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There are presently no open calls for submissions.
The contest is open to current students and alumni of Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA)** at Columbia College Chicago. Current students must have any of the majors from Cinema and Television Arts declared.
Full- and Part-time faculty and employees are ineligible to submit unless:
· They are an undergraduate student majoring in Cinema Art & Science who has been hired part-time by the college as a TA while working on their degree or…
· They are a graduate student majoring in Cinema Art and Science who is teaching part-time while completing their degree.
No changes, rewrites or drafts of any kind will be accepted after submission.
No applicant may have earned money or other consideration as a screenwriter for theatrical films or television. Additionally, no applicant may have received compensation for the sale of, or sale of an option to any original story, treatment, screenplay, or teleplay for more than $1,000.
No script already optioned (or produced) (regardless of cost) is eligible.
Cinema and Television Arts at Columbia College Chicago will not hold any proprietary rights over the completed screenplay. The Department will not act as agent for either the screenplay or the author.
Submissions must be the original work of the applicant and may not be based, in whole or in part, on any other fictional or non-fictional material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced, unless the applicant provides acceptable legal proof of permission from the original author. If the entry is an adaptation, proof of ownership or permission to adapt must be sent to jalbin@colum.edu when the script is submitted.
All screenplays must be registered with the WGA and/or be copyrighted. For information on registering with the Writer's Guild go to www.wga.org. To find out about copyrighting material, go to www.copyright.gov. Use the link “How to register a Work”. Use a Form PA for motion picture elements
Collaborative work is only acceptable if all applicants are either current students or graduated alumni of CTVA at Columbia College of Chicago.
The judging process is 3-tiered. Scripts are read and evaluated by screenwriting professionals and faculty from a number of institutions.
Contestants may not lobby or discuss their submissions with any member of the faculty or staff of Columbia College Chicago CTVA.
Contestants may not contact Competition Judges.
Contestants may not at any point reveal the name of the submitted script or its author to Columbia College Chicago CTVA faculty or staff or competition judges.
Any violation of the above guidelines will cause the screenwriter(s) to forfeit her / his / their participation in the contest.
Columbia College Chicago complies with all local, state and federal laws and regulations concerning civil rights. Columbia College Chicago does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, or sexual orientation in its programs or activities.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Contestants must do the following to submit a screenplay:
1. Create a account on Submittable. Making this account is free.
2. Pay a non-refundable entry fee of $10 for Alumni and $5 for Students. This fee accompanies the application. Online payment options are included as part of the submission process
3. Attach a PDF of the screenplay. The Cover page should only have the title of the script and no other identifying elements, such as the author name. The title must be on the cover page.
· For feature scripts, no submissions under 75 pages or over 130 pages will be accepted. For short scripts, no submissions over 30 pages will be accepted.
· The author's name or any identifying marks must not appear on the cover or on any page of the script; any script which can be identified as the work of the applicant will be immediately disqualified. Only the title of the script should be on the Cover page
· Submissions must be in acceptable professional format.
· Submissions must be written in English. Translations will not be accepted.
4. If submitting multiple screenplays, a separate Application Form and payment must be completed for each screenplay.Multiple submissions can be made on one account.
A confirmation email will be sent to you upon receipt of all materials and payment.
**Formerly Cinema Art + Science, Film & Video