It's the opportunity of a lifetime. The stakes are high as your main character is mere moments away from interviewing for their dream job. Your character is seated in an office when there's a knock on the door and the hiring manager enters. Your character's stomach drops, recognizing the person. Write the scene that picks up from this moment.
It's the opportunity of a lifetime. The stakes are high as your main character is mere moments away from interviewing for their dream job. Your character is nervous, but excited. Landing this job will change their lives for the better and they've spent hours preparing for this big moment. After all, first impressions are everything. Your character is seated in an office when there's a knock on the door and the hiring manager enters. Your character's stomach drops, recognizing the person. Write the scene that picks up from this moment. Who is this person and what is their relationship to the main character? More importantly, what is their conflict? And how does the interview go? Your final written submission can be in any genre and should be no more than 10 pages.
SUBMISSION LIMITS
Your written work cannot exceed 10 pages.
Deadline to submit: April 30 , 2021 at 2PM PT.
CHALLENGE RULES
Our monthly challenges are open to everyone in the Sundance Collab community. One entry per person, per challenge. All submissions will be viewable to the community. All submissions will be given equal consideration and the final winner will be determined by the consensus of the designated Sundance judges.
Only those submissions that meet the criteria outlined in the submission guidelines can be selected as the winner.
The challenge closes on April 30, 2021 at 2PM PT.
If you have questions regarding the challenge, please email collab@sundance.org. Please do not contact members of the jury directly.
PRIZES
Winner will receive:
- The winner will have their work featured on Sundance Collab
- One-on-one mentorship session with a Sundance Advisor
- Sundance Collab Annual Creator Membership (12 months) which includes:
- Invitation to monthly Member-only Advisor Q&A Live webinar
- Opportunity to receive feedback from a Sundance Advisor on work-in-progress you post to Share Your Work
- Eligible to participate in online Writing Groups (coming soon)
- Final Draft screenwriting software (12-month license)
Runners-up (two will be selected) - Sundance Collab Annual Creator Membership (12 months)
Jurors
Laurel Parmet
Juror
Laurel Parmet is a screenwriter and director based in New York, where she received her MFA in directing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Her award-winning short films, including SPRING and KIRA BURNING, have played at SXSW, MoMA, Palm Springs, Outfest and more. She is a Sundance Screenwriters Intensive fellow with her feature THE STARLING GIRL and is developing a feature with Alexa Demie and Bron Studios.
Imran Siddiquee
Juror
Imran Siddiquee is a writer, filmmaker, and speaker challenging systems of domination. Their writing on white supremacy, patriarchy, and popular media has been published by The Atlantic, Bitch Magazine, Buzzfeed, Literary Hub, Longreads, and others. They are the Communications Director for BlackStar Projects, home of the BlackStar Film Festival.
Meedo Taha
Juror
Meedo Taha is a Lebanese filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Beirut. His stories explore identity and belonging through propulsive subversions of genre, such as a Rashomonesque short film entitled The Incident, an existential murder mystery inspired by his novel A Road to Damascus, and a horror musical melodrama inspired by binge-watching bootleg Hollywood and classical Egyptian cinema. His work has received support from the Doha Film Institute and Sundance Institute, and recognition from the Directors Guild of America and Francis Coppola’s American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition.
Meedo has mentored screenwriters, directors, and visual storytellers around the world, including Chapman Univeristy, the American University in Dubai, and Cine Qua Non Lab in Mexico. He earned a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tokyo and an MFA in Directing and Cinematography from UCLA.
Ioana Uricaru
Juror
Ioana was born and raised in Romania, where she lived through a communist dictatorship and a traumatic socio-economic transition before becoming an immigrant to the US. She is an alumna of the Cannes Cinefondation Residency, the Sundance Screenwriting and Directing labs, and the Torino Film Lab. Her work as a director has been part of the official selections at the Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Tribeca, and AFI international film festivals.