Stephenie Meyer and her series about a girl who falls in love with a sparkling vampire may have been less than popular with feminists the first time around, but the New York Times bestselling author’s most recent move is all about promoting women.
Submissions for screenplay outlines are now open in the Twilight Storytellers contest, which aims to connect up-and-coming female filmmakers with industry insiders from the Women in Film organization.
“The focus of this competition is to make sure fresh, new voices get the attention they deserve by inviting bold female writers and directors with courageous and creative perspectives to embrace this opportunity!” reads the main contest page.
In the first round, Twilight fans were asked to vote for side characters they wanted to see featured in a series of Facebook short films that will “explore the world of Twilight before Bella moved to Forks,” according to the contest page.
The top 10 characters were announced on Nov. 19, and aspiring female screenwriters have until Dec. 3 to submit up to five screenplay outlines featuring any of the chosen characters.
Out of the women who submit, 20 will be awarded $500 and the chance to write full screenplays for the next round. From there, screenplays from five top writers will be chosen for the final films and awarded $3,000.
But the contest doesn’t just reach out to screenwriters. Once the screenplays are chosen, directors will be able to submit pitches for how they’d translate a winning screenplay to film. Five directors will receive a $50,000 budget to carry out their vision as well as mentoring from industry professionals.
The winner of the grand prize will win a Volvo and a chance to shadow a director on the set of one of Lionsgate’s TV shows.
“This is a great example of how a contest with multiple layers and opportunities to win can create continued buzz and exposure for the Sponsors before, during and even after the contest has ended. It’s a true win-win anytime a prize provides something of infinite value to the winner, while continuing to promote the Sponsoring entities long after the contest has ended,“says Jennifer Valentino, Promotions Manager at National Sweepstakes Company, LLC.
“One of my favorite things about my time with Twilight was the creativity of the fans. I loved their additions to my imaginary world, especially their visual artistry,” Stephenie Meyer writes on the contest page. “I’m excited to see more visual innovation based around these characters.”