The Key to a Perfect Pitch is You

Another successful Pitch Challenge and Panel has come and gone! We were so impressed by the quality and diversity of all of the submissions we received. It was definitely difficult to narrow it down to our three winners.

At our Virtual Pitch Panel, we heard from our four amazing industry pro panellists Mitchell Bendersky (Manager at Gramercy Park Entertainment), Julia Friley (Creative Executive at Walden Media), Amy Sullivan (Writer Assistant at THE BOYS), and Scott Halle (President of Gramercy Park Entertainment). Since the event, two of our winners have had their materials requested! Here’s what the pros had to say about creating the perfect pitch:

Let Your Voice Shine

The most important part of a pitch to our industry pros? YOU! They want to see your personality come through in your pitch and see the person behind the script. When preparing your pitch, a big question to ask yourself is “Why am I the right person to be telling this story?” 

Anyone can write a story, but why can this story only be told by you? What’s the secret ingredient? Now more than ever is the time to wear your heart on your sleeve and show industry executives what you’re all about! 

We encourage you to check out the winners' pitches and be inspired by how they incorporate their voice into their stories. Dig deep into your writing, and tell yourself why you wrote this story in the first place.

Without further ado, please join us in congratulating the winners and finalists of our Virtual Pitch Challenge! 

Virtual Pitch Winners

Tommy Garcia - Mergays

Lisa Garvey - The Gradual Deterioration of Walter Twig

Sharilyn Kyle - The Madness in March
 

Honorable Mentions

Sid Katragadda - Fear

Joshua Maheu - Sugar

Audrey Webb - Dead Name

Finalists

Daniel Broderick - No Harm, No Foul

Daniel Broderick - Your Wish is My Command

David Chester and Blake Pinter - Tillie

Erin Dooley - Forced

Liisa Evastina - Harvey

Jacobo Fe Gismera - ACE

Naman Gupta and Janki Parekh - Inconvenient Love

Hannah Hendy - Twenty Somethings

Sid Katragadda - Curse

Fredrick Leach - The Hard & Short of It

Teneille Newallo - Soucouyant

T. Siena - Kentucky Blood

Roger Specker - California Motel

Adrienne Thorne - Delivery Route

Adrienne Thorne - Home

Keep Perfecting Your Pitch

Practice makes perfect! To learn more about pitching, check out some of our resources like our ProTips page, articles and classes.

If your pitch didn’t make it this time around, don’t worry! Screenwriting is a journey, and there will be plenty more contests in the future. Just keep practicing your craft, and soon it will be time to tell your story.