2023 Scriptwriting Competition
The brief to our next 5 minute short film competition will be available from 1 October 2023.
Last year (2021) we decided to hold a short film writing competition. We had no idea who (if anyone) would enter but we took a chance. The prize, one of our iconic shark head trophies and 1000 euro cash. The response was staggering - hundreds of entries from 32 different countries (seasoned professionals to first time writers).
The winner was Mary Kirwan from Dublin, a young writer who decided to ‘give it a go’. And it’s fair to say her victory did her a lot of good as her winning idea is currently in production.
So encouraged by the popularity of the competition, we held one thisyear.
Again hundreds of entries arrived from all over the world and they’re currently being read and judged by this man..
2022 Judge - Damiano Vukotic
We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Damiano Vukotic to select the winning script in this year’s short film (‘Egg’) writing competition.
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Damiano is the Global New Business Director at the Ridley Scott Creative Group. Based out of London, for 17 years Damiano has been responsible for promoting the group’s roster of directors, photographers, and creatives, to agencies and brands worldwide, and sourcing new creative talent.
Damiano: "Having begun my career working in film development, that led me on to be immersed in the short film medium, developing my own scripts and producing a BAFTA nominated short film, so I am very much looking forward to judging this year’s short film submissions."
2022 Winner Announced
Mollie Leivars, writer of 'Expectations'
Damiano presents Mollie with her Black Shark Trophy and a cheque for £1000.
Shortlist
These are the 10 Finalists selected by Damiano.
"I Am The Egg Man" - by Robert Matthew Leggatt
"Best Crack In Years" - by Shane William Brennan
"The One Egg Challenge" - by Ernest Dempsey
"One Egg: Sunny Side Up" - by Sophie Walpole
"Hard Boiled" - by Andy Green
"Relapse" - by Eoghan Heneghan
"Expectations" - by Mollie Leivars
"Hard Boiled" - by Henry Dane
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"Bros Over Foes" - by John Anthony Close
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"Three Minute Egg" - by Kenneth Siev
Competition Conditions
Rules
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Open to entries worldwide written in English language only.
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We are now closed for entries.
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The Script must be your original creative work, and you warrant that you are the sole creator. Writing teams are accepted.
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You agree we may publish the synopsis of the winning script. You retain all rights to the Script itself and any other creative materials submitted to the Competition.
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You agree that your submission will not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any third party.
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You are solely responsible for protecting your intellectual property rights in the Script.
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The script must not have been previously produced into a movie before the winner is announced.
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Participation in the competition constitutes permission to use the winners name and photograph on our website and in promotional material.
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We will publish a shortlist of Finalists, prior to announcing the winner, here on our website and in social media.
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The team at The Shark Awards (writers and producers) will sift the entries to create a manageable list for our judge to review.
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This is a free to enter competition, therefore you agree there is no contract entered into, implied or otherwise.
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You accept that the decisions made by the staff and judges are their personal subjective opinions and for reasons of confidentiality we do not provide further comment on individual entries.
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We reserve the right to revoke/disqualify any entry or award for a breach of these rules.
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Entry Instructions
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Submit your entry via Filmfreeway (see link below)
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Name the PDF file as per The_Film_Title.pdf
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The Film Title should sit in the header at top of page.
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No credits should appear on page.
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No more than 5 pages
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The 500 word synopsis should sit immediately under the Film Title.
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The script should follow.
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You may include a treatment or storyboard if you so wish.
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Advice
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Please note that the brief is for a '5 minutes or less' Short Film, not Heaven's Gate! Entries should be written as succinctly as possible. The judge will principally be looking for an idea that can be compellingly expressed in a 5 minute time-length. This should be clear from the synopsis. It is quite likely that any entry that clearly fails this first objective will be discarded from further reading. Once the 5 minute rule has been established the script and treatment will help visualise the execution into moving image. Think 5 minutes, less is more!
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