NYWIFT Blog

How to Decide Which Screenwriting Contests to Submit To

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of screenwriting competitions out there — so how do you decide which ones are worth your time and money? As the co-founder of Moonshot Initiative, a nonprofit that works toward gender equity in film and television, NYWIFT Member Katrina Medoff has been on the other side of the application process. Her team reads hundreds of submissions a year for the Moonshot Pilot Accelerator and their newest program, the Moonshot Feature Accelerator. They know that their applicants poured their time, talents, and energy into their scripts, and that every fellowship submission means putting more time and money into your career. So it’s important to carefully consider which labs and contests to prioritize. If you’re ready to submit your feature film screenplay or TV pilot script to screenwriting competitions, here’s how to determine which labs, fellowships, and contests would be a good fit.

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Meet the new NYWIFT Member: Stacey Messina

Let’s all give a warm welcome to our new NYWIFT Member, Stacey Messina! Stacey began her career in tourism and hotel marketing, eventually moving into the academic fundraising arena. She most recently finished a freelance gig in nonprofit theatre production and fundraising, and is now fully investing herself in her creative screenwriting projects. She recently completed a semester at NY Film Academy and will begin pursuit of her MFA in Film and Television Production at the New York campus in January. After 25 years of only dreaming of the movies, Stacey is finally engaged in the pursuit of writing and producing the stories that take shape in her head as scenes from a film. Check out the rest of the article to learn more about Stacey and her big leap towards her dreams!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Rachel Cheung

Welcome to NYWIFT, Rachel Cheung! Rachel is a dynamic writer and producer born and raised in New York City and Long Island with Chinese and Irish roots. With a BFA in Film and Television from NYU, she has honed her craft through diverse experiences, including roles as an assistant to the President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences and at WME in the Brand Partnerships department. Rachel's background enriches her unique perspective in the industry, driving her storytelling prowess. Get to know her in our latest interview!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Ashley Pickett

Welcome to NYWIFT, Ashley Pickett! Known for her dynamic roles on screen, Ashley is an actress expanding her creative horizons into screenwriting. Her latest project is a short form series delving into the complexities of women navigating the dating pool. Ashley describes herself as a warrior with a tender heart, embodying a blend of resilience and adaptability. Her storytelling is inspired by personal experiences and a deep understanding of human emotions, aiming to capture authentic narratives that resonate with audiences. Continue reading to dive into how acting influences her writing, as well as more on her short form series, The Serial Dater.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Tara Morrison

Welcome to NYWIFT Tara Morrison! Tara "Penk" Morrison is a visionary from Brooklyn now based in Jamaica, Queens, NY. She's a determined self-starter with a unique creative style, inspiring others with her confidence and passion for storytelling. Tara found her niche in film and TV behind the scenes, launching Sweet Penk Films in 2020 to produce her own projects and support fellow creatives. From writing screenplays on her stoop to directing her debut project, Faith Tribulation, Tara's journey reflects her resourcefulness and community spirit. With multiple screenplays and a docuseries treatment in the works, she advocates for finishing what you start and believing in yourself.

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Witnessing the Excellence of Jennifer Esposito: Fresh Kills 

Stephanie Okun offers a recap of the entertaining and inspirational NYWIFT Member Screening of Fresh Kills and talkback with filmmaker Jennifer Esposito, who discussed overcoming hurdles in Hollywood and finding distribution for her passion project.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Janet Hyojo Oh

Welcome to NYWIFT Janet Hyojo Oh! Janet Hyojo Oh is an independent producer and screenwriter with a passion for rom-coms and storytelling. Janet shares insights into her creative process, the impact of events she organizes for women in the arts, and overcoming challenges in her career. Janet emphasizes collaboration, kindness, and the importance of balance in the business of producing. She also reflects on winning her first screenplay award and offers advice to aspiring producers and screenwriters: embrace kindness, collaboration, and curiosity.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Sarah D. Ceballos

Welcome to NYWIFT, Sarah D. Ceballos! Sarah  is a producer, writer, and an award-winning actress from McAllen, Texas. She is third generation Mexican-American and is fluent in Spanish. She holds her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and routinely conducts research geared toward understanding what can prohibit advancement opportunities for people of color in the workplace. Sarah considers herself the curious type. She is always asking herself, “How can I help?" Read more about her creative journey here!       

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Ruthie Marantz

Welcome to NYWIFT, Ruthie Marantz! Born and raised in NYC, Ruthie has been making films on public access TV since she was 13 years old. Since then, her works has been shown at BAMcinemaFest, SeriesFest and Seattle International Film Festival. She has her M.F.A. from NYU’s Graduate Film Program, where she was recipient of the Leo Rosner, Maurice Kanbar, and the Academy of Arts and Sciences Scholarships. Ruthie has directed and produced commercial work for clients including Netflix, LG, Samsung, Vice and Hearst. Her autobiographical pilot Rainbow Ruthie, which received funding from director Spike Lee, was accepted to the IFP Episodic Lab and premiered at SXSW, becoming Oscar eligible in 2019. More recently, she co-wrote the pilot to Southfield Supernovas, which won the 2020 SXSW Seriesfest Pitch-A-Thon. Read more about Ruthie’s amazing stories from set and upcoming adventures here!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Sara Robin

Welcome to NYWIFT, Sara Robin! Sara is a German filmmaker bringing her stories of humane futures to New York. She directed and wrote the award-winning short coming-of-age film Cranberry Nights starring Inde Navarrette (13 Reasons Why, Superman & Louis). Her script Switch explores virtual relationships and won the 2023 HollyShorts screenwriting contest. She is in production on feature documentary Your Attention Please, investigating how to overcome the addictive pull of the attention economy. She has also brought her talents into commercial work, directing and producing for clients including Netflix, Jordan Brand, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Sara tells us about her exciting works in progress here!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Aisha Amin

Welcome to NYWIFT, Aisha Amin! Aisha is an NYC-based writer and director. As a director, her work expands across narrative, documentary, and experimental forms to tell authentic stories built from real experiences. Her past film projects have explored and highlighted overlooked communities particularly in New York City, including formerly incarcerated mothers and communities struggling with the presence of gentrification in their neighborhoods. Amongst her directing, Aisha is an emerging screenwriting and was selected to participate in Cine Qua Non’s 2022 Screenwriting Lab. She is a 2022 recipient of NYFA’s Tomorrowland Grant and a 2021 recipient of the NYFA Women's Fund grant. She was a recipient of the 2019-2020 Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center where she directed two short documentaries. She is also a recipient of The Shed's Open Call Fellowship where she expanded her film practice to installation art. Aisha spoke to us about her favorite styles of storytelling, the intersection of narrative and documentary, and her latest projects.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Eileen Wolter

Welcome to NYWIFT, Eileen Wolter! After working as a motion picture lit assistant at CAA, working on the Universal lot, and writing lots of coverage in LA, Eileen brings her creativity to us in New York! She holds a BA in Art History & Film from Vassar College, studied acting as The Atlantic Theater Company and The Actors Studio/The New School, and studied writing at UCLA, NYU, Sundance Collab, Stowe Story Labs, and NJ Play Lab. Eileen tells us about her fascinating family history, covering Fashion Week for Comedy Central in 1993, and attending SNL dress rehearsals.

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Program Recap: NYWIFT Masterclass Series: Writing for TV

Introducing critically-acclaimed writer Amy Fox, who led a three-week consecutive NYWIFT Masterclass on creative practice, storytelling fundamentals, and developing your TV pilot script. If you haven’t ever written a script, or need a refresher course, tips, coaching, or guidance about how to translate an idea to the big screen, information about how to produce your TV show, series, or film, what technology to use, etc., this masterclass was for you.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Victoria Duncan

Welcome to NYWIFT, Victoria Duncan! At age 12, Victoria began making films, struck by her power to engage an audience using her imagination. This led her down an exciting path to SNL, The Blacklist, The Sinner, Vice, and branded content for huge companies like Wells Fargo and Amazon, just to name a few. Her LGBT+ ballet film I Am Enough was adapted for the stage and performed at New York City’s iconic Lincoln Center. She is currently working on the screenplay for a feature film. Victoria walks us through her incredible journey, from her childhood favorite movies to presenting a piece to the United Nations.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Amy Tiong

Welcome to NYWIFT, Amy Tiong! Amy is a director, writer, and production coordinator whose stories bring underrepresented voices to the forefront. She directs both narrative films and documentaries, which received recognition from Bustle, NBCNews, PictureStart, Coverfly, and the NAACP. The vulnerability in her work empowers others and shines a light on topics such as disordered eating, grief, and sibling love. Amy tells us about working on a microbudget project during pandemic times, collaborating with friends and her new horror immigration feature film, When You’re Ready to Go. Read all about it here!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Christine Toy Johnson

You might recognize NYC-based artist Christine from the stage, the page, or the screen. She played Diane over one thousand times in the first national tour of the musical Come from Away. Other roles span from Sherry Yang in the Netflix Marvel series Iron Fist to Maria in West Side Story. She hosts The Dramatists Guild’s Talkback podcast, where she shines a spotlight on conversations about equality and inclusion. She also participated in The Writers Lab 2016, the screenwriting program co-produced by NYWIFT. Read more about artists she admires, advocacy for other artists, and new movie musical here!

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Beatriz Barbieri

Beatriz was born in Brazil, then moved to New York in 2015 to study film at NYU. Her roots in Brasilia are close to her heart and are at the core of her work, from her 35mm black and white photography series to her upcoming feature film script. She was director of photography for Murielle’s “Can You Get Me High” music video and directed Foreign’s “Commando (feat. Da $ilva)” music video. She has taken photos for Brooklyn-based clothing brand ByLiv and behind-the-scenes photos for New York Magazine. Beatriz tells us about her artistic inspirations, her upcoming short film Shrapnel, and how her identity inspires her storytelling.

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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Deniz Cam

After a career as a journalist for Forbes magazine, Deniz is taking her skills as a storyteller the world of film and TV. She is on the research team for The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, a talk show about current events including climate change, the economy, and foreign policy. She is also writing and acting in a live reading of her pilot, 60 Days, about a Turkish immigrant who must get married in 60 days to keep her visa status after quitting her job. Deniz tells us about her love of New York, being an immigrant from Istanbul, and her Carrie Bradshaw moment seeing her cover story on a billboard on Fifth Avenue.

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