We’ve rounded up the top film festivals, writing competitions, and grants with winter or spring deadlines. It’s time to polish that script, shoot that video, upload that film. We’ll be updating this list as more submission dates become available, so check back often.
Film/Video/TV Festivals, Contests, Labs & Screenings
Nashville Film Festival (WAB 1/10)
LA Film Festival (1/10, late shorts 2/8, late feature & doc 2/14)
Soho International Film Festival (WAB 2/15)
Edinburgh International Film Festival (2/4, late 2/18)
NYTVF History Unscripted Development Pipeline (2/24)
Female Eye Film Festival (late 1/31, WAB 2/28)
Brooklyn FIlm Festival (2/21, late 3/7)
Festival de Cannes (shorts 3/3, features 3/10)
Independent Filmmaker Lab: Documentary (3/7)
Nantucket Film Festival (early 1/20, reg 3/3, late 3/10)
Tribeca #6SECFILMS Competition (3/27)
Independent Filmmaker Lab: Narrative (4/4)
NYC PictureStart Film Festival (shorts; late 3/31, final 4/25)
Asian American International Film Festival (work-in-progress 4/30)
Just for Laughs and NYTVF TV Comedy Search (5/9)
Woods Hole Film Festival (early 3/1, final 5/15)
Aesthetica Short Film Festival (5/31)
Chicago Comedy Film Festival (accepts webisodes; late 5/1, WAB 6/1)
Hamptons International Film Festival (early 4/7, reg 5/5, late 6/2, WAB 6/16)
NYTVF Independent Pilot Competition (early 5/9, reg 6/13, final 6/27)
Diabolique International Film Festival (horror, fantasy, sci-fi; early 5/31, final 6/30)
Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge (7/1)
Austin Film Festival (early 4/30, reg 6/16, late 7/15)
Big Apple Film Festival (early 6/30, reg 8/1, late 8/15, WAB 9/1)
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (ongoing)
Big Vision Empty Wallet (ongoing)
Screenwriting & TV Writing Competitions
Nashville Film Festival (screenplay & teleplay; late 1/31)
Female Eye Film Festival Script Development Program (WAB 2/28)
Nickelodeon Writing Program (2/28)
Showtime’s Tony Cox Screenplay Competition (reg 3/3, late 3/10)
Asian American International Film Festival (4/4)
Woods Hole Film Festival (early 3/1, final 4/10)
Scriptapalooza Television (4/14)
Creative World Awards (feature, short, TV; reg 1/15, late 2/20, final 4/15)
Page International Awards (reg 2/15, late 3/15, last-minute 4/15)
Scriptapalooza (early 1/6, first 3/3, reg 4/14, final 4/21)
NYC PictureStart Film Festival (short; late 3/31, final 4/25)
Nicholl Fellowship (4/10, final 5/1)
CBS Writers Mentoring Program (5/1)
RBC’s Emerging Storytellers (5/2)
Script Pipeline (screenwriting & TV writing; early 3/1, reg 5/1, late 5/7)
Austin Screenplay & Teleplay Competition (early 4/30, reg 5/21)
NBC Writers On The Verge (5/30)
WB Writers’ Workshop (5/31)
Industry Insider Television Writing Contest (early 3/31, reg 5/31, final 6/30)
Slamdance Screenplay Competition (feature, short, webisode, TV; early 4/8, reg 6/10, late 7/22, WAB 7/29)
Big Break Contest (7/31)
Sundance Screenwriting Lab (US 5/1, intl’ 8/15 postmarked)
Grants & Other Funding
TFI’s Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund (2/4)
PUMA Impact Award (documentary films; 4/28)
From the Heart Production’s Roy W. Dean Grant (4/30)
WIF Film Finishing Fund (early 5/23, final 6/6)
Ford Foundation JustFilms Grants (rolling)
(Updated 3/16/14)
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Elizabeth “Liz” Bendelac
Welcome to NYWIFT, Elizabeth Bendelac! Liz is a locations professional. She’s managed, key assistant managed, scouted, and coordinated for film and television across New York and New Jersey. Her credits? NBC's New Amsterdam. Paramount’s Smile. Sony’s Goosebumps: The Vanishing for Disney+. Indie? She’s there too. Ponyboi, starring Dylan O’Brien and Victoria Pedretti. She’s everywhere you need her to be—quietly making it all happen. Recent work in the Tri-State area? The Home with Pete Davidson. Insidious 5. Manifest. Disenchanted. Resurrection. The Good Nurse. And a standout collaboration with Edward Burns on his sequel to The Brothers McMullen: The Family McMullen. Outside of production, Elizabeth dedicates her time to Surfers Healing, a nonprofit surf camp for children with autism. It’s a cause close to her heart, combining her love of the ocean with her commitment to community and empathy. Elizabeth is also an adjunct faculty member at the New Jersey Institute of Technology where she developed and teaches a course on location management. Elizabeth: She doesn’t just do locations. She produces. And producing, for her, has rules. Collaborate with directors who share her values. Strong roles for women of color. Fresh takes on stories you thought you knew. Films with the elegance of Merchant & Ivory but the punch to succeed in the real world. Films that leave a mark. To that end, she’s developing two scripts with award-winning playwright Montserrat Mendez. Exploring genre mash-ups. Shaking up narratives. Figuring out new ways to make audiences sit up, pay attention, maybe even gasp. Because whether it’s a location or a story, Elizabeth Bendelac knows how to map the journey. She knows the destination. And she will get you there.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Andrea Ocampo
Welcome to NYWIFT, Andrea Ocampo! Andrea is a first-generation Colombian filmmaker. She is drawn to the quiet forces that have shaped her: obsession, memory, and identity in flux. She is a proud artist who directs with a lens for the psychological and surreal, blending documentary realism with fiction laced in intimate mystery. Her latest short Blackout is a psychological thriller set in the NYC subway, and it premiered to a sold-out crowd on September 13th, 2025, at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival. She navigates global crises and inner landscapes with equal urgency. Her work has a raw, honest, and quietly haunted feel to it. Chances are you’ll feel it before you understand it. We spoke to Andrea in late Summer. She recounts her experience in the film industry, tracing her path from a passionate young filmmaker in her early childhood to the successful professional she has become.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Toni Manohar
Welcome to NYWIFT, Toni Manohar! Toni is a passionate creative and writer, working on fiction and non-fiction works, screenplays, and original piano compositions. By day, she is a technical writer and project manager in the pharmaceutical industry, but her creative endeavors occupy her nights and weekends. Writing and creating good stories has been a dream of Toni’s since she was a child, and one that she continues to pursue. She’s excited to be a part of this community and to connect with the like-minded filmmakers of NYWIFT!
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Iris De Vita
Welcome to NYWIFT, Iris De Vita! Iris De Vita is the founder of Golden Iris, LLC, where she combines her talents as a photographer and publicist to help clients shine. She also works as a talent booker for The Donna Drake Show. Specializing in portrait and event photography, as well as PR for artists, performers, and small businesses, Iris brings a creative yet strategic approach to every project. Iris’s work has supported films, festivals, and artistic events, drawing audiences and capturing lasting memories. Based on Long Island and in New York City, she is passionate about telling stories, whether through the perfect photograph or a compelling publicity campaign. In our interview, Iris discusses her photography, her promotional work with artists and events, and her love of connecting audiences with art!
READ MORE
