Yesterday at the Sundance Film Festival, BET announced that submissions are now open for Project CRE8, its nationwide screenwriting competition that aims to give up and coming screenwriters and filmmakers a chance to not only win some money and have their films produced but to also show the world what it's like to make a film as a first-timer through an hour-long documentary special on BET. The winning screenplay of Project CRE8 will be purchased for $55,000 and made into a feature film.

How does it work?

In Round 1 of Project CRE8, each contestant's script will be read by a panel of judges who will narrow the pool down to the Top 50 finalists. In Round 2, the Top 10 will be named by both BET and Paramount Players executives. Each of the 10 finalists will be given $2,500 and a month to create a 2-3 minute scene from their script. In Round 3, these scenes will be posted on BET.com for the public to vote for their favorite, which will determine one of the Top 5 finalists, while judges will name the other four. The Final Round will see the Top 5 finalists pitch their films to multiple panels of successful filmmakers, writers, and executives and in the Summer of 2018, a winner will be announced.


What happens when you win?

The winning screenplay of Project CRE8 will be purchased for $55,000 and will be made into a feature film with a $1M dollar budget. The entire process, including key moments from the competition, development, and potential production of the winning film, will be documented by BET for a one-hour special.

One lucky writer/director’s screenplay will be purchased for $55,000 and intended to be made as a feature film with a one million dollar budget.

What kinds of scripts do they want?

BET is looking for original feature-length, live-action screenplays of any genre that "feasibly can be produced with an all-in budget of up to One Million Dollars." You must also include a 50-word logline and a 250-word (or less) synopsis that includes a plot summary, description of major characters, setting, and time period, as well as the "most important conflicts in the story."

Rules and Eligibility

Contestants must be at least 21 years old, be a legal US resident to compete, and have earned less than $10,000 as a screenwriter or director for theatrical films or TV. The winner of Project CRE8 must live in or relocate to Los Angeles, Atlanta, or another U.S. city for up to7 months during production of the project.

Submissions are open now until March 3, 2018 at 11:59 PM (PST). To learn more about rules and how to enter, head on over to Project CRE8.

Source: Project CRE8