The rules

The competition

The Pitch invites original pitches of up to two (2) minutes in length, showcasing the potential of the entrant to make a film. The entrant will demonstrate this with a pitch for an original contemporary short film (running length 10-20 minutes) that takes inspiration from a biblical story, parable, character or book. Any genre is acceptable, and the pitch may be a simple piece to camera telling the story, or it may be a storyboard, pilot piece, etc.

Each pitch must be accompanied by the official entry form, which will outline the case for supporting the film maker, cite the biblical source material for the pitch, and include a rationale for the choice of material.

The competition is open to everyone aged 18 years or over as of 11 January 2018.

Entry is conditional upon full agreement to The Rules and The Small Print (see below for more details).

The competition will take place over three rounds: round one, round two and final round.

Round one: Invitation to submit

All pitches being submitted must be uploaded to The Pitch website between 1 June and 9 October 2017. It will not be possible to submit a pitch after 12:00 noon BST on 9 October 2017.

Selection of Pitches to be ‘in competition’ will be made by The Pitch Team, who will select, at their sole discretion, pitchers whom it believes are equipped to impact the world through art and film. Pitches will be critiqued based on the following criteria:

1. the originality and potential of the Pitch

2. the Pitcher's passion and vision for film making

3. the Pitcher's skill and ability to communicate

4. the Pitcher's understanding and/or interpretation of the emotional core of the bible story; and

5. contemporary approach of the Pitch

The initial judging for this round will be undertaken by The Pitch Team consisting of film professionals, theologians, communication and media production staff. The Pitch Team will screen and select pitches to be included in round two. Pitches will be selected for inclusion based on multiple criteria represented in The Pitch project judging criteria.

Round two: Submissions ‘in competition’

This round will comprise of two judging phases, first the general public and second our industry judges.

All pitches will be displayed on www.enterthepitch.com from 20–30 October 2017 for worldwide public voting. This will select a shortlist that will be presented to our judging panel for Round three. After public voting, a shortlist will be created for the competition based on the votes cast.

The shortlist to be presented to the judges will comprise the top 5 from the internal panel with the remaining places decided by the combined voting scores. The percentage weight of the vote for selecting the remainder of the shortlist will be split as follows:

• Internal panel 50%
• Public 50%

The calculation of the shortlisted pitches for The Pitch shall follow the same rules as stated in the Voting pages on this website.

The industry judges for The Pitch will be listed on the Judges page. All industry judges' availability is subject to change due to their media engagements. 

The 10 finalists who will then compete in the final round of competition will be selected by the judges following the rules as stated in the Voting pages on this website.

The final round:

The ten finalists will be notified on 20 November 2017. Pitch selections will be publicly announced on 20 November 2017 on www.enterthepitch.com.

Residential Film Course for ten finalists

If you are a finalist in 2017, you will have a greater opportunity to help develop and hone your pitching skills, as we will be inviting you to attend a residential course in December 2017 ahead of the Finalists Weekend. The course will take place between Sunday 10 December 2017 and Tuesday 12 December 2017. This course will offer you a master-class worthy of the big studios, feedback on your pitch and help in preparing for the pitch at Pinewood Studios.

Finalists Weekend

The ten finalists will be invited to participate in the finalists’ weekend, taking place on 13-14 January 2018 at the Pinewood Studios. Finalists will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements except for the 3 finalists selected on Saturday  who will be given accommodation for the Saturday night – see below). The weekend will include making a face-to-face pitch with the judges and a subsequent interview. There will also be a variety of activities including workshops, screenings and critique.

Only three of the ten finalists will go through to day two (14 January). The Pitch will arrange and pay for accommodation on Saturday 13 January for these three finalists.

The winner will be announced on Sunday 14 January, 2018. 

The Big Prize - what the winner receives

The winner will work with a budget (which has a value in excess of £30,000) to make their short film, of 10–20 minutes. The winner will be expected to demonstrate the ability to undertake the practical production of the film but will be offered production assistance from an established film production company.

The short film will be filmed, and completed during the first half of 2018, at dates to be agreed with the winner. This will take into account the period for pre-production and will proceed to principle photography as and when the project is ready.

The winning pitcher will then take the completed film to Los Angeles in 2018, and there will meet with industry professionals who will give feedback and advice on the film. The winning pitcher will be allowed to take one other person from the film making team with them, or another person of choice. The industry professionals will be people such as Ralph Winter (Producer X-Men; Fantastic Four; Wolverine) (although The Pitch retains the right to alter and amend the meetings as necessary with due regard to the availability of individuals). 

The small print

The following are non-negotiable requirements of entry. By completing and submitting an official entry form, you are agreeing to be bound by terms and conditions set out below. The Pitch reserves the right to amend and alter these rules without notice.

Definitions

The following definitions shall apply in these rules:

• ‘Pitch’ a pitch submitted to The Pitch website and accompanied by an official entry form.
• ‘Pitcher’ a person submitting a pitch.
• ‘The Pitch Team’ the individuals organising the competition.
• 'The Pitch/The Pitch Team' (when used in relation to or with reference to ownership or rights) the subgroup of The Pitch team responsible for production, operating as RIF Productions.
• ‘The Pitch Website’ the website located at www.enterthepitch.com

Content

• The pitch must clearly demonstrate, both in the visual pitch and accompanying written material, that the underlying source material is biblical.
• A completed entry form must accompany each pitch submission. Pitches not accompanied by an official entry form will not be considered.
• Any pitch in excess of 2 minutes shall be automatically disqualified.
• Submissions must be made in English or use English subtitles.
• Any content that is deemed, at the absolute discretion of The Pitch Team, to be blasphemous, offensive, pornographic, defamatory or obscene or in any other way against the spirit of the competition, shall be disqualified.

Eligibility

• The Pitch is open to film makers eligible to work in the UK. All pitchers who are not UK residents (or currently residing in the UK) must be able to attend the Finalists Weekend on 13–14 January 2018 at Pinewood Studios, England. It is the responsibility of the pitcher to meet all costs of travel and accommodation and to arrange all necessary visa requirements resulting from participation in the competition.
• Previous Pitchers may submit to The Pitch 2017, but no pitch previously submitted to the competition will be considered.
• Pitchers must be aged 18 or over as of 11 January 2018.
• Employees of The Pitch Team and members of their immediate families (including any live-in partner) are ineligible to enter. Any such entries will be invalid.
• Pitchers must hold a full passport and be eligible to enter the USA.
• Pitchers’ passports must be valid for at least 12 months from April 2018.
• Pitchers must be able to attend the Finalists’ Weekend should their pitch be shortlisted.
• Only one pitch per pitcher may be submitted.
• Pitchers may work in small teams to develop a series of ideas but, if selected, only one person per team will be invited to attend the Finalists’ Weekend.  Teams must nominate the individual at the time of entry.
• All Pitches must be submitted by noon GMT on 9 October 2017.
• The winner’s film must be produced during the first half of 2018.
• All content that is not in violation of terms but is deemed unsuitable for minors will require age verification prior to viewing and voting if the pitch is selected to participate in Round two.

Format

The pitcher is responsible for ensuring that their pitch is uploaded to The Pitch website in the format outlined.

• All pitches must be in 16:9 ratio.

Please see the technical information page for more information about uploading your pitch.

Ownership

• The pitcher must be the producer, director, or creator/writer, of the pitch.
• The pitcher must be the originator/owner of the short film for which they are pitching.
• The pitch must not be currently under consideration by another production company, investor or development consortium.
• The pitcher must not have sold, conveyed, granted or assigned any right, title or interest in the pitch, and the pitcher guarantees there are no legal encumbrances on the submitted pitch of any kind, and that the pitcher is not subject to, nor is it aware of any matters, facts or circumstances which could lead to any claims, proceedings or litigation or other allegation of infringement, in respect of the pitch.
• Pitches may not contain any music or other item (including without limitation, trademarks or copyrightable material) for which the pitcher does not have a valid and subsisting license.  It is the responsibility of the pitcher to clear all material.  If there is any doubt, The Pitch Team will take all reasonable steps to clarify the situation with the pitcher but may disqualify the pitch at their discretion.
• An uploaded pitch shall not have been previously broadcast, transmitted or commercially distributed prior to its submission to The Pitch website, nor shall a submitted pitch have previously received any awards or accolades from any other competition.
• The pitcher must own all title right and interest in the submitted pitch, including, without limitation, the worldwide copyright in the pitch and any and all extensions and renewals of that copyright.
• The pitcher hereby grants The Pitch Team and competition organisers a royalty-free,  non exclusive (subject to the following), worldwide license, in perpetuity, for the life of copyright, to exhibit, broadcast, transmit, display, distribute, reproduce in copies, couple with other pitches, synchronize and otherwise perform the submitted pitch.
• All rights in and to the films made by the winning Pitcher and the Runner Up Pitcher(s) (such films to be between 10-20 minutes running time and based on the Pitchers original 2 minute Pitch and as further defined herein) shall be wholly owned by The Pitch Team.
• If shortlisted, The Pitch Team shall have the exclusive right to upload, post, transmit, display and broadcast the submitted pitch over the Internet on The Pitch website, or otherwise, for a period of 2 years following the submission of the uploaded pitch, and all pitchers shall use reasonable efforts to prevent any posting, transmission, display or broadcast of the submitted pitch over the Internet, including, without limitation via YouTube and similar websites without the express written consent of The Pitch Team and the competition organisers. The Pitch Team and competition organisers reserve the right to broadcast or display all submitted pitches on other websites at its sole discretion.
• In consideration of the ten highest scoring pitchers (the finalist/s) participation in the Finalists' Weekend, the finalists grant The Pitch the first option to develop and produce (but without there being any obligation to develop or produce), a film based on or inspired by the finalist's pitch. Such option shall expire twelve (12) months from the date of the final day of the Finalists' Weekend. In the event a finalist wishes to develop their pitch with another party within the 12 months, such a request to be sent by Royal Mail recorded delivery to The Pitch. The Pitch shall have ten (10) working days from receipt of such a written request from the finalist in which to take up or pass on the development of the pitch. After 10 days should no response have been received by the finalist then release from the first option shall be deemed to have been given by The Pitch.
• The finalists undertake to ensure that any film produced which is based on or inspired by their pitch, whether such film is produced with The Pitch or by a third party, shall include a credit in the closing credits of the film as to "Developed from an Original idea for The Pitch www.enterthepitch.com" or similar wording to be agreed in good faith between The Pitch and the finalist.

Prize

No matter the previous experience and background of the pitcher, the pitcher should have a vision for their future role in the industry as producer, director or writer. During the process, and particularly the Finalist’s Weekend, The Pitch Team and judges will, in discussion with the winner, determine the most appropriate role for the winner in the production of the winning film. In doing this, The Pitch Team will seek to build and develop a crew and cast around the pitcher in a way that best supports and develops the gifts of the winner. The judges’ decision in these matters will be final.

The USA

The Pitch Team and competition organisers will pay for two economy class airfares between London and Los Angeles, and will provide accommodation for six nights for the winning pitcher and one other person of their choice.

The pitcher shall be responsible for travel insurance and all necessary legal paperwork,  i.e. valid and subsisting passports (with at least six months before renewal is required at the time of travel), visas (where appropriate) and ESTA forms for the pitcher and his or her selected travelling companion and proof must be provided of these prior to travel.

The prize is not transferable. No cash or credit alternatives will be offered.

The Voting - Terms and Conditions

The pitches in consideration are selected by an internal panel at The Pitch and displayed on the website for voting by the public 20-30 October 2017. The public vote will be combined with the internal panel vote to select a shortlist for the industry judges.

All voters must be over the age of 15 before the voting commences. Only one set of votes is allowed per person. If evidence is found of a person multiple voting for one pitch, all such votes will be disqualified. The Internal Panel has the final decision.

Click here to find out more about the Voting process.