DJERASSI/SFFS SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP

Name of Contest:
DJERASSI/SFFS SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP

Sponsoring Organization:
San Francisco Film Society

Director:
Graham Leggat, Executive Director
Sara Dosa, Grants & Residencies Coordinator (contact for SFFS Grants)

Address:
39 Mesa Street, Suite 110
San Francisco, CA 94129

Telephone:
415-561-5019

Fax:
415-440-1760

E-Mail:
sdosa@sffs.org

Website:
http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?pageid=1142#overview

Purpose of Contest:
Sponsored by the the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Djerassi Residency Award/SFFS Screenwriting Fellowship will provide a one-month residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program for an emerging or established screenwriter; open to both U.S. and international screenwriters.

Number of years this contest has been running:
2

Deadlines:
July 16, 2010 (LOI period now open)

Entry Fees:
$35; Fee is waived for SFFS Filmmaker Pro members ($90 for year-long membership).

Kinds of scripts accepted (i.e. Teleplays, features, MOWs):
Open to all genres; the application, screenplays and treatments must be written in English.

Restrictions
• Applicant must be at least 18 years old.
• Applicant must be either an emerging or mid-career artists, for whom appointments as resident artists may make a significant difference to their careers, or an established artist with a national and/or international reputation.
• Filmmaker may not be a full-time student.
• Project is not work for hire.
• Script must not have been optioned, purchased, in production or produced.
• Adaptations of any work (other than your own) are not eligible.
• Scripts by more than one writer are not eligible

Description of Prizes:
Located in a spectacular setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 40 miles south of San Francisco, the program provides artists with uninterrupted time for work, reflection and collegial interaction in a professionally supportive and inspirational environment.
The Djerassi Residency Award/SFFS Screenwriting Fellowship offers living and studio accommodations and all meals from August 10 through September 9, 2010. Residents work and are housed in two buildings on the ranch according to artistic discipline and creative project. Living quarters and studio space consist of a four-bedroom house and a unique, remodeled twelve-sided barn. The Award/Fellowship does not include travel and writing supplies.

Readers and Judges:
SFFS Grants readers and judges are filmmakers and screenwriters working in the Bay Area; industry professionals such as sales agents, producers and consultants; as well as SFFS staff.

Success Stories:
Kathryn Mockler, Weak People Are Fun to Torment
Kathryn Mockler of Toronto, Canada is a writer and filmmaker. She received her MFA in creative writing with a major in screenwriting from the University of British Columbia and her BA in honors English and creative writing from Concordia University. She was a Praxis screenwriting fellow, a semifinalist in the Academy Award Foundation's Nicholl Fellowship and a quarterfinalist in the American Screenwriting Association's 10th Annual International Screenplay Competition for her feature script Piss Tank. Mockler is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre's Writers' Lab and was a participant in the Toronto International Film Festival's Talent Lab. She has also attended writing residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Sage Hill. Mockler has worked as a story editor and script reader, and currently teaches creative writing and screenwriting at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She co-directed three video series and has had several short films produced. Mockler’s films and videos have screened nationally and internationally.

Please take a moment to describe why you feel your contest is best able to help writers break into the industry.
SFFS Filmmaker Services ensures that all applicants, whether chosen to receive a grant or not, receive constructive feedback on their projects from their professional Bay Area filmmaking community reviewers. This feedback, along with the additional consultation provided by SFFS staff on its filmmaker services, classes and professional development opportunities, strengthen applicants’ projects for future granting opportunities and connect them to a substantial community of film professionals that will provide them with greater resources and knowledge for growth in their careers.