CineStory is thrilled to offer the following scholarships to our writers. These scholarships are made possible in part by generous donations from members of the CineStory community.
2024 FEATURE CONTEST SCHOLARSHIPS
CineStory Asian & South Asian Voices Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory Asian & South Asian Voices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding Asian or South Asian writer whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
CineStory Black Voices Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory Black Vloices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding Black writer whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
CineStory Semifinalist & Finalist Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory Semifinalist & Finalist Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose screenplay reaches the semifinalist or finalist level in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
Hagan-Hicks General Scholarship
The winner of the Hagan-Hicks General Scholarship will receive a $1,000 tuition reduction for this year’s Cinestory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose screenplay reaches the semifinalist or finalist level in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by a donation from Willie Hagan.
Hagan-Hicks Underrepresented Women’s Voices Scholarship
The winner of the Hagan-Hicks Underrepresented Women’s Voices Scholarship will receive a $1,000 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer from underrepresented groups including Black and African Americans, Latinx and Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by a donation from Willie Hagan.
Sadeghy Underrepresented Voices Scholarship
The winner of the Sadeghy Underrepresented Voices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer who belongs to a community that has been historically underrepresented in Hollywood–particularly BIPOC writers, AAPI writers, LGBTQIA+ writers, women writers who are 45 or older, and writers with disabilities–AND whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by a donation from Amir Matin Sadeghy.
Sartor Women’s Voices Scholarship
The winner of the Sartor Women’s Voices Scholarship will receive a $1,500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer who is 45 or older and whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by donations from Colette Sartor and Lisanne Sartor.
2024 TV CONTEST SCHOLARSHIPS
CineStory TV Comedy Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory TV Comedy Scholarship will receive a $500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose TV pilot reaches the semifinalist level or higher in Original Comedy division of this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
CineStory TV Drama Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory TV Drama Scholarship will receive a $500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose TV pilot reaches the semifinalist level or higher in Original Drama division of this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
CineStory TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy Scholarship
The winner of the CineStory TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy Scholarship will receive a $500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose TV pilot reaches the semifinalist level or higher in Original Sci-Fi/Fantasy division of this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
Bellem Entertainment Scholarship
The winner of the Bellem Entertainment Scholarship will receive a $500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer with an engaging story to tell who is 40 years of age or older and whose TV Pilot reached the quarterfinalist level or higher in the Original Drama division of this year’s CineStory TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by a donation from Bellem Entertainment, which seeks to empower women and support their stories.
King Bob Scholarship
The winner of the King Bob TV Scholarship will receive free tuition (valued at $2,400) for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer who reaches the semifinalist level or higher in this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by donations from the CineStory community.
Sartor Underrepresented Voices Scholarship
The winner of the Sartor Underrepresented Voices Scholarship will receive a $1,500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer who belongs to a community that has been historically underrepresented in Hollywood — particularly BIPOC writers, AAPI writers, LGBTQIA+ writers, women writers who are 45 or older, and writers with disabilities — AND whose TV pilot reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by donations from Colette Sartor and Lisanne Sartor.
Women Storytellers Scholarship
The winner of the Women Storytellers Scholarship will receive a $2,000 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory TV Retreat.
The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer who is 40 years of age or older and whose TV pilot reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s TV Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
This scholarship is made possible by an anonymous donation.
SCHOLARSHIP RULES AND GUIDELINES
- How to Apply: Scholarship applications will be made available via Submittable to all writers who reach the quarterfinalist level or higher after contest semifinalists are announced. Please set your Submittable account to forward emails to your regular email address so that your receive the scholarship application and other CineStory-related announcement.
- Who Can Apply: Writers may submit to any scholarship for which they are qualified; however, writers only can win one scholarship per contest.
- Who Can Win: All scholarship entrants who meet a particular scholarship’s requirements are eligible to receive that scholarship, except for the Feature Fellowship winner, the TV Fellowship winner, the Feature Second and Third Place Winners, the TV Division Winners, and the winners of any other retreat scholarships. If an entrant is a Feature or TV Fellowship winner, a Feature Second or Third Place winner, a TV Division winner, or wins any other retreat scholarship, that entrant automatically will be withdrawn from consideration for all scholarships for which the entrant applied.
- Retreat Attendance: To receive a scholarship, the winner MUST ATTEND the retreat for which the scholarship was granted. If a scholarship winner cannot attend that retreat, the person will be disqualified and a new winner will be determined.
- Tuition Coverage; Other Retreat Costs:
- Each scholarship is a tuition reduction. It is not a cash prize.
- The winner must pay the balance of tuition and must provide her/his/their own housing and transportation to and from the retreat.
- Scholarship Submissions:
- Writers may submit only one script per scholarship.
- The version of each writer’s script that was originally submitted for contest consideration will be used in the scholarship judging process, and no revised versions will be accepted.
- Other Requirements, Terms, and Conditions:
- Scholarship applicants must fill out a scholarship application in its entirety in order to be considered.
- CineStory reserves the right to withdraw any scholarship at any time for any reason at its sole discretion (including, without limitation, if a winner cannot attend the retreat, if a winner violates any of the requirements, terms, and conditions of a scholarship, or if the retreat is canceled due to COVID or any other reason, unforeseen or otherwise).
- All decisions about scholarship and winners are final and not subject to dispute.
CineStory is solely a nonprofit educational organization. It is not a talent representation service of any kind. It does not, nor does it seek to, manage and/or direct the development of writers’ careers in any way. Additionally, it does not, nor does it seek to, procure representation and/or employment of any kind for writers. Its sole purpose is to educate emerging writers about the craft and business of writing for the screen.