For all the details on SYS’s Six-Figure Screenplay Contest click here.
This event was created by filmmaker and podcaster Ashley Scott Meyers to bring real value to independent filmmakers.
From founder Ashley Scott Meyers: “As a filmmaker myself I’ve been incredibly disappointed with the film festival circuit lately. Many festivals seem to have leaned into Covid and are running only online festivals, which in my opinion, offer little value to filmmakers. With SYS’s Festival, our aim is to bring people together at a live in-person event to network, mingle, and celebrate independent film.”
We’ve rented the Yard Theater on Melrose in Hollywood for the screenings (okay, maybe more accurately it’s Hollywood adjacent). The festival will take place October 7th – October 9th 2022.
We will be screening both shorts and features. We are looking for fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, comedy and all genres of filmmaking which can entertain, inspire and challenge us. But all entered films must have been produced for less than $1 million USD.
We’ll be giving out awards in all major categories and you do NOT have to pay multiple submission fees to be eligible in each category. Every accepted film will be eligible in every applicable category. All award categories will be given out to both shorts and features. The award categories will be:
Best Picture
Best Documentary
Best Animation
Best Screenplay
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actress
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Production Design
Best Makeup and hair
Best Original Score
Best Visual Effects
Best Editing
All submissions will be screened in their entirety by at least TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE who will do an assessment on the film. You can purchase the assessments if you’d like to know what our first round viewers thought of the project. A host of experienced industry judges will review the selected films and decide on the winners in each category. You can learn more about the industry judges below.
Some Of Our Distinguished Judges Include:
Daniel Zirilli
Director/Producer Pop Art Film Factory |
Richard Finney
Producer Finney / Vitale Films |
Ryan Westheimer
Producer CS West Productions |
Mark Stolaroff
Producer Antic Pictures |
Greg Lyon
Producer – Half Moon Films |
James Engle
Producer Echo Lake Entertainment |
Sean Tracey
Director / Producer Sean Tracey Associates |
Kent Moran
Producer Wishing Well Pictures |
Tony Greenberg
Producer |
Ted Campbell
Writer/Director Less is More Productions | Shervin Youssefian
Director / Producer Spot On Media |
John Biemeret
Producer – Actor SNAFU Entertainment |
Alex Bright
Producer |
Chris Gooch
Actor / Producer |
John V. Soto
Writer/Director/Producer – Filmscope Entertainment |
Heather Hale
Producer – Heather Hale Productions |
Emory Jason Hofferman
Actor / Executive Producer |
Miska Kajanus
Actor/Producer |
Daniel Wilson
Producer – Bartoli Film |
Carmine Cervi
Producer – BulletProof Film |
Jordan Imiola Writer / Producer – Better Management |
Michael Meteo Rossi Writer / Director / Producer – Italian Cowboy Productions |
Chad Ridgley Actor / Producer / Writer – Full Auto Films |
Dan Benamor Writer – Voyage Media |
Eric Myers Screenwriter |
Shari Hamrick Producer – Alianza Films International |
Eli Daughdrill Writer / Director / Producer |
Ofir Raul Graizer Writer / Director / Producer |