2026 FEATURE RETREAT SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATION

CineStory is thrilled to offer the following scholarships, which are funded in part by CineStory and in part by generous donations from members of the CineStory community.

This application allows you to apply for any retreat scholarship for which you qualify. Please read the application carefully and only apply for scholarships for which you meet all the criteria. Failure to meet all criteria will disqualify you from consideration for that scholarship.

Please also take particular care with the essays since they are an essential part of the evaluation process.

Scholarship winners will be announced by early September.

CineStory Asian & South Asian Scholarship

The winner of the CineStory Asian & South Asian Voices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding Asian or South Asian writer whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

 

CineStory Black Voices Scholarship

The winner of the CineStory Black Vloices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding Black writer whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

 

CineStory Semifinalist & Finalist Scholarship

The winner of the CineStory Semifinalist & Finalist Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer whose screenplay reaches the semifinalist or finalist level in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

 

CineStory Underrepresented Voices Scholarship

The winner of the Cinestory Underrepresented Voices Scholarship will receive a $750 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding writer who belongs to a community that has been historically underrepresented in Hollywood–particularly BIPOC writers, AAPI writers, LGBTQIA+ writers, women writers who are 45 or older, and writers with disabilities–AND whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

 

Hagan-Hicks Underrepresented Women's Voices Scholarship

The winner of the Hagan-Hicks Underrepresented Women’s Voices Scholarship will receive a $1,000 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer from underrepresented groups including Black and African Americans, Latinx and Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

This scholarship is made possible by a donation from Willie Hagan.

 

Sartor Women's Voices Scholarship

The winner of the Sartor Women’s Voices Scholarship will receive a $1,500 tuition reduction for this year’s CineStory Feature Retreat.

The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding woman writer who is 45 or older and whose screenplay reaches the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.

This scholarship is made possible by donations from Colette Sartor and Lisanne Sartor.

• Who Can Enter: Each scholarship opportunity is available to anyone who meets all the criteria set forth in the Available Scholarships section above for that scholarship.
• Who Can Win: Entrants who meet all the criteria listed in the Available Scholarships section above for a particular scholarship are eligible to win that scholarship; however, entrants can only win one scholarship for this retreat. If an entrant is wins a scholarship or the CineStory Fellowship, that entrant automatically will be withdrawn from consideration for all other scholarships for which the entrant applied. 
• Retreat Attendance: To receive a scholarship, the winner MUST ATTEND  this year's feature retreat. If a scholarship winner cannot attend the retreat, the person will be disqualified and a new winner will be determined.
• Tuition Coverage; Other Retreat Costs: 
  • All scholarships are tuition reductions. They are not cash prizes.
  • All scholarship winners must pay the balance of their tuition and must provide their own housing and transportation to and from the retreat. 
• Writing Teams: Members of writing teams may apply for scholarships individually; provided, however, that if one team member wins a scholarship, then (a) both team members will be withdrawn from consideration for all other scholarships for which either team member applied; and (b) if both team members are attending the retreat, the tuition reduction will be applied to the writing team tuition rate and the team will be required to pay the balance of the tuition, or if only one writing team member is attending the retreat, then the tuition reduction will be applied to the individual tuition rate and that team member will be required to pay the balance of the individual tuition rate.
• Application Materials:
  
  • Entrants must submit a short bio (up to 100 words), a logline (up to 150 words), and the applicable essay(s) (word counts below) as part of this application;*
  • The script that the entrant submitted for this year's Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest and that placed at the contest level required by the criteria for the scholarship(s) for which the entrant applies will be used in the scholarship judging process, and no revised versions will be accepted; and
  • Entrants must sign a Materials Release and Indemnification Agreement (below).

Please use the bio and the artist statement as additional opportunities to showcase your writing and your voice.

• Evaluation Process: CineStory's executive director, creative directors, and scholarship donors make all scholarship decisions at their sole discretion. Applicants are evaluated on the strength of their application materials, particularly their essays.

Please note: Anyone who does not satisfy all submission rules and guidelines automatically will be disqualified from scholarship consideration. All scholarship rules and guidelines are subject to change without notice.

Submissions are due no later than August 23, 2026 at 5 pm PT.

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE ACKNOWLEDGING YOU'VE READ IT AND SIGNING BELOW.

BY SUBMITTING MY SCRIPT(S) (THE "WORK") FOR CONSIDERATION IN CONNECTION WITH ONE OR MORE OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS LISTED AT THE END OF THIS AGREEMENT (collectively referred to herein as "SCHOLARSHIP") AND ADMINISTERED BY THE CINESTORY FOUNDATION A/K/A CINESTORY, INC. ("CINESTORY") FOR THE 2026 CINESTORY FEATURE RETREAT, I ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:

1. I represent and warrant that I am the sole and exclusive author and owner of the Work (except for any aspects that fall within the public domain) and that I have the power and authority to both submit the Work for assessment by CineStory and the Scholarship judges and to enter into this agreement.
2. I attest that I am at least 18 years of age and have submitted the Work voluntarily.
3. I understand and agree that the submission of the Work does not imply or create a confidential relationship between myself and CineStory, its staff, or the Scholarship judges.
4. I understand that it is my sole responsibility to protect the Work and that I am strongly advised to file or register the material with the Writer’s Guild of America, the US Copyright Office at the Library of Congress and/or other copyright protection organizations.
5. I have retained at least one copy of the Work, and I understand that CineStory, its staff, and the Scholarship judges are not responsible for any loss or destruction of the Work or other submitted materials.
6. I represent and warrant that the Work does not contain defamatory or unlawful material and does not infringe upon or violate the rights of any other person, including copyright and any other rights.
7. I represent and warrant that the submission of the Work does not constitute a breach of contract or any other agreement with any other party and that neither the Work or the submission of the Work violates the laws of any state, country, or other body.
8. I agree to indemnify and hold CineStory and any of its officers, agents, staff, volunteers, mentors, licensees, successors, assigns, or representatives as well as any Scholarship judges (collectively, "CineStory's Affiliates") harmless from suit, demand or claim arising from any breach of my representations and warranties in this agreement.
9. I agree that no obligation of any kind is implied against CineStory and CineStory's Affiliates, either as a result of this agreement, or my submission of the Work. I understand and accept that CineStory and CineStory's Affiliates may have access to and/or may create or have created literary materials and ideas that may be similar to the submitted Work in theme, idea, plot, format or other elements. I understand that I am not entitled to any compensation or consideration because of the use of any such similar material that may have been submitted to CineStory or CineStory's Affiliates.
10. I understand and accept that CineStory does not itself develop or purchase written material.
11. On behalf of myself and my dependents, next of kin, heirs, assigns, executors, and administrators (collectively, “Assignees”) I release and discharge CineStory and and CineStory's Affiliates from any and all claims, demands, causes of action (including without limitation for invasion of privacy, libel, slander or otherwise) that I and/or my Assignees may now or hereafter have arising out of or in connection with the Work. Under no circumstances shall CineStory or CineStory's Affiliates be responsible or liable to me for indirect, punitive, incidental or consequential damages or lost profits or revenues. In agreeing to release claims that may arise in the future, on behalf of myself and my Assignees, I acknowledge that I am aware of and understand Section 1542 of the Civil Code of the State of California which provides that “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.” I expressly, knowingly, and intentionally on behalf of myself and my Assignees waive any and all rights, benefits, and protections of Section 1542 and of any other state or federal statute or common law principle limiting the scope of a general release.
12. I understand that my only guaranteed right under this agreement is to an assessment of the Work.
13. I acknowledge and agree that: CineStory is solely a nonprofit educational organization; it is not a talent representation service of any kind; it does not, nor does it seek to, manage and/or direct the development of writers’ careers in any way; it does not, nor does it seek to, procure representation and/or employment of any kind for writers; and its sole purpose is to educate emerging writers about the craft and business of writing for the screen.
14. This Agreement shall be construed and interpreted under the laws of the State of California, without reference to its choice of laws provision. I agree that any dispute between myself and CineStory or CineStory's Affiliates shall be submitted for arbitration in the County of Los Angeles, in the State of California and be subject to the rules and regulations laid out by the American Arbitration Association with the proviso that such a dispute be arbitrated by a single arbiter familiar with the entertainment business in the County of Los Angeles. As such, both myself and CineStory relinquish all right to litigate such a dispute in court.
15. I understand that CineStory and its mentors have agreed to evaluate the Work solely on the basis that I accept this agreement.
16. I grant CineStory the right to mention my name, the title of the submitted Work and the substance of any correspondence on its website and in any related promotional materials without need for payment of any kind.
17. If the Work is submitted by more than one person, the word "I" shall be deemed to mean "we" and any verbs and/or other language will be understood to correspond accordingly.Therefore, if the Work is authored and submitted by more than one person, this agreement will apply equally to all parties.
18. I understand that this document is written to be as broad and inclusive as legally permitted by the State of California. I agree that if any portion of this agreement is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect, and that this agreement shall not be modified except by a written document executed by both me and CineStory.