Screenplay Competition Launches 6th Edition After 12-Year Hiatus; Re-partners with YFF and Seeks to Produce Next Winning Short Screenplay into Short Film for Worldwide Distribution as Part of Screenwriter Prize Pack.

Toronto, Canada (December 18, 2024) — After a 12 year hiatus, the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition (CSSC) is re-launching with renewed vigor, rekindling its legacy of championing emerging screenwriting talent from across Canada and abroad. 

Partnering once again with Yorkton Film Festival—the first and longest running film festival in North America—the CSSC will award the celebrated Writers’ Block Crystals to the top-three screenplays and their respective screenwriters. The prize packs include cash in addition to an option and purchase agreement for the winning short film scripts to be produced by Fun Republic Pictures and a guaranteed distribution deal with Screen Wizards Pictures, providing writers an incredible opportunity to see their work brought to the screen and viewable by global audiences. 

The CSSC was established in 2008 by International Emmy Award-nominated Producer, Screenwriter and Showrunner, David Cormican (ShadowHunters, Tokyo Trial). The festival was considered a top destination script writing contest for short film screenplays worldwide and has, to-date, produced from page-to-screen five winning scribes work which have gone on to premiere at esteemed festivals and networks, generating official selections, special presentations, nominations, accolades and awards at esteemed venues such as Festival de Cannes, CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival, BravoFACT, CBC, and Yorkton Film Festival, among countless others.

The CSSC quickly developed a reputation as the single-most competitive, prestigious, short screenplay festival in Canada, a champion for screenwriters everywhere, a financier and producer of short form content which served as a launching pad for writers’ professional careers. CSSC also founded the #WriterWednesday hashtag on X (formerly Twitter).

“We always looked forward to collaborating with (David and) the CSSC, and we can’t wait to see what they and their writers have in store for us in 2025,” said Randy Goulden, Executive Director of Yorkton Film Festival.

All thirteen finalists will be invited to the unveiling of the 2025 CSSC Writers’ Block Crystal Awards announced as part of the 78th edition of Yorkon Film Festival’s Golden Sheaf Gala program, hosted in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The competition’s filmography includes Seeing in the Dark, the first ever CSSC winner; Rusted Pyre, which went on to premiere at Festival de Cannes as part of Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent Programme and was awarded the National Screen Institute’s Best Drama Prize; Minus Lara, which won the Best in Canada Prize at the Reel Rave International Film Festival in addition to the BravoFACT! award; Elijah the Prophet, which was successfully over-subscribed during a crowdfunded campaign via Kickstarter; and Will, winner of Yorkton Film Festival’s Golden Sheaf award for Best Drama.

“The CSSC has always been about discovering fresh voices and giving aspiring writers a global stage to showcase their work,” said Cormican, CSSC Founder. “We’re thrilled to re-ignite this legacy, with even more gravitas”. 

In memoriam of Carolynne Ciceri, the original #WW Laureate, the screenplay competition is also looking to bring back the #WW Laureate, an annual position to be held by a past winner and/or finalist who shall craft a series of regular blog posts chronicling their experiences, tips and tricks as an emerging screenwriter. The hashtag, #WW #WritersWednesday, was first tweeted by the CSSC in 2009 on X (formerly Twitter) and is still used by writers worldwide across many social media platforms for nearly 16 years.