The Gimme Credit International Screenplay Competition was created with the idea of helping screenwriters move forward in their careers. Founders Erica Engelhardt and Monica Winter Vigil saw a lack of short screenplay competitions in existence that actually did anything to advance the careers of their winners. They decided to hold a mini-competition of their own, pouring over short scripts on Inktip.com and contacting writers they were interested in. They settled on Paul Gitschner’s Somewhere in Between. The short was produced a month later for $800 and went on to play at many film festivals, giving Mr. Gitschner the impetus to continue to write (and later to produce and direct his own work) and giving him his first IMDb.com credit. This experience served as the inspiration for the Gimme Credit Screenplay Competition.
Over the years, the competition has changed and evolved. From the beginning, the founders wanted to offer feedback to every entrant without an additional fee and will continue this practice. As they began to see a pattern of writers who actually had talent but didn’t know where to end their screenplay to make it the best it could be, the category of Super Shorts was created. For scripts five pages and under, this category challenged writers to be succinct in their storytelling, with some writers even submitting compelling, three-act one and two page scripts!
In 2009, the founders wanted to see what features were waiting to be discovered by unknown writers. They contacted their network of production companies, agents and managers to be able to get further recognition for the winning features’ writers. At the same time, they realized the meaning of getting a short produced and getting it out to film festivals was beginning to have less significance for writers. For this reason, 2009 was the last year the competition accepted short script entries. At the same time, the ScriptMatch program was created to attempt to get previous Winners and Finalists produced by independent production companies and filmmakers seeking brilliant short scripts.
2010 marks a year of vast change in the competition and also in the film industry. As both independent and studio production companies find it increasingly more different to secure funding for movies that are not “tentpoles” (big-budget studio blockbusters – think comics), our screenplay competition continues to strive to get new and unique voices to the table.
Erica began her work in the entertainment industry on the Paramount Pictures backlot as an intern at The Ladd Company (Blade Runner, Braveheart, The Right Stuff), where she familiarized herself with the workings of a production company. After college, she began working on film sets as a costumer, including the Tribeca Film Festival selection How to Leave Your Lover (starring Tori Spelling, Jennifer Westfeldt, Paul Schneider and Fred Willard). Moving up to Costume Designer she worked on the Sci-Fi channel movie Skeleton Man and the independent teen horror film The Oakley 7. In 2004, Ms. Engelhardt formed a production company with Monica Winter Vigil. Since then, they have gone on to produce four shorts which have played on the international festival circuit to much acclaim.
Ms. Engelhardt’s most recent accomplishment was attaining her MBA in Marketing with Honors from Regis University. Additionally, she was honored to be accepted into and participate in the 2008 National Association of Latino Independent Producer's (NALIP) Producing Academy as a Producing Fellow.
Monica is an entrepreneur, filmmaker and script consultant. She began her film work under the mentorship of Christopher Coppola at the Duke City Shootout. In college, she studied comedy writing with famed comedy writer and actor Digby Wolfe (The Wild Wild West, Laugh-In). As part of her 2008 National Association of Latino Independent Producer's (NALIP) Writers Lab and Producing Fellowship she worked under the mentorship of Revenge of the Nerds creator and writer Miguel Tejada-Flores and Darfur Now writer/director Ted Braun. As a director/producer, Monica’s short films have played across the Unites States, Europe and South America. She has numerous shorts in pre-production and a slew of features in development, including several she has written. She has also worked on several television programs including the #1 Daytime Drama The Young and the Restless, the Court TV reality hit Fake Out and Nickelodeon’s family series Rhodes Home. Monica’s screenplays have earned recognition/placements in The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, The Indie Gathering Screenplay Competition and the Extreme Screenplay Contest.
She is currently a member of the Writers Guild of America’s Independent Writers Caucus. She holds an MBA in Marketing with graduate honors and a Master of Arts in Screenwriting. When not reading scripts or making films, Monica serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching business and marketing for Ashford University.
"I just wanted to thank you for your efforts. I am new to screenwriting and the whole contest circuit. The experience with Gimme Credit has by far been the best I have encountered. I especially appreciate the feedback you and your judges provided. While many contests promise
"I enjoyed participating in your well-organized competition and look forward to entering again in '09."
"Thank you for the feedback. This alone helps your competition stand head and shoulders above a lot of other screenplay competitions out there."
