar" buttons below to add directly to your calendar!

 

Challenge 1

August 5-7, 2022


Results
Challenge 1

September 14, 2022


Challenge 2

September 16-18, 2022


Results
Challenge 2

October 26, 2022


Challenge 3

October 28-30, 2022


Results
Challenge 3

December 7, 2022


Challenge 4

December 9-11, 2022


Results
Challenge 4

January 18, 2023