Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays
Contest · 2026Prestige 54/100
The flagship faith-based screenplay contest. A 40,000 dollar prize package containing 5,000 in actual cash.
Deadlines & fees
- RegularNext deadline30 Sept 2026America/Los_Angeles$75
- Late entry20 Oct 2026America/Los_Angeles$100
- Submissions close31 Oct 2026America/Los_Angeles
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature, TV Pilot
- Eligibility
- 18+
- Required materials
- Completed feature-length screenplay as a PDF in standard format · Title page and a one-line logline · A signed release agreement · Entry fee per screenplay · The form also collects page count, category, genre, an originality declaration, a logline of up to two sentences, an optional synopsis of up to 300 words which is not judged, and an opt-in on whether your script may be shared with producers afterwards
Open to writers aged 18 or over. No nationality or residency restriction is stated and the entry form accepts every country, but the prize is shaped for a US winner: airfares are within the continental United States and all winners are responsible for their own US income tax withholding. Entries must be original, unpublished, unproduced and unoptioned, and you must be the sole author; rights must not have been previously optioned or sold. Collaborations are allowed and writing partners divide the award equally. Scripts run approximately 87 to 130 pages in US industry standard format, in English, with episodic screenplays allowed down to 45 pages; the form accepts up to 150 pages with a surcharge above 130. Two categories: one for new and first-time writers who have not previously sold or optioned a feature screenplay, and a professional category described on the form as being for screenwriters who have sold a script for 5,000 dollars or more. Movieguide employees, contractors and judges' families are barred.
Prizes
Read the prize carefully. The site advertises a Grand Prize with a stated total value of 40,000 US dollars, itemised as two VIP seats at the Movieguide Awards Gala (20,000), two round-trip airfares within the continental United States (4,000), two seats on a VIP sunset cruise (3,600), three nights' accommodation (5,000), spending money (5,000) and admission to a How to Succeed in Hollywood class (2,500). The only cash component is the 5,000 dollars of spending money; everything else is stated value in kind. Figures of 15,000 dollars per category circulate widely, but on the current site those appear only as labels attached to two past winning scripts, and no 15,000 dollar award is described on the prizes page, in the rules or in the guidelines. How many winners there are, and whether the two categories carry separate packages or share one grand prize, is not published. Entrants retain all rights and interests in their scripts: there is no option, first refusal or exclusivity.
Judging
No judge is named anywhere on the site. The strongest published claim is that scripts are read by real, professional Hollywood script readers rather than volunteers or interns, with a reference to a round one judge in the paid feedback option. Entrants are prohibited from contacting judges during the competition and the judges' decision is final. The only named individual is Dr Ted Baehr, founder and chairman of Movieguide, who teaches the How to Succeed in Hollywood class every grand prize winner attends; he is not identified as a judge.
The PreList verdict
This is the flagship of faith-based screenwriting competitions, running since 2005, attached to a long-established televised awards ceremony, and serving a well-funded corner of the industry that most directories ignore entirely. If you write explicitly Christian material, there is nothing else with this reach, and the promise that finalist scripts go directly to studio executives and production houses actively buying faith and values content is a credible one for this niche.
The honest part is the prize. The headline is a 40,000 dollar package, but only 5,000 of that is cash. The rest is stated value in kind: 20,000 attributed to two gala seats, 4,000 to airfares, 3,600 to a sunset cruise, 5,000 to a hotel and 2,500 to a class. You may also see 15,000 dollars per category quoted in write-ups; on the current site that figure appears only as a label on two past winning scripts, and no 15,000 dollar award is described in the prizes page, the rules or the guidelines. How many winners there are, and whether each category has its own package, is not published anywhere.
Two further marks against it. No judge is named anywhere on the site, which is a real weakness for a contest charging up to 100 dollars, and the strongest claim on offer is that readers are professionals rather than volunteers. And feedback is marketed on the homepage and FAQ as something you receive, while the entry form sells a 400 to 600 word analysis as a 300 dollar optional extra, so treat it as not included. The content gate is strict and worth reading before you spend: entries must refer implicitly or explicitly to biblical principles, values and virtues, or specifically to the Bible, with preference given to work that is explicitly biblical in some important way. Entries close 31 October 2026.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much cash does the winner actually get?
Five thousand US dollars. The advertised prize is a package with a stated total value of 40,000 dollars, but the only cash component is 5,000 in spending money. The remainder is attributed value in kind: gala seats, airfares, a cruise, a hotel stay and a class.
What about the 15,000 dollar figure I have seen?
It is not supported as a current prize. On the site today 15,000 appears only as a label attached to two past winning scripts. The prizes page, the rules and the guidelines all describe a single grand prize package with 5,000 dollars of cash in it.
Is feedback included?
No, despite the marketing. The homepage and FAQ present feedback as something you receive, but the entry form sells a 400 to 600 word analysis from a round one judge as a 300 dollar optional extra, emailed within 30 days.
What counts as spiritually uplifting?
The rules require entries to refer implicitly or explicitly to biblical principles, values and virtues, or specifically to the Bible, with preference given to work that is explicitly biblical in some important way. The rules point to a detailed definition in the guidelines, but the guidelines page does not contain one.
Is your script right for Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this contest: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
Similar competitions
Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
Contest · 2027
Closed for this cycle
Entries closed on 10 May 2026 and winners are announced live at the festival, running 24 to 30 September 2026. No 2027 dates have been published. The last three cycles have been consistent: entries open in the first week of December of the preceding year, early-bird falls in the second week of January, regular in mid-March, late in late April and the final deadline in the first half of May. The 2023 cycle opened on 2 January and ran roughly a month later throughout, so treat the December opening as a three-year pattern rather than four. Results run quarter-finals in late June or July, finalists in early August, and winners at the festival in September. One practical caution: the competition no longer has its own page and now sits on a year-stamped festival entries page, with the rules delegated to FilmFreeway, so the official link is likely to move again around December 2026.
Long-running festival screenwriting contest across genre features, shorts and 30/60-minute pilots, open worldwide.
FeatureTV PilotShortActionAdventure+18
Checked today
NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge
Contest · 2026
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 challenge (the 23rd annual) finished with final round results on 29 July 2026, and no 2027 dates have been published. It has run every calendar year without a gap, always in three rounds, with entries closing in February and final results landing late July or August. The early-bird entry deadline falls in the first week or two of January, which is the moment to watch. One caution: the start date has moved earlier every single year (24 March 2023, 15 March 2024, 21 February 2025, 13 February 2026), so treat February as the shape rather than assuming a repeating date.
Global prompt-based contest: short screenplays against tight deadlines over three rounds, with feedback on every entry.
ShortActionAdventure+18
Checked today
PAGE International Screenwriting Awards
Contest · 2026
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 contest closed on 8 May 2026 and winners are announced on 15 October. PAGE publishes its opening date in advance and states that entries for the 2027 competition open on 1 December 2026. This is the most reliable calendar of any major contest we carry: it has opened on 1 December in every one of the last four cycles, run a ladder on the 15th of January, February, March and April, and announced quarter-finalists on 15 July, semi-finalists on 15 August, finalists on 15 September and winners on 15 October, unchanged year after year. The only moving part is the final tier, which has fallen between 8 and 20 May. Fees have risen once in four years. If you enter one contest on a diary reminder, this is the one to set it for.
Long-running US contest with a $25K Grand Prize and 10 genre categories across feature, short, and TV pilots.
FeatureTV PilotShortActionFantasy+15
Checked today
Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab
Lab · 2026
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 cycle is complete and its six participants announced. Applications closed on 25 May 2026. No 2027 window has been announced.
Three-phase Canadian development lab ending in market-ready pitch. 55 dollars to apply, 2,950 Canadian plus GST to attend.
Feature
Checked today
Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program
Programme · 2027
13 Sept 2026
Writers Guild Foundation training for writers' assistant and script coordinator roles. Free, and explicitly not a writing fellowship.
Checked today
4Screenwriting
Programme · 2027
Opens soon
Channel 4 has confirmed that entries for the 2027 course open in September 2026. The last window ran 22 September to 6 October, closing at 5pm.
Channel 4's free development course: 12 writers new to TV drama, paid to develop an original one-hour pilot.
TV PilotDrama
Checked 25 days ago