Raindance Script Competition

Eligibility and project requirements

Writers from all countries may submit, with scripts in English or carrying a full English translation, in industry-standard formatting and 12-point Courier. Scripts must be unproduced at submission, though a script entering production after the ceremony remains eligible, and must be your original work with full legal ownership; adaptations are allowed with rights secured. Series bibles will not be read and must not be included. Scripts that placed in the top three of previous Raindance Script Competitions cannot be re-entered. Raindance employees and their immediate families are barred. There is no limit on entries but each needs its own fee, and co-writing is allowed with all writers credited. No age or residency requirement is published, and there is no anonymity rule, though content or trigger warnings are required for graphic material. The short category for the production fund is limited to screenplays of 40 pages or fewer; a maximum page count for the feature category is not published.

Formats

Feature, Short, TV Pilot

Eligibility

Open worldwide

Deadlines & fees

Dates and fees checked against the official site 19 Oct 2026. That is longer ago than we aim for; confirm on the official site before entering.

Prepare your entry

Prizes

Two quite different things sit here. The four category winners, in feature, short, TV comedy and TV drama, receive a one-to-one Script Angel consultation and festival accreditation: in kind, no cash. Separately there is a genuine 10,000 pound production fund for one short script, awarded by Raindance with IMGN as production fund partner, ring-fenced for producing the winning screenplay, and Raindance may require a separate funding agreement and a schedule or budget before releasing it. Entry to the fund is optional, does not affect judging, and carries an administrative burden: you must create an IMGN account, upload the script, complete a script breakdown and a preliminary shooting schedule, and email the materials before a published production fund deadline that Raindance never actually states. RIGHTS ARE UNUSUALLY CLEAN: Raindance asserts no ownership or option rights over any submitted material and all rights remain with the original rights holders. Submitting does grant permission to share your script internally with trusted industry partners for consideration, whether or not it makes the Discovery List, and you may opt out of that at submission.

Judging

A tiered read narrowing roughly 64 quarterfinalists to 32 semifinalists and then 16 to 20 finalists, assessed by the Raindance reading team and jury, none of whom are named. Note that the well-known names on the Raindance site, such as Olivia Colman and Sean Bean, belong to the festival's international film jury rather than to the script competition. Notification is 16 May 2027 and the festival runs 16 to 25 June 2027. Reassuringly, Raindance states that screenplays uploaded to IMGN as part of the production fund programme are not used to train AI models.

Frequently asked questions