What if Ross and Rachel didn’t end up together? What if the Fresh Prince took place in London? What if McDreamy had never died? This month’s challenge invites you to imagine a world of “what if?” Choose two primary characters from a favorite TV show that you've watched and write a new scene that would change everything in their relationship.
What if Ross and Rachel didn’t end up together? What if the Fresh Prince took place in London? What if McDreamy had never died? This month’s challenge invites you to imagine a world of “what if?” Choose two primary characters from a favorite TV show that you've watched and write a new scene that would change everything in their relationship. The show can be currently on or off the air and in any genre. Feel free to play with the sense of time or setting as a way to create a special twist. Use your imagination! Your final submission should be no longer than 10 pages.
SUBMISSION LIMITS
Your written work cannot exceed 10 pages.
Deadline to submit: March 1, 2021 at 2PM PT.
CHALLENGE RULES
Our monthly challenges are open to everyone in the Sundance Co//ab 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 March 1, 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 Co//ab
- One-on-one mentorship session with a Sundance Advisor
- Sundance Co//ab 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 Co//ab Annual Creator Membership (12 months)
Jurors
Colin McLaughlin
Juror
Colin McLaughlin is an animation writer. He written for BEN 10 on Cartoon Network, POWER PLAYERS for Zag Studio, and for an upcoming Netflix animated show. He took the first animated project to the Sundance Episodic Lab in 2016.
Keisha Zollar
Juror
Keisha Zollar is a comedian, showrunner, producer and writer. Currently she's writing on YOUNG LOVE the adaptation of the Oscar short HAIR LOVE. In 2020, she worked on the reboot of SPITTING IMAGE for BritBox, the animated series AGENT KING on Netflix, and was the co-EP on the NBC primetime special SKETCHY TIMES WITH LILY SINGH. In addition, she's one of the co-creators and stars of ASTRONOMY CLUB: THE SKETCH SHOW. In 2019, she executive produced the popular podcast turned TV show, THE READ WITH KID FURY & CRISSLE on Fuse and became the head writer on BUSY TONIGHT.
Chell Stephen
Juror
Raised in Toronto and based in LA, Chell is a writer/director known for a storytelling style that slaps banging tunes and pop-infused visuals over earnest and dark themes. Her short films have played SXSW and been Vimeo Staff-Picked and in a true highlight of Chell's life, a music video she directed was once roasted on BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD. Chell is a fellow of the Sundance Institute and was selected to participate in the 2017 New Voices Lab with her series, KIDNAPPING BRIHANNA, which is currently in development. She's directed fashion and music content for brands like Fendi, L'Oréal and JanSport as well as episodes of RIVERDALE (CW) and NURSES (NBC).
Nijla Mu’min
Juror
Nijla Mu'min is a writer and filmmaker from the East Bay Area. Her work is informed by poetry, photography, fiction, and dance. Named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine in 2017, she tells stories about black girls and women who find themselves between worlds and identities.
Her short films have screened at festivals and venues across the country. Her filmmaking and screenwriting have been supported by the Sundance Institute, IFP, Film Independent, the Islamic Scholarship Fund, Women In Film LA, and the Princess Grace Foundation. In 2011, she worked as a Production Assistant on Ava DuVernay’s film, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE of Nowhere. In 2014, she was selected for the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive, and she was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Urbanworld Film Festival, for her script NOOR. Nijla attended the 2017 Sundance Institute Sound and Music Design Lab at Skywalker Ranch for JINN. Her short film DREAM was acquired by Issa Rae Productions (INSECURE, HBO) for online streaming in 2017. Her writing appears in the critically acclaimed book, LOVE INSHALLAH: THE SECRET LOVE LIVES OF AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN, and she's also written film and cultural criticism for VICE, Shadow and Act on the Indiewire Network, Bitch Media, KQED, Gawker, and The Los Angeles Times.
Her debut feature film, JINN, starring Zoe Renee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (LUCE, WAVES) and Simone Missick (Netflix’s LIKE CAGE), premiered in narrative competition at the 2018 South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, where she won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Screenwriting. In 2018, she directed an episode of Ava DuVernay's critically-acclaimed television series "QUEEN SUGAR. In June 2018, she won the Best Screenplay award for JINN at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and later won Best Feature at Blackstar Film Festival, among other honors. JINN, a New York Times Critic’s pick, was released in November 2018 by Orion Classics, and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. In 2019, she wrote for the upcoming Apple series SWAGGER, received the Shadow & Act Rising Creator Award, the MPAC Media Award for Courage and Conscience, and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She directed an episode of HBO’s INSECURE season four in October 2019, and was a writer on Starz upcoming show, BLINDSPOTTING. In 2020, she directed the episode of SWAGGER that she wrote, and also wrote and directed a short film for Netflix, entitled BLACK PROM. She is currently in development on her second feature film, MOSSWOOD PARK. She is a 2013 dual-degree graduate of CalArts MFA Film Directing and Writing Programs.