The 2020 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Screenplay Competition

The Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Screenplay Competition accepts English-language feature screenplays written by women. The festival is a forum for collaboration and networking with other screenwriters and filmmakers who contribute to the visibility of women through the ongoing practice of their craft.

“Women” includes all those who identify as women.

 We encourage you to submit a feature film script of any genre, challenging the perceptions of what stories women write, and what we want to see. We welcome a diversity of women’s interests and stories. VIWFF is committed to highlighting the best stories the world has to offer that are written by women. Women tell amazing, dynamic, interesting, thought-provoking, affecting, inspiring, funny and down-right exciting stories. We want to read them all!

This category is a competition.

Winner receives a cash prize.

Official Selections (finalists) receive a festival pass and are invited to attend VIWFF 2020. (March 3-8, 2020, in Vancouver, British Columbia.) Travel and accommodation are the responsibility of the attendee.

Rules and Terms

Please note that non-compliance with these rules and regulations will result in disqualification. Entry fees are non-refundable. The Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Screenplay Competition only accepts English language feature screenplays written by those identifying as women.

• Contest is open to women identifying screenwriters. Collaborations with two or more writing partners accepted, however, all members of the team must be women. Only one prize can be awarded per screenplay. 

• Submissions can be from anywhere in the world, but must be written in English.

• Please use standard industry feature script format, in 12-point Courier font with numbered pages.

• Page count should be between 80-120 pages, plus a “blind” title page with the title only and not identifying the author’s name.

• Please submit a .pdf document only, with no identification of the writer on any page.

• Please include the genre, and a short log line of 40 words or less in your submission.

If your script has finished as an Official Selection (Top 10) in prior years, we ask that you do not resubmit the same script; however you are certainly welcome to submit a different script into the competition. Re-submissions of scripts that have not been Official Selections are welcome.

All entries will be judged on story structure, scene construction, dialogue, characters, formatting, imagery, originality and the skill of the screenwriter – with an emphasis on the opening hook and the ability to capture the reader’s interest in the first 25 pages or less.

Script must be an ORIGINAL concept for a narrative feature film. No adaptations of books, short stories, stage plays, etc. are allowed, unless the author is the legal holder of underlying rights. Please do not submit short film scripts, TV pilots or spec scripts for existing TV series, as this competition is for feature screenplays only.

Writers may apply with more than one screenplay. Each must be submitted separately, with a separate submission fee paid.

Once a script has been entered in the competition, we cannot accept substitutions of new drafts or corrected pages. If you wish to submit a revised draft of your screenplay, you must enter it as a new submission and pay the appropriate entry fee according to the current deadline.

Please submit by the deadline. No deadline waivers will be granted.

All rights remain with the writer. However, the writer does give the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival permission to promote, feature, or advertise the work submitted and/or the writer as part of its festival promotion and activities.

All communications will be sent electronically, including selection and notification letters. Please make sure the email address and phone number provided as the submission contact on the entry are correct.

Do not send resumés or press kits with screenplay.

Judges’ Feedback is available for an additional fee only. Due to the large number of screenplays we receive, we regret that we cannot provide feedback on individual submissions unless a Judges’ Feedback Report is requested at the time of entry. The cost is in addition to the submission fee.

Transportation to and from accommodation at the festival is solely the responsibility of the participant.

Entrants agree to indemnify and hold us, including our employees, our officers, and our partners, sponsors and affiliates harmless against all claims arising out of entry or participation in the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival.

Entry fee is non-refundable.

Official Selections will be contacted approximately one month prior to the festival.

By submitting your screenplay to the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival you agree that you have read, understood, and agree to all the aforementioned rules, terms and guidelines. You also assert that you are the author and owner of the original work.

Deadlines:

Earlybird: June 15, 2019

Regular: August 1, 2019

Late: September 30, 2019

Submission fees are dependent on deadline; check the submission platforms for current fees.

Please direct any questions to screenplay@womeninfilm.ca

Submission Portals: