Toronto Screenwriting and the Telefilm New Voices Award

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference is happening in, well, Toronto April 5-6.

As well as including some of the top showrunners and writers chatting about craft, structure and their experiences - the conference is a great way to examine other ways to structure and develop writing. Glen Mazzara spoke last summer about building out story by using game theory. Other writers now have the exact same chance to get themselves out of work give some good craft advice.

Telefilm is sponsoring a Get-In-Free Card with the New Voices Award.

The requirements are fairly simple:
• Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident
• Must have written at least 2 short films of which 1 has been produced
• Must have written 1 feature length screenplay or TV series treatment/pilot
• Must not have a produced feature or TV series/pilot
• Must not have previously received Telefilm Canada funding

The essays required seem almost overkill considering it's going to cost potentially (at the end of the spectrum) around three or four bills:

• Resume & Filmography
- Include production year, length, and where they have been screened.
• Short Bio. Maximum 300 words.
• Feature screenplay or TV series treatment/pilot (up to a max of 3)
- Include length, synopsis, development
• Tell us which writer has most inspired your screenwriting. Maximum 300 words.
• How will attending the TSC2013 assist in your professional development? Maximum 300 words.

That said it's still going to cost three or four hundred. It's a weird thing to not allow features or series pilots to be produced - as that seems to hinder in the development of the entrepreneurial screenwriter.