New Screenplay Shorts Competition Announcement! đŸ€

Competition Info
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Folks, I promised you competition news imminently, and here we go! :fire:

Fan of short films? Your feature film not quite ready just yet?

We’re thrilled to announce, exclusively to our forum users, the launch of our brand-new Shorts Competition! As part of our commitment to seeing stories come to life; we’re here to help turn your vision into reality, with real support to get your work produced. This is the competition for screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, and creators of all stripes. Want to see the stories you care about brought to life? Get involved. Make. It. Happen.

ELIGIBILITY & RULES :ballot_box_with_check:

  • Must be 18 years or older to submit
  • Up to 3 submissions allowed per person
  • Narrative fiction only (no documentaries or experimental films)
  • Screenplays must be between 5 and 20 pages
  • All languages welcome, but screenplays must include English subtitles
  • Any use of AI or large language models must be disclosed

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS :memo:

  • Free to enter — no submission fees
  • Screenplay between 5-20 pages (PDF format)
  • Director’s Statement (why you need to tell this story)
  • Planned shooting location

PRIZES :trophy:

  • $7,500 production grant to make your short film
  • $500 festival submission grant to help get your film seen
  • Mentorship and support from Kinolime producers

LIME$ :green_circle:

5 lime$ for read & vote short (the same as voting on a feature treatment!)

TIMELINE

Submissions Period :arrow_right:
Monday August 18th - Thursday September 18th

Top 26 Announcement :arrow_right:
Monday September 29th

Top 10 Announcement :arrow_right:
Monday October 20th

Top 3 Announcement :arrow_right:
November 10th

Winner Announcement :bangbang:
Monday November 24th

Be the voice that defines tomorrow’s cinema. :left_speech_bubble:
Submit your script, join our creative community, and MAKE your vision real.

SIGN UP, SUBMIT, VOTE AT KINOLIME.COM!
Updates coming soon. Questions? Drop them below!

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Let’s go! This is perfect for me because I’m working my way up to writing a feature and have a few shorts cached away. Excited to finally be on the other side of the voting!

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Would a proof-of-concept short for a series be acceptable, or are you looking for only standalone stories?

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Hi Paul! A proof of concept short should be acceptable provided that it’s capable of serving as a standalone short film, in the same way that we would not accept a sequel, for instance. Please be aware that in the event of your short’s success, there may be option agreements offered – which could potentially hinder your ability to pursue your own series during the time that Kinolime maintains exclusive rights. Hope this answers your question!

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out of curiosity, is a short ineligible if it doesn’t have a shooting location? For instance if it’s set on a space station or somewhere without a real world equivalent.

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Thanks, Meara! Makes perfect sense.

Looking forward to entering and reading!
Paul

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Is there any terms or genres???
What can we write about or show!?
Or what can we not write about.
Disqualification rules.
Restrictions factors.

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Thanks for your questions folks.

@eliasford – the MO of the competition is to encourage people to shoot their short films, so that’s why we’re asking for planned shooting locations in the application; to ascertain feasibility. If your project requires a location that could not be achieved practically, it may not be eligible. For instance, you could not use ‘the International Space Station’ as your planned location. However, if you think the film could reasonably be achieved by animation or another means within the budget, that would be considered. Hope this helps, feel free to reach out directly if you have further questions.

@mislamsr24480 hello there and welcome to the forum. Thank you for your questions. There are no specifically required genres, but we are only accepting narrative scripts rather than experimental. You may write about whatever you wish, so long as it meets our other guidelines, does not contain any form of hate speech, and has a clear and actionable path to production should it be greenlit. Disqualification may occur if the entry does not meet our rules and guidelines, though we maintain the right to refuse entries as we deem necessary.

Happy to answer any further questions – anyone is welcome to reach out if they have specific queries I may help with, DM me if you would like to discuss your project without publicly sharing any details about the concept.

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Hi, what are you looking for in the Director’s Statement? A page, a paragraph? etc. And will it be meant for Kinolime’s judges or public voting as well?

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Hello there and welcome to the forum. Thank you for your question – we are asking for up to half a page for the Director’s Statement. The top 26 shorts will have their Director’s Statement featured on the Writers’ Script Page; visible to the voting public.

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What happens if the budget is more than $7,500? Can we raise additional funds if the budget requires $10,000 for instance.

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Hey Charlie, if your project has a higher budget, you’re welcome to include in your statement your pathway to raising additional necessary funds. This would only pose a potential issue if it created a conflict of interest towards broadcast rights between Kinolime and another investor. Kindly reach out directly with details if you are unsure and I can double check everything with the legal team.

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How i can participate?

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Hi there, welcome to the forum. Entries are open as of today, the 18th August. Please follow the link attached to the entry page with rules and guidelines! Screenplay Competitions | Kinolime

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