Written Image:
A Screenwriting Prize Sponsored by the
Columbia College Chicago Department of Film & Video Advisory Board

general guidelines   •   submission guidlines    •   prizes   •   application   •   past winners

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PURPOSE:

The Written Image Screenwriting Prize is designed to foster
the development and recognition of "new screenwriters," specifically
alumni of Columbia College Chicago who majored in Film or current
students with a declared major in Film -- writers who are at the threshold
of a professional career. The competition's goal is to recognize the
best of our 'amateur' screenwriters and give them a first step into
screenwriting as a profession. Please read the guidelines carefully to
be sure that you qualify before submitting a script. And good luck!

This entire document can be downloaded as a PDF file , MSWord or
RTF document.

Click here to download Acrobat Reader.

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GENERAL GUIDELINES:

The contest is open to current students and graduated alumni of the Department of Film & Video of Columbia College Chicago (CCC).
Current students must have declared Film as their major.

Full-time Employees (staff and faculty) and Part-time faculty are ineligible to submit unless
1. they are an undergraduate student majoring in film who has been hired part-time
by the college as a TA while working on their degree; or 2. they are a graduate student
majoring in film who is teaching part-time while completing their degree.

No changes, rewrites or drafts of any kind will be accepted after submission.

Submitted scripts should be FINAL DRAFTS of the material, the very best possible version the screenwriter is capable of writing.

No applicant may have earned money or other consideration as a screenwriter for theatrical films or television, or for the sale of,
or sale of an option to, any original story, treatment, screenplay or teleplay for more than $7,500.

No script already optioned (or produced) (regardless of cost) is eligible.

The Department of Film & Video of 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non-fictional material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced, unless the applicant provides acceptable legal proof of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. (The application needs to include a proof of authorship statement with a signature required
and state whether or not the material is original or adaptation.)

If the entry is adapted from the applicant's own original work, this must be noted on the title page.

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 http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/.
You can download Form PA and the instructions Form119 in PDF format.

Collaborative work is only acceptable if both or all applicants are either current students or alumni of the Department. Scripts
written by both current students and alumni are only eligible for the Student Competition.

The judging process is 3-tiered. All scripts are read and evaluated by screenwriting professionals and faculty from a number of
institutions. Final determination of winners is made by screenwriting professionals and/or producers.

Contestants may not lobby or discuss their submissions with any member of the faculty or staff of Columbia College Chicago
Department of Film & Video.

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 Department
of Film & Video faculty or staff or Competition Judges.

Any break of the above guidelines will cause the screenwriter(s) to forfeit 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.

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Contestants must submit the following materials:

1. A non-refundable entry fee of $35 must accompany the application.
   Checks are to be made out to the Columbia College Department of Film & Video;
   please note in the memo line of the check that this is for the Screenwriting Competition.
   
2. Completed Application Form.  You must submit a hardcopy (This is either a PDF file,an MSWord
   document or an RTF document).
   If you do not have Acrobat Reader you can download it.
   
3. Three (3) Copies of an original feature film screenplay (approximately 90-130 pages
   in length) or three (3) Copies of an original short film script (approximately 10 to 45 pages):

• for feature scripts, no submissions under 75 pages or over 130 pages will be accepted.
• for short scripts, no submissions under 10 pages or over 60 pages will be accepted.
• submission must be on plain white paper, bound with two or three brass fasteners and
  have a white cover (65 to 110lb paper stock).
• 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.
• submissions must be in acceptable professional format.
• submissions must be written in English. Translations will not be accepted.

4. One loose "cover sheet" on which is printed the name of the screenplay, the author's name,
   address, phone number, e-mail address and the WGA registration number and/or copyright
   mark/date. This sheet should be on three-hole punched paper and paper-clipped to the application form.
   
5. One loose page that includes a brief synopsis of the script story and a brief writer's statement:

• synopsis should be no more than one paragraph and be simply a concise overview of the basic story;
• writer's statement should be no more than one paragraph and summarize the writer's professional and
  personal goals as they pertain to screenwriting.

6. A self-addressed and stamped postcard which will be returned as proof of receipt.

Scripts must be postmarked no later than January 31, 2006.

Submissions must be mailed. Drop-off submissions will not be accepted.

Submissions will not be returned.

Judges' comments will not be made available to contestants.

Completed applications should be returned to:

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PRIZES:

Prizes will be awarded in both the alumni and student categories for feature-length and
short subject scripts.

In addition to these prizes, winners will also receive a 'first look' by a major
Hollywood production company.

In the event of collaboration, the collaborators will split the prize evenly.

Judges reserve the right to declare a tie or to make "no award" in any category.

For 2006, Prizes will include:

Alumni Category:
$7,000 for 1st Place Feature-Length Script
$3,000 for 2nd Place Feature-Length Script

Student Category:
$1,000 for 1st Place Feature-Length Script
$ 500 for 2nd Place Feature-Length Script
$ 500 for 1st Place Short-Subject Script
$ 250 for 2nd Place Short-Subject Script

Audience Award for Best Pitch:
$ 500 (audience vote)

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WRITTEN IMAGE PAST WINNERS

Attention Written Image Winners! Be sure to check out Vol. 11, No.5 , the September 2005 issue of
SCR(i)PT magazine for a full page ad announcing the winners of the 2005 Written Image Awards.
Note that the winners from years past are also included.

2005 Winners

Alumni Feature Length Script Category
Overture by Michael Chatlien - First Place ($7,000)
Shanghaied by Jeff Connell & Craig Clough - Second Place ($3,000)
As Good Place as Any by Adam Wheelock & Mike Malesa - Third Place, Honorable Mention
Magnificent Field by Robb Klibowitz - Honorable Mention
Skunk Girl by John C. Peterson - Honorable Mention

Student Feature Length Script Category
Sah Ee Gu (April 29th) by Wancy Young Cho - First Place ($1,000)
The Beekeeper by Sean J. S. Jourdan - Second Place ($500)
The Last Great Flood by Travis Hughes - Honorable Mention

Student Short Script Category
The Pool Party by Sean J. S. Jourdan - First Place ($500)
Lighten Up by Jamie Tipps - Second Place ($250)
Petal Fall by Maria F. Gigante - Honorable Mention

Audience Award for Best Pitch:
Lighten Up by Jamie Tipps

2004 Winners

Winner in the Alumni Feature Script Category
  1st Place – And Now For My Next Trick by Michael Elsey
  2nd Place – Killer Artista by Dario Sanmiguel
  Honorable Mention – Wait ‘Til Next Year by Nathan Jordan
  Honorable Mention – Hollywoodland by Roy Maurer

Winners in the Student Feature Script Category
  1st Place – The Color Out of Space by Aaron Vanek
  2nd Place – The Wicked Librarian by Jeff Smith
  Honorable Mention – The Four Seasons by Elise Aliberti

Winners in Student Short Script Category
  1st Place – Undertow by Joseph Balczo
  2nd Place – Promises Kept by Jason W. Camp
  Honorable mention – Tutor by Brian Sturgulewski

Resonance Award given to Alex Garland for 28 Days Later

2003 Winners

Winner in the Alumni Feature Script Category
  1st Place – Strangers in the Snow by Zachary Dean
  2nd Place – Mayrosa by Paul David Smith
  3rd place feature - Heaven by Louis Anastas
  Honorable Mention – Hitman, Hitman, Hitman by David Heinz
      Auidence Award for Best Pitch

 Winners in the Student Feature Script Category
  1st Place – Hero's Flight by Michele McManmon
  2nd Place – Meeting Woody Allen by Zach Baliva
  3rd Place - Still Life by John Polydoros
  
Winners in Student Short Script Category
  1st Place – The Missing Peace by Rachel Benjamin
  2nd Place – The Sweetness of Goodbye by Antoinette Cole
  3rd Place – Above the Line by Joesph Johnson

2002 Winners

Alumni Feature Script
First Place
"Vinegar to the Teeth", Michael J. Elsey

Second Place
"Running on Glass", Aaron W. Levy

Second Place (tie)
"American Moses", C. Bryce Fuller

Alumni Short Script
First Place
"Lemonade", Martha Shaifer-Hartel

Second Place
"Inland", Roy Maurer

Student Feature Script
First Place
"South Side Irish", Sean Jennings

Second Place
"Ostrander", Jared Regan

Third Place
"Boxing Chronos", Peter S. Mazza

Student Short Script
First Place
"I Don't Wear Plastic", Kimberly Robbins

Second Place
"Paradox Road", Ron Lehmann

Third Place
"Fine Point", Jeremy Braverman

Exemplary Service Award
Paul David Smith
For dedicated service to the students, faculty, and staff of the Screenwriting Center.

2001 Winners
Feature Length Scripts:
1st Place: Haddon County by Ken Czechanski
2nd Place: Resurrection Mary by Mark Kobylinski
3rd Place: The Sun Rises in the West by Perry Wroblewski

Short Subject Scripts:
1st Place: Lesson One by Ron Lehmann
2nd Place: Reversal by Michael T. Kuciak
3rd Place: La Realidad by Stephen S. Mack II

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Film & Video Department      •       Columbia College Chicago