Sara & Alex
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Submitting Your Script
We receive a lot of script queries and unfortunately we don’t have time to read every script.
We are always interested in good writing, be it a short film, a TV drama or a feature script.
Bear in mind though that we’re unlikely to be able to get a large budget project off the ground. If the estimated budget of your project would bankrupt a small nation, then save the postage and send it somewhere else.
Like anyone else, we’re not that keen on having a mailbox filled with excessively large Word documents – unsolicited film scripts.
Please don’t send us your masterpiece unless we ask for it. Please do feel free to send us a synopsis (no more than a couple of pages) which describes the script and the background.
It is also useful to know why you picked Claddagh Films.
We should warn you that those emails which Cc: every production company within 500 miles of us tend not to get a good reception. If you’re interested in submitting a script to us, and you want us to put some time and effort into reading and evaluating your project, please take a little time to get to know us. Get to know what we do and don’t like in a script.
Firstly, like most development and production companies, we tend not to read a project the second time if we didn’t like it to begin with. In other words, don’t send us a rough draft and expect us to tell you how to fix it. If we can’t see the film clearly from your script, we’re unlikely to want to take it any further. Send us your final, final, final draft. The one you’re happy with.
If you are developing a story based in Ireland and you’re not from Ireland or don’t live here, it is hard to get the right “take” on the country. Just as we wouldn’t attempt to develop a project about Azerbaijan without first spending time there, make sure your Irish script doesn’t read like one of those 1950’s Bing Crosby pictures.
As the saying goes, write about what you know.
Film formats are very specific. Download a copy of Chinatown from any of the online film script sources. Study it and learn from the formatting as well as the structure. Read Syd Field and Wells Root. If we get 100 scripts written in crayon on the back of a cereal packet, and they all are hopeless, what hope does your wonderful project have if it’s written in crayon? At least pretend to understand the system.
If we like your synopsis, we will ask if you’d like to submit the full script. If so, the best thing to do is post it. We read scripts when we can, not necessarily when we’re in front of a computer. If you can’t send us a paper copy, then feel free to email a PDF or a Final Draft file. Please don’t submit Word documents as we can’t always open them. Also, the formatting tends to be all over the place.
We always try to respond to submitted scripts with positive comments. Just because we don’t get back to you within two days doesn’t mean we haven’t read your script. It probably means we’re busy reading something else. We don’t always get a chance to provide detailed readers comments, either. We may just come back and tell you we have no interest in pursuing your film. This could be because we think the film would be too expensive, it might be a project where we could bring little value to the finished film, or it may be that we’re snowed under with scripts. Please don’t assume we hated it.
When we do provide readers comments to the scriptwriter, bear in mind that they represent the opinion of the reader. It is up to you, the script writer to decide if you agree or disagree with the comments. At the end of the day, it’s your script. Maybe we just don’t see the same film that you do.
After all that, if you’re still interested in sending us something, email a synopsis to scripts@claddagh.ie