If your question isn’t answered below please contact us: .

Q: Who is Kaos Films?

A: Kaos Films was set up to manage the British Short Screenplay Competition. Subsequently we were encouraged to go into feature film production. This of course is good news for the entrants of the competition as we are able to offer more opportunities for writers.

Q: What is the top prize?

A: The winning screenwriter of The British Short Screenplay Competition will have their screenplay produced by Kaos Films. It will be premiered at BAFTA (subject to BAFTA availability), entered into film festivals around the world before being screened in selected cinemas in UK.

A: Yes, there are ten runner-up prizes. The first runner-up will receive the full suite of Movie Magic Screenplay Writing software. A further nine runners-up will each receive a copy of Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 screenplay writing software.

Q: Is there a cash alternative?

A: No. There is no cash alternative to any prize. Our hope is to launch a writer’s career with this competition. The cash alternative will only provide temporary cash flow for the writer. We believe that the best prize would be to set a screenplay writer on a career path. Having your screenplay produced and to be able to show it to an agent / producer on the screen is the best opportunity you can hope for. That is the golden opportunity on offer here.

Q: Who will produce the films?

A: Kaos Films will produce all winning screenplays.

Q: Who will direct the films?

A: Kaos Films will select the director and an announcement will be made in our newsletter and on the website after the appointment.

Q: As you have such high profile sponsors why are the impoverished writers expected to pay a £25 (GB Pounds) fee.

A: We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their kind support but as generous as their sponsorship is, the competition has considerable administration costs which have to be met, separately from any of the film production budgets. Having said that, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce the cost of submission. As soon as we can, we will do so.

Q: What is the budget of the film?

A: How long is a piece of string! This is a difficult question. Why? Because we don’t yet know the screenplay we are to produce. Does it have a cast of one or thirty? Is it all interiors or exteriors with a hundred extras? And do we include or exclude sponsorship in this budget? Well what we can tell you is that the average budget of the last three films we produced inclusive of all the sponsorship package was $340,000. This is the biggest prize fund package offered by any current screenplay competition in the World.

Q: Who are the judges?

A: Past judges have included:

Actors: Kenneth Branagh and Charles Dance.

Directors: Sir Alan Parker and Simon Rumley.

Producers: Michael Kuhn, Piers Jackson, Nik Powell, Leslee Udwin, Natascha Wharton and Stephen Woolley.

Writer: Nicholas McInerney.

Screenwriting scholars: Jeff Perks and Alby James.

Q: Will the winning writer get a copy of the film?

A: Yes. This whole project is being run for the screenplay writer. Their prize is the production of their screenplay. Of course the winner will receive VHS/DVD copies of the film.

Q: How much is the £25 (GB Pounds) submission fee in US$?

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Q: How can I get a sterling money order?

A: Our understanding is that any high street bank in any country will issue a sterling money order. Another way is to go to either American Express or Thomas Cook Travel Agents and ask them for a Sterling Cheque. Please do not send in any other currency money orders as we cannot cash them in UK.

Q: Can I pay the entry fee by Credit or Debit card?

A: Yes. There is an on-screen facility on the Rules page for you to pay by credit/debit card via a secure connection.

Q: I have a short screenplay which is eighteen pages long will it be disqualified from entry into the competition?

A: The page-a-minute rule is a very good ‘rule-of-thumb’. But in our opinion it is not rigid and not cast-in-stone, simply because what a writer thinks is a finished draft is not always the case once the director or producer gets hold of it.

They might see a scene three pages long which just doesn’t work or an ending that requires further revisions or whatever. Do you get my drift?

That is why we have stated in the rules that the winning writer may be called upon to write further revisions with the producer/ script editer. It does not mean you can send in your thirty page shorts and try to get them passed off as fifteen minutes. We all have to be sensible about it.

So what is the maximum page length that we will accept, I hear you ask? Well, I would say no more than twenty pages. On the other hand please don’t send in a two page screenplay and hope it will be accepted as a five minute script.

Click here to view Tom Beach’s BSSC 2002 winning screenplay THE HANDYMAN.

Some helpful suggestions to better your chances of winning screenplay competitions

• Send your submission in early! Waiting until the deadline will only place your submission at the bottom of the pile. Some competition piles can run into thousands of submissions, in which event the readers can be under pressure to read quickly and not give your screenplay the time it may require.
• Always bind your screenplay, either in US style two brass brads or UK style ACCO Fasteners. They keep the screenplay together and the reader doesn’t lose the all important scene.
• Please, please, please! Do not send submissions by registered post. It’s a waste of time to go to the post office and collect your submission.
• Please put your name, address, telephone number and Email address, if you have one, so that you can be contacted should you win.
• Make sure that the copy you send is legible without the magnifying glass!
• Use standard screenplay format there are lots of books on the market which will tell you what it is and also available are many computer screenwriting programmes.Click here to view Tom Beach’s BSSC 2002 winning screenplay THE HANDYMAN
• Please attach the entry fee cheque or postal order/money order to the entry form with a paper clip, please do not staple it. Put your name on the back of the cheque/postal order/money order incase it gets separated from the screenplay.
• Use enough postage to cover the cost of mailing.
• Fill in your Entry Forms and Release in BLOCK CAPITALS and clearly. Make sure they are signed!
• Do not send SASE unless the festival/competition states it will return your submission. It’s a waste of postage.
• Check your submission one last time again for ENTRY FORM, RELEASE FORM, ENTRY FEE, YOUR SCREENPLAY.

Good luck with your submission.