First-time screenwriters with a religious message will have a chance to get their scripts noticed by top Hollywood executives in the First Bi-Annual John Templeton Foundation Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays, as announced today by the Templeton Foundation and the Christian Film & Television Commission.
Co-sponsored by the Templeton Foundation and the Christian Film & Television Commission, the top three winners not only will receive prizes totaling $50,000, their names and scripts will also be announced at the 14th Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry, attended by more than 200 top executives, filmmakers and celebrities.
Several of the top movie studios have already promised to give a first-look at the three winning scripts, said Dr. Ted Baehr, chairman of the Commission, who works with the Templeton Foundation every year in the awarding of their Epiphany Prize for inspirational films.
Last year’s winner was The Passion of the Christ. This new prize for films yet-to-be is designed to encourage aspiring screenwriters to create more movies with storylines that help to increase man’s love for and understanding of God, similar to the criteria for the Epiphany Prize.
The John Templeton Foundation Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays includes a $25,000 grand prize and runner-up awards of $15,000 and $10,000 each. First-time scribes need to submit their scripts right away to be considered for this inaugural edition of the prize, which will be awarded along with the annual Epiphany Prize at the Movieguide® Awards Gala on March 2, 2006.
“We hope the establishment of the Kairos Prize will encourage talented young screenwriters with new ideas and a great respect for the biblical faith to move forward on that project they have in mind, and to inundate Hollywood with moral, inspirational movies,” Dr. Jack Templeton, son of Sir John Templeton, said.
Sir John Templeton has long believed that the media and specifically the entertainment media plays a role in how individuals form their ideas about faith and values. For this reason, nearly 10 years ago he and Dr. Baehr established the Epiphany Prize for Inspiring Movies & TV, to honor those films and shows that help increase mans understanding and love of God, similar to the famous Templeton Prize awarded every year for progress toward research or discoveries about spiritual realities.
Specific criteria for the Kairos Prize describe screenplays that are wholesome, uplifting and inspirational, and which result in a greater increase in either mans love or understanding of the one true creator God.
Dr. Ted Baehr, as Founder and Executive Producer of Movieguide®, and Founder and Chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, works to provide a bridge between the entertainment industry and the traditional family audience. Every four weeks throughout the year, the Commission publishes Movieguide®, which reviews and recommends movies for their moral and spiritual principles, as well as their production values films that tell a story that is both redemptive and inspiring to their audiences.
“We are so grateful to Sir John, and now Dr. Jack Templeton, for their recognition of the impact of entertainment on faith and spirituality,” Dr. Baehr said. “Not only do they realize this, but they want to do something to make a difference. The Templeton Foundation investment in inspirational and God-based filmmaking has already impacted Hollywood, and we hope to see this new prize do so to an even greater extent.”
“While more than 50,000 original screenplays are submitted every year to the Writers Guild of America,” Dr. Baehr continued, “lackluster box office numbers show that by and large, the best and most creative scripts are still not being discovered and produced. The Kairos Prize offers a real chance for the untried and fearful Davids to take on the Hollywood Goliath. This prize package is larger than the vast majority of hundreds of other scriptwriting contests, and it is one of the few guaranteeing the script a review by a major studio or producer. We are pleased with their participation, and recognize its invaluable contribution to the careers of our winners.”
More information and submission guidelines are available online at KairosPrize.com. The deadline for early entries is November 25; the late deadline is January 6. Quarter-finalists will be notified by February 1, 2006.
The three winning scriptwriters will be recognized in front of key entertainment industry leaders, producers and talent at the Movieguide® Awards Gala.
In addition, key entertainment industry studio executives or independent producers will review the winning script and/or agree to hold a pitch meeting with their creative development team and the winning screenwriters, following the awards presentation.
