In collaboration with multi-hyphenate Janelle Monet and her production company Wondaland Productions, SeriesFest is looking for radical, rebellious episodic scripts “that feel disruptive, tacky and noisy,” Denver festival announced.
According to the contest description, Wondaland Pictures will favor “stories that are upbeat and fun, odd/left-of-center, and culturally relevant. Compelling characters from marginalized POVs.” The team is also looking for exceptional story structure and series potential in the entries.
“Thematically, it should say something timely; medicine does not feed us out of hand. — Tablet in applesauce. Grounded Afrofuturism. Increased true crime. Sublime comedy. Most importantly, does it bring joy?,” Wondaland and SeriesFest ask.
Winners of the script competition will have the opportunity to share their ideas through visual media and television, read the script live at SeriesFest: Season 9 next May, and receive an exclusive development deal with Wondaland Pictures.
Three finalists will be selected for a creative workshop with industry experts. The two-day virtual event will include classes on how to pitch along with mini-writers’ rooms for all three scripts.
“We see an urgent need to tell stories that focus on black and queer people, and explore race, class, and gender in new ways,” the announcement emphasized. “Changes the way people see each other and the world around them.”
Submissions include a pilot script for an episodic story of 80 pages or less or a pilot script 30 minutes to an hour in length; as well as a series-format deck containing a logbook, regular and recurring character descriptions for the series, and plot descriptions for the first season or future episodes.
Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Script entries are limited to one per person.
“A core part of who I am is storytelling, and Wondaland Pictures and I are committed to expanding the database of writers and funding talent so that the next generation of storytellers can be representative of the audiences that consume them,” enthuses Monae.
The deadline for submission is November 3 and late entries are accepted until January 10 of the following year. The standard filing fee is $45 and the late filing fee is $70.
Send the application for the script competition is here.
An eight-time Grammy nominee, Monáe’s albums include Dirty Computer and The Electric Lady. Hidden Figures, Moonlight and Harriet are among her screen credits. She will next be seen in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which opens in select theaters in November and will be available on Netflix on December 23.