SFC SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME GUIDELINES
(AS OF JUNE 2010)
OVERVIEW
The aim of the SFC Script Development Programme (the “Programme”) is to encourage and support film scriptwriters who have the talent to tell good stories by helping them develop their ideas into full-length feature film scripts that are ready for production. Selected applicants will be given an opportunity to benefit from an overseas attachment programme.
The attachment programme for 2010 shall be with SMI Corporation Limited in Hong Kong for a three-month period, commencing from August 2010. Selected applicants will benefit from guidance by industry veterans, participating in lecture sessions with prominent Hong Kong screenwriters and producers, as well as get a chance to experience story, pitching and storyboarding sessions in real-world settings under SMI Corporation Limited.
In addition, SMI Corporation will help the selected applicants to improve on their own scripts (up to the quality that can qualify them for successful commercial funding) and to provide avenues for these scripts to be commercialized.
Submission deadline is 9 July 2010.
ELIGIBILITY
All Singaporeans including Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) are eligible to apply. Applicants must have experience in writing for or directing short films and/or for television.
This Programme is not intended for productions such as specials, series or serials intended for television, short films, documentaries, or for a film that has already been released theatrically or on television. Adaptations of published books are acceptable, provided proof of option acquired is produced.
The SFC accepts proposals for scripts to be written in any language, but for the purpose of the submission, all non-English documents must contain English translations (the “Proposals”). The SFC will not accept scripts that have been rejected before.
SELECTION CRITERIA
- Fresh and innovative treatment in any genre (except documentary and made-for-television programmes);
- Writing skills of screenwriter, especially in areas of story and character development;
- Marketability, in that there is an indication of an intended audience;
- Track record of applicant, attached producer/director/company (if any);
- Potential for production as a full-length feature film for theatrical release;
- Applicant’s potential in and commitment to the Singapore film industry, and
- Overall benefits to the industry as a whole.
APPLICATION
The SFC will consider applications once a year. The deadline for submission for 2010 is 9 July 2010.
Successful applicants will be informed within 4 weeks of the closing date.
Applicants for the Programme are requested to submit the following materials before the deadline for submission:
- *Completed application form;
- *CV or resume;
- *Log-line (which is a one- to two-sentence description of the story) – 3 sets;
- *5 to 10-page story outline of the project – 3 sets;
- *15 to 20-page treatment of the project – 3 sets;
For a clearer understanding of treatments, you may wish to refer to the following websites:
· Writingtreatments.com (http://www.writingtreatments.com/index.html)
· AFC Online Resources (http://www.afc.gov.au/downloads/pubs/whatissynopsis.pdf)
- *Character bibles of main characters – 3 sets;
- First draft of the script, if any;
- *Portfolio samples of writing ;
- Letters of recommendation, if any;
- Relevant research materials/references, if any;
- Other relevant supporting documents, if any; and.
- *Statement of objective in pursuing the project.
*Mandatory items
Applications should be submitted to:
The Director
Singapore Film Commission
Media Development Authority
3 Fusionopolis Way
#16-22 Symbiosis
Singapore 138633
Re: Script Development Programme
FUNDING QUANTUM
Selected applicants will receive funding support through the MDA’s Media Training & Attachment (META) Programme which provides a monthly stipend of S$2,000 and a one-time payment of up to S$3,000 for airfare and accommodation (to be reimbursed upon submission of original receipts). Receipts showing costs incurred after 30 November 2010 shall not be accepted by MDA and applicants shall not be reimbursed for such costs.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
- To be eligible, all submissions must be received by 6pm on 9 July 2010, Singapore time. Incomplete Proposals will be rejected. Notwithstanding any provision herein, SFC/MDA shall have the sole discretion to reject any Proposals.
- All materials submitted as part of a Proposal, including audio-visual materials, are not returnable.
- All information submitted to the SFC/MDA will be used only for the purposes of the Programme unless otherwise agreed by the applicant.
- Proposals are subject to verification and will be declared invalid if they are illegible.
- SFC/MDA reserves the right not to disclose/discuss its reasons for approving or disapproving any Proposal. SFC/MDA may also review, withdraw or suspend the Proposal full or in part if any of the rules and conditions is not met. SFC/MDA’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Each successful applicant shall consent, if required, to the use, without compensation, of its name and/or logo, for publicity purposes.
- Applicants agree to indemnify, defend and hold MDA, and all their officers, directors, owners, agents, employees, content and information providers, affiliates, partners, licensors and licensees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all liability and costs incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any information or Proposals submitted, including any third part claims for infringement of intellectual property rights or defamation on a full indemnity basis. Applicants shall co-operate as fully as reasonably required by MDA in the defence of any claim.
- As the author or producer of the Proposal, applicants hereby warrant to MDA, their employees, agents, assignees and licensees –
• That the applicant is or will by the time of production or publication of the Proposal be the owner of the copyright in the entire submissions;
• That where copyright ownership is not possible, applicants have been or will be granted a copyright licence in respect of such constituent part in a form as fulfilment of this warranty in lieu of ownership of the copyright;
• That the Proposal will not infringe any rights of any third party;
• That the Proposal has not previously been published in any form in any part of the world; and
• That the Proposal is not and will not be defamatory, blasphemous or obscene, or be in any other way unlawful and/or contrary to the laws of the Republic of Singapore.
- Selected Proposals must include in their credits “Developed with the Singapore Film Commission’s Script Development Programme”;
- Should there be any further development of the script and Proposal after the script development process with all delivery materials submitted, the script must include the above credits to recognize the assistance rendered by the Programme;
- Should the Proposal be produced, the final film credits must also include the above credits.
- All copyrights and other intellectual property rights in and to the completed script will be vested with the applicant. SFC/MDA will retain the first right of refusal to co-invest in the production of a film based on scripts developed with the assistance of this Programme. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, all copyright and any other intellectual property in Projects that have been developed by SMI or developed with the assistance or contribution of SMI, shall vest solely in SMI.
- In the event that SFC/MDA decides not to invest in a produced film based on scripts developed with this Programme, SFC/MDA will nevertheless require acknowledgement in the form of credits in the completed film print, which will include wordings such as “Developed with the assistance of the Singapore Film Commission Script Development Programme”.
- Successful applicants will not be eligible to enter the script, developed with the assistance of this Programme, in any other SFC or MDA organised/supported scriptwriting competitions.
- At the end of the Programme, applicants are expected to submit a project report and other deliverables stated in the Letter of Offer.
- The SFC/MDA reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend the Programme.
- By submitting a Proposal, applicants agree to the above conditions.
For further information, please contact:
SFC Secretariat
Tel : (65) 9726 3380
Email : MDA_SFC@mda.gov.sg
Website: www.sfc.org.sg / www.smf.sg
About SMI Corporation Limited
SMI Corporation Limited has been at the forefront of film financing, production and cinema management in Greater China since 2004. SMI has acted as lead investor for a gamut of films, ranging from blockbusters like “Perhaps Love”, “The Warlords” and “City of Life and Death”, to smaller arthouse productions like “In Love We Trust” and “Shanghai Dreams” by the acclaimed Chinese auteur Wang Xiaoshuai. The group is also involved in several new Chinese-language productions in 2010, including the Aaron Kwok/Zhang Ziyi-starrer “The Era of Magic” as well as Chen Kaige’s latest epic “The Orphan of Zhao”. Vertically integrated in all aspects of production, distribution and exhibition for film and television, the Group operates an extensive chain of cinemas in Mainland China, as well as a 230,000m2 exterior and studio soundstage facility in Beijing, China.
Please click here to download the SFC Script Development Programme pdf
Please click here to download the SFC Script Development Programme application form