Austin Film Festival (AFF) is pleased to announce that it is now accepting submissions for the 2015 Screenplay & Teleplay Competition and Film Competition. These AFF competitions often act as springboards for aspiring screenwriters and filmmakers eager to break into the movie business.
AFF’s Screenplay & Teleplay Competition is one of the most acclaimed contests within the industry for launching the careers of up-and-coming writers. A new category has been added for short screenplays and is open to narrative scripts in any genre at 40 pages in length or less.
Screenplay Competition Director, Matt Dy stated “We want to provide an avenue for writers to submit their short scripts to get noticed and get their work produced. In many ways, writing a short script can be just as difficult as writing a feature; the fewer the pages, the higher the expectation to impress. We’re excited to see what this new category will bring for 2015.”
Past competition entrants have signed with major agencies and production companies and have had their scripts optioned, acquired, and produced. Earlier this year, Troy Miller, the 2013 winner of the Horror Screenplay Award, had his script optioned by Frank Darabont’s Darkwoods Productions. And at the 2014 Festival, AFF presented the world premiere of Dawn Patrol, a film produced from a 2008 Finalist script written by Rachel Long and Brian Pittman that was acquired by Enderby Entertainment. The film is directed by Daniel Petrie, Jr., and stars Scott Eastwood, Rita Wilson, and Jeff Fahey.
AFF’s Film Competition provides an invaluable platform for filmmakers to showcase their craft among industry professionals, aspiring screenwriters, filmmakers, and film-lovers. Known as “The Writers Festival”, Austin Film Festival prides itself on finding undiscovered storytellers that can use the art form of filmmaking to affect and inspire their audience. Accepted filmmakers not only have the opportunity to present their film in exciting venues in Austin to enthusiastic audiences, but also get to take part in AFF’s famous Screenwriters Conference where they can refine their craft, make connections with important industry insiders, and walk away inspired to start their next project.
“[AFF was] one of the most positive experiences in my early career,” 2014 filmmaker Joshua Amar said. “I've been to Cannes and TIFF, and not one of them compared to the networking experiences at AFF.”
As an Academy® Qualifier, the Jury Award winners for the Narrative Short, Documentary Short, and Animated Short categories are eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award. In addition to these short categories, additional categories in competition include Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Comedy Vanguard Feature, Dark Matters Feature, and Narrative Student Short.
Jury Award winners are decided each year by esteemed and celebrated judges. Last year’s jury included renowned writers and directors, as well as executives from The Weinstein Company, P.O.V., The Sundance Institute, and Oscilloscope Laboratories, Gravitas Ventures, and Nickelodeon.
For more information on submitting a film or screenplay, visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.
