TIFF Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship

Deadlines & fees

Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.

Key facts

Formats

Feature

Page limit

120 pages

Eligibility

Open worldwide18+

Required materials

Completed feature script of 80 to 120 pages · Biography of 150 to 300 words and a headshot · One consolidated PDF containing a one-page CV, filmography, 50-word logline, 250-word synopsis, one-page script outline, a 5-page writing sample from a previous project, and a one-page outline of any confirmed attachments, financing or other markets and labs · A 2-minute pitch video · A 2-minute clip from previous work on which you are credited as writer or writer-director

Open to Canadian and international applicants: three of the four official sources say so explicitly, and only TIFF's English page is silent on nationality. Applicants must be at least 18 and credited as a writer on at least one feature film or one television series. The project must be a feature-length narrative with a first draft complete, focused on science or technology themes or characters; documentaries are ineligible. Notably TIFF publishes no science-fiction exclusion, unlike the SFFILM equivalent. You must be the sole writer: projects with co-writers will not be considered, so a writer applies alone and no director or producer attachment is required. Previous TIFF Writers' Lab and Writers' Studio participants are ineligible. Adaptations need a fully executed copyright ownership agreement with proof. Scripts run 80 to 120 pages.

Prizes

A CAD 35,000 award to further develop the selected script, to one recipient a year, plus a place in TIFF Writers' Lab, mentorship from a story consultant and a science consultant, project feedback from screenwriters and industry professionals, accreditation to TIFF and The Market, and TIFF Talent alumni network membership. How the money is staged or paid is not published. On repayment: we read TIFF's complete published terms and conditions and they contain no clause on repayment, recoupment, profit participation or equity, so on the published record this is an outright grant. TIFF does not publish a grantee agreement, so terms could in principle be introduced at contracting. There is one binding credit obligation: completed projects must carry a separate main-title frame reading that funding was provided by TIFF's Sloan Science and Technology Writers' Fellowship, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, developed by TIFF Writers' Lab.

Judging

Selected by an unnamed jury and selection committee. The fellow must commit to attending the full Writers' Lab in person in Toronto and completing the required readings, viewings and assignments; the Lab is fully catered, but whether travel and accommodation to Toronto are covered is not published, which is a material unfunded cost for an international fellow. Note that TIFF's own page publishes an incomplete materials list, omitting both required videos and the attachments and financing outline; the FilmFreeway listing carries the full list. One further caution for verification: TIFF's French fee paragraph gives deadline dates that contradict the French key-dates table on the same page and both English sources.

Frequently asked questions