June 20, 2021: Big Events Coming Up–Submit NOW to SWW Shorts Showcase 2021
Join Us for the SWW Shorts Showcase—Outside at Gremlin Theater, St. Paul on Saturday, July 17th, 2021 from 7-10 PM.
Come to a fun evening of eats and cinematic treats showcasing our talented Minnesotan filmmakers at the Gremlin Theater (across from FilmNorth at 550 Vandalia in St. Paul). Our SWW members will be showing their produced short films. The goal of the showcase is to celebrate SWW members’ writing transformed into film.
Be entertained and reconnect with real people for real (and reel) fun! The showcase will include a social hour, comedy, trivia, prizes/swag, and, of course, short films. See below for information on how to submit.
Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Price includes food, entertainment, admission, and fun prizes. Purchase tickets online through Eventbrite. Sorry, no cash taken at the door. Order soon, as spaces are limited!
Some seating is provided, but for true comfort, BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair)!
Join us under the stars to see how dreams come to life. Stay tuned for details.
Submit Your Completed Short Film for Our SWW Shorts Showcase ASAP—deadline is June 30th
If you are a member of Screenwriters Workshop and have written, directed, or produced a short film and can get rights to have it shown, submit it to our SWW Shorts Showcase (see above) no later than June 30th at midnight. There is no charge to submit, but non-members must join in order to be eligible to have their films shown.
To enter, send us an email with a link for viewing and download, completed and in .mp4 format. Eligibility requirements and guidelines:
- Writer, producer, or director must be a current, dues-paying member of SWW.
- Film can be in any genre and be 20 minutes or less.
- Certain offensive language is never acceptable, such as racial slurs, homophobic language, etc. Any profanity which is included for the sole purpose of being shocking and making the audience feel uncomfortable will not be allowed.
- Number of shorts will be determined by submissions and time available for showing. Slots are limited. Organizers will try to fit in as many films as time will allow.
- Entrants must provide copyright/sign-off for permission for one-time use showing.
- Film must be available for download thorough link (Vimeo, Dropbox, YouTube, etc…).
- Priority will be given to more recently completed films.
- Members may submit multiple entries.
- Deadline for entry is June 30th.
Need a Getaway in the Fall? Go to the Catalyst Festival in Duluth for September 29th – October 3rd
Mark your calendars now. The Catalyst Content Festival is a 5-day annual event in Duluth, Minnesota where selected pitches, scripts, and produced pilots/series are showcased to the general public & industry audiences. The festival also includes live panel discussions, industry social events, and an awards ceremony. Screenwriters’ Workshop is working with the Catalyst Story Institute and Content Festival in Duluth to announce special promotions in the coming months just for our members. Watch the SWW newsletter, website, and social media for details.
There is deadline of July 5th to submit a pilot script, series pitch, filmed episode, etc., for the festival. For details, go to: https://www.catalystories.org/submit.
Note: This festival is limited to narrative/episodic/serialized content of any genre, style, and type: comedy, drama, thriller, scripted, unscripted, documentary, social media, influencer, short form, “half-hour”, “hour-long”, radio, podcast, reality, talk show, game show, animation, kids, gaming, VR, mobile, etc. Feature films are NOT accepted for pitching.
Second Sunday on Summer Slack—Submit for September!
Okay, we’re not really slacking (we’re writers and we need a little alliteration in our lives), but Second Sunday is taking a break over the summer. If you have a completed script and want a full table read to assist with plot, structure, and character development, sign up for Second Sunday to think through those bigger questions that you can’t handle in the weekly script group. Shoot us an email with a name and description of the script, and we will work it into the lineup as availability permits. Second Sunday works best for scripts that are on their second draft and have already gone through script groups for dialogue and page level analysis.
Note: Complete screenplays receive first priority, but we are now accepting “stuck scripts.”
UPDATE: Our Mini-Challenge Winner, Our Next Reading, and Our Next Challenge…
Congratulations to Karen Frank who won our March Short Script Mini-Challenge with her script “The Driving Lesson.” She will have the choice of either an SWW t-shirt or $20 and be eligible to compete with other mini-challenge winners for $250 at the end of the year.
Our Stitch-in-Time Challenge Mini-Challenge Entries will be read online at Zoom (see link below) at 6:30 PM on Sunday, June 27th. The deadline for members was on June 15th at midnight. Non-members may attend the public online reading and voting events.
Our NEXT mini-challenge deadline will be September 15th for the “Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge” that requires writers to write against (contrary to) a common movie troupe. In your entry, you must identify which trope you are writing against. Here are some, and there are many more if you just google. In addition to following the general rules of our short script contest, each entry must follow the parameters of the particular challenge.
Voting for each of these will be done in a public, online reading. Winners of each mini-challenge will choose between an SWW t-shirt and $20. They will also be entered into the final juried award at the end of the year for a chance to win $250. Members only are eligible to enter.
Wednesday Writers’ Workout
Kick start your writing with our quarterly exercises to test your skill. Our next Wednesday Writers’ Workout will be on Wednesday, July 7th at 8:00 PM. Take some time on hump day after the kids are tucked in and the cat is curled up at your feet to relax with some writing to stretch your skills. Our next workout will practice coming in late and leaving early. You won’t have to share what you wrote (so don’t feel you need to come late and leave early). After the exercise, we will talk about what we’ve learned in the process. Join us at the Zoom link below.
Calendar Through 2021
In addition to Saturday Script Groups, Sunday Script Group, and 2nd Sunday Script Readings, see below for a list of SWW events through the end of the year:
- June 27th –A Stitch in Time Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
- July 7th—Wednesday Writers’ Workout on Coming in Late, Leaving Early at 8:00 PM
- July 11th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
- August 8th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
- September 12th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
- September 15th –Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
- September 26th—Twisting Tropes Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
- October 10th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
- November 14th—Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
- November 15th –Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Deadline at Midnight
- November 28th—Medium Inspiration Mini-Challenge Reading and Voting at 6:30 PM
- December 12th –Second Sunday at 6:30 PM
Except for the Saturday morning script group, all online events are available at:
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/533859616?pwd=OWF5MTJkOFk3Y1Z4aHVVS0p1R3ZUdz09
Meeting ID: 533 859 616:
Passcode: 848149
Call in:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our big events!
