Contests & Competitions

A timed competition is the most reliable way to actually finish something. Most unfinished films die in development, not production; a deadline you did not set yourself fixes that.

MOFA — 3 Weeks of Wonder

MOFA's own competition. Teams write, shoot, and edit a short sci-fi film inside three weeks, from a kickoff event to a turn-in screening.

Sponsored by Midwest Photo (MPEX).

Dates, running time, and genre change from year to year — check the page above rather than assuming last year's rules carry over. See also the current contest page and Previous Winners.

Timed competitions elsewhere

  • 48 Hour Film Project — national organisation running city-based weekend competitions. Check its site for whether a Columbus or Ohio edition is running in a given year.

Why enter one

  • You finish. That is most of it.
  • You build a crew fast. Three weeks under pressure tells you more about who you want to work with again than a year of meetings.
  • You get a real audience reaction in a room, on a deadline, with the filmmaker present.
  • The constraints do the writing. A required prop or line forces choices that a blank page will not.
  • You get a piece for the reel that is finished, screened, and dated.

How to actually win a three-week competition

  • Write to what you already have. Lock the location, the actor, and the props first, then write the script that fits them. Writing first and scouting after is how teams lose the last weekend.
  • One location, two or three actors, one idea. Every additional company move costs a half-day you do not have.
  • Cast people who can carry dialogue on a single take. You will not have coverage time.
  • Record clean sound. In a room of rushed shorts, the one that sounds good reads as the professional one.
  • Reserve a third of your schedule for post. Teams routinely shoot until the last weekend and turn in an unfinished cut. The judges see the cut, not the effort.
  • Have a fallback ending you can shoot in your own house on the last day.
  • Export a test file 24 hours early, in the exact required format, and play it on a machine that is not yours.

Screenplay competitions

If you have a script but no production, competitions are a legitimate route to feedback and to being read. Be selective — many charge substantial fees for little more than a form letter. Prefer competitions that publish their readers, guarantee written coverage, or have a track record of scripts advancing.

Ohio Arts Council's Individual Excellence Awards have included playwriting and screenplay categories in some cycles — check the current guidelines. See Funding, Grants & Tax Credits.

Related

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