BAFF SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

AWARDS

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​1. Screenplay winners in each category will receive small group meetings with established producers and other industry representatives. These meetings are designed to provide winning screenwriters with direct access and live interaction with industry professionals to provide strategies, guidance and mentorship to emerging screenwriters. Conferences take place virtually allowing participants to join remotely. BAFF's network of speakers in past events have included representatives from: HBO, NBCUniversal, Academy Award winning Killer Films, William Morris Endeavor Agency, The Gersh Agency, APA Agency, Magnolia Pictures, Film Rise(distributor of numerous Oscar Award winning and Emmy Award winning films), Emmy Award winning Gigantic Productions, Cinepointe Advisors(legal counsel on numerous Oscar nominated films), Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning filmmakers, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning screenwriters, Fimmakers with projects released through Sony, Disney, Lions Gate, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Hulu, and theatrically, as well as staff writers for CBS, ABC, Lifetime, and more...(industry mentors for this season will be announced after the conclusion of the festival)

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2. Winning screenplays will be promoted to Big Apple Film Festival's list of alumni filmmakers, many of which include filmmakers who have had film released theatrically, as well as on numerous major distribution platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, iTunes, NBCUniveral and more...

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3. Screenplay Competition winners will receive a complimentary all access badge to Big Apple Film Festival events, including screenings, networking conferences and receptions.

 

PREVIOUS WINNERS AND FINALISTS INCLUDE: 

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• Shia LaBeouf (SAG Award, People's Choice Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee)

 

• Ron Friedman (Emmy nominee and WGA Award winner)

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• Kent Moran (Feature films have been released by Warner Brothers, Netflix, Showtime, Paramount+, Starz, Apple, Hulu, Amazon, Hallmark, Lifetime, LMN, Regal Cinemas)

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• Rosemary Griggs (2x Quarter Finalist, award winning author, published by Fence Publishing)

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• Larry Collins (Emmy Award Winner, NBCUniversal/Peacock Network)

 

• Jyllian Gunther (Emmy Award winner, producer for NBC, ABC, A&E), 

 

• Henry Sarwer-Foner (Directors Guild of Canada Award nominee), 

 

• Daniel Talbott (writer ABC's "The Conners", "The Mist"  produced by The Weinstein Company and Spike TV), 

 

• Michael Vaynberg (writer/director Cannes Film Festival selection "9.8 m/s²"), 

 

• Shruti Tewari (member of the Sundance Collab Directing Program), 

 

• Ken Krauss (writer "Tom, Dick, & Harriet" - Hallmark Channel), 

 

• Kevin Emerson (author of over twenty novels published by HarperCollins, Random House, Scholastic), 

 

• Linda Shayne (writer/director "Undercover Kid" released by WARNER BROTHERS, HBO Family, "Little Ghost,” distributed by PARAMOUNT video airing on HBO), 

 

• Chris Phillips (Finalist - Sundance Institute Development Track, Award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting-New York International Fringe Festival), 

 

• Maia Henkin (Second Round Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, repped by Abrams Artists Agency) 

 

and many more...

 

TESTIMONIALS

 

"Since being a finalist with Big Apple, I was signed by A3 (Abrams) and have taken meetings with Starz, Lionsgate, and Anonymous Content (among others). I was also recently a Semi-Finalist for the Sundance Episodic Lab!" -Maia Henkin

 

"I wanted to thank you, I have signed with an agent. I met her because of the Big Apple Film Festival" - Andrea Careri (BAFF screenplay winner, Agents and Managers Conference participant)

 

"My feature script The Tenant recently became a finalist in the Big Apple Film Festival. This accolade moved my script onto Coverfly's Red List. This helped in querying representation and getting signed by a literary manager." 
-Janet J. Lawler

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"Two of the agents I’ve practiced-pitched to have requested my script and one has followed up with a phone call to discuss representation. Your service is career-changing" - Nate Bynum (screenwriter)

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