RULES & TERMS

GENERAL RULES

  • The applicant must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

  • Submission is open to applicants worldwide. However, all submitted scripts must be in either Chinese (Simplified or Traditional) or English.

  • Entries are accepted between April 23, 2021 and August 11, 2021 through receipts of online application form. Invitation code is required for late submission after Auguest 11, 2021. Deadlines close at 11:59PM PST.

  • All submissions must be accompanied by the appropriate submission fee PER ENTRY. Submission fees are non-refundable.

  • Contents related to or containing Chinese element(s) are most welcome and encouraged.

  • All submissions should be the final version. Under no circumstances will substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entry script(s) be accepted.

  • Submitted scripts will not be returned.

  • Multiple entries from the same submitter are accepted. Each submission must include its own entry and must include a separate file and separate entry fee.

FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

  • All script entries must be in PDF format and follow standard industry screenplay requirements (e.g. font, and margin).

  • A complete entry should include all required materials listed in the Submission Details section.

  • The recommended length for Narrative Feature script is 60-150 pages, TV Pilot script is 30- 90 pages, and Short Film script is under 60 pages.

  • Only the TITLE of the screenplay should appear on the front cover page. Please DO NOT include the author's name,contact information or any other personally identifying information on any page of the script (including the cover page) in order to preserve anonymity in the judging process.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Entries will be evaluated by at least 2 judges, and screened through multiple rounds of review. Winners and finalists will be contacted through our official email (screenwriting@lacff.org) . Winner will be announced at the event Summit. The LACFFSC judge committee will evaluate and score the submissions mainly focusing on the following criterias: i) Story, ii) Characters, iii) Structure, iv) Theme, v) Dialogue, vi) Originality, vii) Demonstration of Chinese elements. Judge committee reserves the right not to issue awards if in their opinion none of the submissions received is of sufficient merit. Scripts that have multiple authors will be considered as one award recipient; the monetary prize will be only given ONE SET to the recipient. Submitter is solely responsible for the split. Winners receiving cash prizes are solely responsible for payment of all applicable local, state, and federal taxes.

COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP

By entering the competition, the applicant represents and affirms that the entry is an original creative work, and does not infringe, misappropriate or violate the copyright, trademark or other intellectual rights of any third party. Story must be original and fully owned by the applicant(s). Adaptations are ineligible (including unpublished, unproduced work) unless the underlying rights are owned by the applicant or the work is in the public domain and the applicant has retained all film and television rights to such work. Scripts that are adaptations of the applicant’s original work, or scripts based on a true story, must be noted in the logline. Script must NOT have been currently optioned, purchased or produced at the time of submission. Submission is deemed ineligible if the submitted script is purchased or optioned during the competition period. Entry must be submitted by the writer(s) of such work. Entry that has multiple authors/owners must obtain consent from all authors/owners, and indicate all authors/owners in the application form. It is strongly recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or the US Copyright Office or your local intellectual property and copyrights authorities before submitting to any competition. However we do not require registrations. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remain with the original rights holders until or unless otherwise agreed upon by the original rights holders and LACFFSC.

COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By submitting the project, you have read and agree to the following terms and conditions:

That the information supplied in this application is accurate and that the material submitted is my (our) sole and original work.

To my (our) agreement to hold the LACFFSC, its subsidiaries and partners, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, and representatives harmless from, and defend them against, all claims, demands, losses, costs, damages, judgments, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with any stories submitted to the LACFFSC or any screenplay developed out of such stories.

That LACFFSC and its subsidiaries may retain the material submitted for internal educational, showcase and training purposes, to which I (we) expressly grant to LACFFSC the non-exclusive license to use the submitted material and waive compensation.

That the burden of obtaining copyright or otherwise protecting any proprietary interests in the material, if I (we) wish to do so, rests entirely with me (us).

That I am (we are) eligible for the competition, and that I (we) will notify LACFFSC if I (we) become ineligible as early as possible prior to the conclusion of the competition.

That providing false or misleading information on the submission(s), or failing to comply with the rules of the competition, will subject me (us) to disqualification, forfeiture of prize money and/or other penalties.

That I (we) grant the consent of LACFFSC’s use of my (our) identification on LACFFSC social media pages for the purpose of promoting the scripts without obtaining further permission from me (us).

That I (we) agree to receive emails from LACFFSC and its subsidiaries and partners. Emails can be unsubscribed at any time.

That I (we) authorize LACFFSC to use any trusted third-party online and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, managing and/or transmitting my (our) submission file(s).

If you have any questions, Please Email us at: screenwriting@lacff.org