PITTSFIELD – The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) is proud to announce the first Annual Short Film Screenplay contest. The competition is open to all amateur writers who live in the four counties of western Massachusetts including Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire (including full time students attending schools in the region). Amateur writers are defined as those who haven’t sold a screenplay, had their short script televised, or shown theatrically.
Scripts should not exceed 20 pages in length and are due by midnight on Monday, May 22nd. All submissions should be in script format and sent to: [email protected]. Three finalists will be selected to be guests at BFMC’s Posh Picnic annual fundraiser at Tanglewood on Sunday, July 23rd where the winners will be announced. Monetary prizes include First prize: $1,500. Second Prize: $750 Third Prize: $250.
Judges of the contest are local film and television luminaries including Actor/Producer Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards, Criminal Minds, 24), Executive Producer Tony Dunne (WGBY’s Connecting Point), Writer & Emerson Faculty member Stephen Glantz (To Life, Wunderkinder, The Last Train), Writer/Director/Playwright Juilanne Haim (Dead Silence, A Tanglewood Tale, Paris Unlaced, Belle of the Books), Writer Marc Maurino (All in the Game, Trigger Finger), Writer Maria Nation (A Street Cat Named Bob, The Gabby Douglas Story, Salem Witch Trials), Writer & Former HBO Executive Paige Orloff (Guantanamo Bay) Writer John Orloff (Guantanamo Bay, Band of Brothers, A Mighty Heart, Anonymous), Director Matthew Penn (Law and Order, Orange is the New Black, Damages), Art House Film Distributor/Writer John Lawrence Ré (Hugo Pool, Wallace and Gromit, Dominoes).
The contest is being organized by BFMC Board of Directors member, and award-winning screenwriter, Stephen Glantz. BFMC Executive Director, Diane Pearlman is excited about the contest, “We are thrilled to be launching this unique forum to recognize local screenwriting talent here in western MA.”
The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) is a creative economic engine that supports production and workforce development in Western Massachusetts. BFMC develops educational and workforce enrichment courses, offers networking events for industry professionals, acts as a resource for visiting productions, creates jobs within our communities in the film industry and provides an on- line production guide and locations database as a resource for filmmakers. BFMC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 413.528.4223. www.berkshirefilm.org
