All eligible projects must have a director and a producer attached. Films should be able to be completed within a $1 million budget. Click here to confirm your Eligibility.
Submissions are open October 3, 2024 – February 3, 2025. Before applying, please review all Rules & Regulations below, in addition to the program FAQs. If you still have questions regarding the entry process, please feel free to contact us directly: untoldstories@tribecafilm.com
SUBMISSIONS RULES AND REGULATIONS
In order to qualify for AT&T Presents: Untold Stories, entrants must comply with ALL the following Rules and Eligibility Requirements (the “Official Rules”). Failure to comply with these rules will render a submission ineligible.
SPONSOR: AT&T Presents: Untold Stories is hosted by Tribeca Enterprises LLC, located at 375 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013.
ELIGIBILITY
- Applicant(s) must be at least 18 years old and reside in the U.S. or Puerto Rico.
- Current students are not eligible to apply.
- A screenwriter and/or director attached to the project should be from an underrepresented community in the film industry or have a connection to such community.
- Registration with the WGA or copyright office is required for all submitted screenplays.
- Submissions must NOT have been distributed in theaters or have aired on any form of television, internet streaming, or public screening prior to June 2025.
- Films intending to be subtitled are eligible, but the submitted screenplay must be in English.
HOW TO APPLY
Submission Period: AT&T Presents: Untold Stories (the “Program”) submission period is on a rolling basis commencing at 12:00:00 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) on October 3, 2024 and ending at 11:59:00 PM ET on February 3, 2025 (the “Submission Period”). Sponsor’s computer is the official time keeping device for the Program.
- All applicants must complete an online application form. (Read Eligibility)
- Bios and contact information for key applicant(s) must be included.
- A budget top sheet or summary that reflects the $1 million award, including post-production costs, is required.
- Application must include a thorough feature-length screenplay, with a director attached, that is ready to shoot for a premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival®.
- At least one full sample of the director’s prior work must be supplied via an online-streaming source (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). Sample work must be a minimum of 5 consecutive minutes in length, and we encourage longer. Examples of prior work may include a webisode, short film, feature film, music video, commercial, etc. PLEASE NOTE: You must not take down your footage at any time through the submission process, or you will be disqualified.
- Only ONE submission per applicant is allowed, unless applicant is working on another project in a different role.
Entries will not be considered complete until all of the materials are received. Please refer to the guidelines above.
There is no entry fee to apply to AT&T Presents: Untold Stories.
WINNER SELECTION
Five (5) potential winners (individually, a “Finalist”, and collectively the “Finalists”) will be selected by Sponsor based upon the originality, technical merit, market viability, previous work quality, and mentorship potential of the submissions. The Finalists will then have the opportunity to pitch their submission immediately before or during the Tribeca Festival® to a jury of media professionals (the “Judges”). Of the five Finalists, only one (the “Winner”) will win an award of One Million Dollars (US$1,000,000) for use in the production of the submitted film. The winning project will be selected by the Judges based on the submitted project, entrant’s prior work, and their pitch. The remaining four Finalists (the “Second Place Winners”) will each receive a Fifteen Thousand Dollar (US$15,000) grant for use toward the continued development and/or production of their film. Prize winners cannot assign or transfer a prize to another person.
The Winner will be required to set up a single-purpose LLC to receive the winning proceeds and to produce the film. The filmmaker, via the LLC, will assume all liabilities in connection with the production (e.g., errors and omissions and liability insurance, any guild obligations, etc.). The Winner must sign a long-form contract with Sponsor, plus submit a production schedule and budget in advance of receiving the first award payment. The Winner must make best efforts to complete the film for a potential world premiere at the Tribeca Festival® in 2026.
The Second Place Winners will be required to sign an agreement with Sponsor for the one-time payment of the $15,000 grant to be paid to either an LLC or an individual. The grant also comes with mentorship from Tribeca.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Judging will be conducted between February 4 2025 and approximately May 1 2025 and will take place in two phases. Phase 1 selection of the Finalists by Sponsor Staff and other industry executives will be based on the following five (5) criteria; Originality & Creativity (25%), Technical Merit & Skill (20%), Quality of Previous Work (20%), Market Viability (15%) and Mentorship Potential (20%). Phase 2 selection of the Winner by Judges will be based on the following six (6) criteria; Originality & Creativity (25%), Technical Merit & Skill (20%), Quality of Previous Work (15%), Market Viability (15%), Mentorship Potential (10%) and Live Pitch Execution (10%). Decisions of the Judges and Sponsor are final and binding in all respects.
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
This Program is void where prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. By participating in the Program, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final in all respects. By participating in this Program and/or by accepting any prize that he or she may win, each participant agrees to release Sponsor, and all entities involved in the production, sponsorship and/or promotion of the prize or Sponsor’s programming, or any part thereof; each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives and employees; and each of these companies and individuals' respective successors, representatives and assigns (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any and all actions, claims, injury, loss or damage arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, from participation in this Program and/or acceptance or use of the prize. Each prize winner authorizes Sponsor and their designees to use his/her name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials for promotional purposes in any publicity or advertising carried out in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration by the Sponsor and/or its advertising or promotional agencies without limitation or further notification, and without providing compensation or intellectual property rights to the entrant, except where prohibited.
DISPUTES
AT&T Presents: Untold Stories is governed by the laws of the United States and the State of New York, without respect to any choice of law or conflict of law principles that would result in the application of any law other than that of New York. As a condition of participating in this Program, entrants agree that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties and causes of action arising out of or in connection with this Program, shall be resolved individually through binding arbitration, without resort to any form of class action, in accordance with the arbitration provision set forth below.
ARBITRATION PROVISION
By participating in this Program, each entrant agrees that: (a) any claim, dispute, or controversy (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) the participant may have against Sponsor arising out of, relating to, or connected in any way with the Program, the awarding or redemption of any prize and/or the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, will be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration administered by JAMS and conducted before a sole arbitrator in accordance with the rules of JAMS; (b) this arbitration agreement is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce, and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16; (c) the arbitration shall be held in New York, New York; (d) the arbitrator’s decision shall be controlled by the terms and conditions of these Official Rules and any of the other agreements referenced herein that the applicable entrant may have entered into in connection with the Promotion; (e) the arbitrator shall apply New York law consistent with the FAA and applicable statutes of limitations, and shall honor claims of privilege recognized at law; (f) there shall be no authority for any claims to be arbitrated on a class or representative basis, arbitration can decide only the participant’s and/or Sponsor’s individual claims; the arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of other persons or parties who may be similarly situated; (g) the arbitrator shall not have the power to award punitive damages against the participant or Sponsor; (h) in the event that the administrative fees and deposits that must be paid to initiate arbitration against Sponsor exceed $125 USD, and the participant is unable (or not required under the rules of JAMS) to pay any fees and deposits that exceed this amount, Sponsor agrees to pay them and/or forward them on the participant’s behalf, subject to ultimate allocation by the arbitrator. In addition, if participant is able to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, Sponsor will pay as much of participant’s filing and hearing fees in connection with the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive; and (i) with the exception of subpart (f) above, if any part of this arbitration provision is deemed to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, or otherwise conflicts with the rules of JAMS, then the balance of this arbitration provision shall remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with its terms as if the invalid, unenforceable, illegal or conflicting provision were not contained herein. If, however, subpart (f) is found to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, then the entirety of this Arbitration Provision shall be null and void, and neither participant nor Sponsor shall be entitled to arbitrate their dispute. For more information on JAMS and/or the rules of JAMS, visit their website at www.jamsadr.com.
PRIVACY POLICY
Any personal information supplied by an entrant to Sponsor will be subject to the privacy policy posted at https://tribecafilm.com/privacy. Prize notification and fulfillment in connection with the Program will be administered by Sponsor. By entering the Program and voluntarily providing entrant’s personal information as described in these Official Rules, entrants agree to the collection and use of your personal information by the Sponsor and their respective representatives, promotional agencies, and marketing organizations for purposes of the administration of the Program, notification of prize winners, fulfillment and verification of prize awards, and disclosing the list of winners. By entering this Program, entrants’ consent to use of their submission information for these purposes and for all purposes set forth in these Official Rules.
QUESTIONS?
We recommend visiting our FAQ page for answers to some commonly asked questions.
If you still have questions regarding the entry process, please feel free to contact us directly: untoldstories@tribecafilm.com.