The Missouri Film Office and the Missouri Motion Media Association (MoMMA) are accepting submissions for the 2021 Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship.
This international contest is open to all individuals who have written a script based in Missouri. The writer does not have to live in or be from Missouri to participate. The scripts will go to a panel of judges – made up of industry professionals – who will provide critiques and select the top three scripts.
All entrants will receive scoresheets and valuable feedback from the judging panel as well as opportunities to connect with a community of film professionals and a network of program alumni. The three winners will be awarded an all-expense-paid trip to a concentrated fellowship experience in February 2022.
During the fellowship experience, writers will participate in writing workshops and receive one-on-one time with industry mentors. Previous mentors include Bob Gale, known for writing the “Back to the Future” trilogy; Angelo Pizzo, who wrote “Hoosiers” and “Rudy”; Philip LaZebnik, screenwriter for “Mulan” and “The Prince of Egypt”; and Valerie Woods, write/producer on “Queen Sugar”.
Established in 2014, the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship encourages the development of scripts based in Missouri and supports writers who aspire to work in the film and television industry. To date, more than 400 scripts have been submitted through the program.
A wide variety of genres have been explored in these scripts. All of which suit the range of settings Missouri offers for film production: forests, skyscrapers, caves, historic small towns, cattle pastures and more. The goal of this program is to attract film production to the state. Stories based in Missouri are more likely to be filmed on-location in Missouri.
Submission deadlines for the competition are Nov. 7 (early), Nov. 20 (regular) and Nov. 26 (late). Winners will be notified in January.
Access the 2021 submission form, sample scripts, Missouri Stories workshop recordings and more at MoFilm.org/MoStories.
