The Writers Guild of America opened their annual call for submissions for the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award today, which will remain open through November 18. Nominees are scheduled to be announced on January 5, 2012.
The WGA Documentary Screenplay Award will be presented at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012.
Previous WGA Documentary Screenplay Award winners include writer-directors Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me”), Amy Berg (“Deliver Us From Evil”) and Mark Monroe (“The Cove”).
Qualifications:
Submitted documentaries must contain an on-screen writing credit and have been exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for at least one week during 2011.
Credited writers of eligible documentaries are required to join the WGAW Nonfiction Writers Caucus to be considered.
The deadline for submissions is 5:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, November 18, 2011.
Scripts need not necessarily be written under WGA jurisdiction.
Scripts must be feature length (over 40 minutes).
Documentaries that received their first public exhibition via broadcast or cable television are not eligible for WGA awards consideration.
Foreign-language films are eligible, provided they feature English-language subtitles.
Full press release follows:
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have launched a collective call for submissions for the eighth annual WGA Documentary Screenplay Award, honoring outstanding achievement in documentary feature writing.
Submissions for the WGA’s top doc writing award may be received from August 22 through November 18, 2011.
Documentary Screenplay nominees are set to be announced on January 5, 2012, along with Original and Adapted Screenplay nominees.
The WGA Documentary Screenplay Award will be presented at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.
First presented in 2005 to spotlight the writer’s essential role in the collaborative creative process of documentary filmmaking, previous WGA Documentary Screenplay Award winners include writer-directors Morgan Spurlock (for Super Size Me in 2005), two-time WGA winner Alex Gibney (forEnron: The Smartest Guys in the Room in 2006 and Taxi to the Dark Side in 2008), Amy Berg (for Deliver Us From Evil in 2007), Mark Monroe (for The Cove in 2010), and most recently Charles Ferguson, Chad Beck, & Adam Bolt (for Inside Job in 2011).
Established to recognize that the majority of non-fiction feature films are written, the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award continues to spotlight the Guilds’ collective outreach efforts to allow those working within the diverse community of nonfiction writers to receive the benefits of a Writers Guild contract.
Qualifications for WGA Documentary Screenplay Award eligibility include:
Submitted documentaries must contain an on-screen writing credit and have been exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for at least one week during 2011.
Credited writers of eligible documentaries are required to join the WGAW Nonfiction Writers Caucus to be considered.
The deadline for submissions is 5:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, November 18, 2011.
Scripts need not necessarily be written under WGA jurisdiction.
Scripts must be feature length (over 40 minutes).
Documentaries that received their first public exhibition via broadcast or cable television are not eligible for WGA awards consideration.
Foreign-language films are eligible, provided they feature English-language subtitles.Further inquiries about the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award may be directed to Melissa Gage in the WGAW Awards Office at (323) 782-4571, email: mgage@wga.org or to Dana Weissman in the WGAE Awards Office at (212) 767-7835, email: dweissman@wgaeast.org.
The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012, simultaneously at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and in New York City (venue TBA). For more information about the 2012 Writers Guild Awards submission process, guidelines, and official entry forms, please visit:www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.
For media inquiries about the 2012 Writers Guild Awards Los Angeles show, please contact Gregg Mitchell in the WGAW Communications Department at: (323) 782-4574, email: gmitchell@wga.org, or visit online at: www.wga.org.
For media press inquiries about the 2012 Writers Guild Awards New York show, please contact Sherry Goldman in the WGAE Press Office at (718) 224-4133 or email: sherry@goldmanpr.net; or visit online at: www.wgaeast.org.
The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org.
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