London Screenwriters' Festival

What London Screenwriters' Festival does

The London Screenwriters' Festival (LondonSWF/LSF) is a UK-based, founder-owned private limited company that produces an annual festival for screenwriters, alongside adjacent workshops, awards, and media properties. Founded in 2010 by Chris Jones and headquartered at Ealing Studios in London, the company draws 1,000+ delegates per year and programs 100+ industry experts per event, including Oscar-nominated directors and A-list screenwriting professionals. Its core products are the annual festival, the British Screenwriters' Awards, Pitchfest, Script to Screen, Advanced Mentoring Labs, and an online archive of 1,000+ recorded sessions, distributed through a hybrid in-person and online model.

The business operates an event-and-content monetization model: delegates pay festival passes plus à la carte workshop fees (priced £47.99–£177), with additional revenue from online archive subscriptions, ancillary products, and sponsorship. It serves aspiring and emerging screenwriters as the primary customer segment, alongside working film and TV writers, directors, filmmakers, producers, and industry executives. The customer base is long-tail and individually distributed, with no enterprise anchor dependency.

The company is bootstrapped aside from a £41,996 Culture Recovery Fund grant received from Arts Council England in 2021, which supported operational continuity through the COVID-19 disruption. Its strategic posture has emphasized community-building and content library accumulation over rapid scale, with 15+ years of operating history and incremental product extensions (awards, podcast, pre-festival workshops) layered on top of the core annual event.

Name

London Screenwriters' Festival

Legal name

The London Screenwriters' Festival Ltd

Website

https://londonscreenwritersfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

London Screenwriters' Festival is a London-based, founder-owned company that runs an annual festival plus workshops, awards, and an online archive serving aspiring and working screenwriters, directors, and producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Screenwriting Festival and Education Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Screenwriting Workshops (Film/TV/Web) (EDAMAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Writing Retreats & Intensive Bootcamps (EDAMAMAK), Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF)

Keywords

• Screenwriting festival
• Screenwriting workshops
• Script development
• Filmmaker networking
• Industry pitch events

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from selling passes to the annual LondonSWF festival, which offers in-person and online attendance options. Tickets are sold through Ticket Tailor platform with various tiers and early-bird pricing available.
2. Workshop Fees: Revenue from intensive one-day and multi-day workshops led by industry professionals such as Scott Myers and Kimberley Lipschus. Workshops like 'The Plot Thickens' with Eleanor Greene are priced at £147-177, while other workshops are offered at £47.99.
3. Online Course Subscriptions: Access to recorded workshops and sessions available for one year following the event, providing recurring educational content revenue.
4. Government Grants: The festival received £41,996 from the Arts Council England's Culture Recovery Fund third round, supporting pandemic recovery and digital expansion.
5. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship opportunities for brands looking to reach the screenwriting and filmmaking community, with dedicated sponsor pages and branding opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The London Screenwriters' Festival operates an annual hybrid screenwriting event delivering craft education, industry networking, and direct pitching opportunities. Core offerings include the three-day in-person festival at Regent's University London with live-streamed sessions, the Pitchfest program allowing writers to pitch directly to industry executives, intensive pre-festival workshops led by professional screenwriters, and an archive of 1,000+ recorded sessions available on demand. Ancillary services include Script Surgery reviews, Legal Clinics, Script Chat sessions, and the British Screenwriters' Awards.

Product overview

London Screenwriters' Festival (LondonSWF) operates as an annual event-based platform offering a comprehensive ecosystem of screenwriting education and industry networking opportunities. The core offering consists of the main three-day festival featuring sessions, workshops, and networking events, complemented by pre-festival workshops (such as The Emergent Heroine, Breaking Story with Scott Myers, and The Plot Thickens with Eleanor Greene), the Pitchfest program for pitching projects to executives, and ancillary services including Script Surgery, Legal Clinic, Script Chat, and Script to Screen screenings. Additional offerings include the British Screenwriters' Awards and a podcast series. The festival runs in hybrid format (in-person at Regent's University London and online with streaming), positioning itself as the leading grassroots screenwriting event in Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pitchfest: Annual pitching event where writers can pitch their projects directly to industry executives.
• Script To Screen

Products and services

• LondonSWF Festival Pass Three-day annual festival (in-person at Regent's University London and online via live streaming) featuring educational sessions, workshops, networking events, and access to on-demand content for ticket holders. Available as full festival passes with optional Pitchfest add-on.
• Pitchfest Annual pitching event (typically running March 31st to April 2nd) where writers pitch their projects directly to film and TV executives and decision-makers from around the world.
• Professional Screenwriting Workshops One-day intensive workshops led by industry professionals covering story development, narrative structure, and character-driven screenwriting. Includes 'Breaking Story with Scott Myers' and similar programs priced at £47.99 with one-year access to bonus materials and recorded content.
• The Plot Thickens Workshop Two-day professional development workshop focused on TV and film career development, pitching strategies, and understanding the professional production process. Held at Ealing Studios, London. Priced at £147 (early-bird) and £177 thereafter.
• The Emergent Heroine Workshop Intensive one-day pre-festival workshop focused on elevating screenplay craft, particularly character development. Sold as a standalone workshop ticket through Ticket Tailor.
• Advanced Mentoring Script Labs Intensive script development program providing personalised feedback and mentorship from industry professionals for screenwriters seeking to elevate their projects.
• British Screenwriters' Awards Awards program recognising excellence in screenwriting, operated as a separate entity under the festival's umbrella.

Quantifiable outcome

• Screenwriters have secured shopping agreements with producers met at the festival
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Regent's University LondoncoreOthersRegent's University London serves as the primary venue for the annual LondonSWF festival, hosting three days of sessions, workshops, and networking events. The partnership provides the physical space for in-person attendance.
• Ealing StudioscoreOthersEaling Studios, located at Ealing Green, London W5 5EP, is the registered headquarters of The London Screenwriters' Festival Ltd. Some workshops and events are also held at this historic film studio location.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• MasterClass: Broad online education platform featuring film and screenwriting courses taught by industry professionals. Competes with LondonSWF's on-demand archive content for the screenwriting education dollar, though at a much wider scale and broader subject matter.
• Final Draft: Industry-standard screenwriting software provider that also publishes educational webinars, blogs, and events for screenwriters. Comparable as a broader incumbent with overlapping educational and community offerings for the screenwriting craft.

Direct peers

• Austin Film Festival: US-based screenwriting and film festival that combines screenplay competitions, workshops, panels, and pitching opportunities. Highly comparable to LondonSWF in combining screenwriting education with a live annual festival format serving aspiring and working writers.
• Sundance Screenwriters Labs: Prestigious screenwriting development programme run by the Sundance Institute, providing intensive mentorship and labs for feature film writers. Comparable to LondonSWF's Advanced Mentoring Labs and Script Surgery offerings for serious screenwriting talent.
• Academy Nicholl Fellowships: Screenwriting fellowship and competition run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding emerging screenwriters and connecting them with the industry. Comparable as a prestige-led career-launch pathway for aspiring feature screenwriters.

Emerging players

• Stage 32: Online global community and education platform for screenwriters and filmmakers, hosting webinars, mentorship, and pitch sessions. Overlaps with LondonSWF's online streaming and community-led GTM motion for screenwriters seeking year-round development.
• WeScreenplay: Online screenwriting coverage and fellowship service providing script feedback and industry exposure. Comparable to LondonSWF's Script Surgery and Advanced Mentoring Labs as a developmental service for working screenwriters.
• The Black List: Platform connecting screenwriters with industry executives through hosting, evaluation, and pitch opportunities. Directly comparable to LondonSWF's Pitchfest as a curated channel between writers and decision-makers.
• Script Pipeline: Screenwriting competition and industry-connection platform running contests that link writers with managers, agents, and producers. Comparable to LondonSWF's pitching and industry-access components at a fully online scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/londonswf
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHHnPALOq9Ofy3Kks6hCI6g
• Facebookfacebook.com/londonswf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/london-screenwriters'-festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/londonswf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about London Screenwriters' Festival