Untitled 1916

The Irish Film Board and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival have announced that their partnership on the Untitled screenwriting competition will return for the 10th anniversary of the festival in February, 2012.

Shortlisted writers will be invited to give a public presentation of their screenplay proposal to a panel of industry professionals who will then decide on the winning project. The event provides an opportunity to receive an IFB 'First Draft Loan' for the winning screenplay of €12,000 or €16,000, subject to the usual loan conditions. The deadline for entries is November 4th.

Individual or teams of writers are invited to submit a one page summary for a feature film with the theme of '1916'. This will be narrowed down to a shortlist of five entries and the shortlisted writers will then be asked to write the first few scenes of the script. The writers will present the shortlisted projects to an independent panel of international industry professionals in front of a public audience.

As regards the ‘1916’ theme the Festival says, This year’s theme is something of a challenge. There are endless ways to interpret the Irish story; especially this, the most debated and notorious time in our history, and that’s the point. We’re not looking for literal tales torn from dry textbooks. We’ll favour lateral thinking; new and confident ways of telling oft-told stories; as well as sideways glances at neglected moments from that ‘interesting time’. All we ask is that the stories are grounded in historical fact. Otherwise, please surprise us.

Entry conditions are as follows...
1. Entry: Submit a one-page summary of your film along with a completed entry form (available from www.irishfilmboard.ie or www.jdiff.ie) and your CV to untitledscreenwritingcomp@gmail.com by Friday November 4, 2011.
2. Script: Five shortlisted projects will be announced on December 13, 2011. The successful applicants will be invited to write the first scenes of their screenplay (up to 25 pages in final draft format) by the opening night of the JDIFF on February 16, 2012. The five shortlisted projects will be selected by the IFB and Festival representatives along with an independent assessor.
3. Interview: The five shortlisted writers (or writers teams) will take part in a public interview with an independent panel of industry professionals (date TBA) during the festival. After a presentation and question and answer session, the panel will select the winner. The winner will be announced at the JDIFF Closing Night.

The winner will receive a First Draft Development Loan from the IFB. The four runners-up will win a season pass to JDIFF 2013. The competition is open to writers or teams of writers currently residing in Ireland or holders of a current Irish passport.