ABOUT THE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering and nurturing emerging screenwriters. Since 1997, the competition has established a strong track record for introducing writers to members of the entertainment industry who have gone on to produce, option, and represent submitted work. Like the Film Festival, the Screenplay Competition is a place for new, bold, and raw voices. We are looking for scripts that take risks, refuse compromise, and go places where Hollywood hacks fear to tread.
In addition to awarding the best screenplays submitted to Slamdance, our readers nominate bold scripts for the Slamdance Screenplay Mentorship Award, which offers one-on-one coaching and feedback to a burgeoning writer whose script could, with a little more support, turn into an award-winning film.
Recent success stories include Brian Schwab’s 2023 script ‘Purgatory’ just wrapped production in Wales. Slamdance’s 2018 Grand Prize-winning horror feature Day Shift was released in 2022 as a Netflix original film starring Jamie Foxx. Day Shift became the most watched film in the world during the third week of August 2022. Recent winners Neil Ferron and Jessica Sinyard found representation and management directly through their involvement with the competition.
Please bear in mind that Slamdance is not a production company. While some writers have gone on to find representation or work Slamdance cannot guarantee that mentee scripts will be optioned, produced, or purchased.
PAST AWARD WINNERS
“Thank you to Slamdance for this incredible honor, and congratulations to all of the talented finalists! I am thrilled to know that this story resonated with others, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to join this community of artists.” – Mike Ackerman, 2023 Grand Prize Winner for THIS END UP
“Slamdance has certainly been an incredible experience for me – to have my writing so appreciated was exactly the validation I needed.” — Gabriel Malasig, 2022 Grand Prize Winner for AMERICAN RETAIL
“Winning Slamdance is everything to me. Slamdance gave me a new lease on life and a chance to live my dreams. They opened up more doors than I could have ever imagined…I still can’t believe everything they helped me achieve.”— Tyler Tice, 2017 Grand Prize and Horror Screenplay Winner for DAY SHIFT
“The best thing you can do for a screenwriter is encourage them, because trusting your gut is so crucial to writing interesting stuff. I got that encouragement from Slamdance every year I entered, with the brief feedback they always send at no extra charge. Winning was the ultimate encouragement to keep following my instincts, and it’s more than paid off.”— Jamie King, 2015 Original Teleplay winner for CASTLE ROCK and writer for Marvel’s Jessica Jones
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2023 Slamdance Screenplay Competition Winners
2023 Screenplay Awards