Missouri is full of interesting people, beautiful scenery and a rich history.
Founded by the Missouri Film Office in 2014, the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship is an international competition for screenplays and television pilot scripts with storylines set in Missouri. The contest was modeled after the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
“Writing screenplays can be a lonely pursuit. When you live in Kansas City, 1600 miles from Los Angeles,” says Kansas City native and Missouri Stories Fellow, Jeffrey Field, ”So an expense-paid immersive experience with peers and professionals to discuss screenwriting in general – and your work in particular – is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Writers do not have to be from Missouri to submit their scripts to the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship, but all scripts must be based in Missouri. The scripts are read and scored by a group of more than 40 Missouri-connected industry judges who pick three winners. However, each writer receives feedback from the judges, whether their script is selected as a winner or not.
“The art form of film is powerful, you can reach so many people,” said Andrea Sporcic Klund, director of the Missouri Film Office. “It’s a cultural exchange, as well. You’re showing the way we do things in Missouri, the way Missouri looks, and sharing that with the world.”
The three winners will be awarded an all-expense-paid trip to a concentrated fellowship experience in February 2023. Submission deadlines for the competition are Nov. 6 (early), Nov. 20 (regular) and Nov. 27 (late). Winners will be notified in January. Access the 2022 submission form, sample scripts, Missouri Stories workshop recordings and more at www.MoFilm.org/MoStories
