The submission period for the Sun Valley Film Festival has begun. They are inviting filmmakers to apply for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Submissions of original screenplays, features and short films are now being accepted for the 6th annual festival to be held in Sun Valley, Idaho from March 15-19 2017.
The key for screenplay writers to think of, said Laura Mehlhaff, as they consider their submissions, is to "focus on story." Gimmicky screenplays relying on special cameras or techniques will likely be less favored than a well-crafted story, she said.
But above all, says Mehlhaff, "We want to be a concierge to opportunity, to help people take that first step."
Prize winners often -- by coincidence, Mehlhaff says -- find themselves working on other projects professionally, or getting representation. It is not that the festival arranges these for the winners, she says, but that the Sun Valley Film Festival has standards that are consistent with the film industry's.
