SUBMIT STORIES & SHOWS
Institute Deadline
No deadline. Begin the next step of your career your journey and submit your content any day, 365 days a year by registering for the institute. Institute enrollment includes one free festival submission.
2022 Festival Deadline
Festival submissions are open March-June each year. 2022 festival submissions are now closed.
Submission Fee
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Free festival submission with institute registration
Categories & Types of Content
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Narrative/episodic/serialized content of any genre, style, and type
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Comedy, drama, thriller, scripted, unscripted, documentary, social media, anthology, influencer, short form,"half-hour", "hour-long", limited series, radio, podcast, reality, talk show, game show, animation, kids, gaming, AR/VR/XR, mobile, etc.
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We do not accept feature films
Other Details
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You can submit your project as a pitch, a script, or a video (or any combination) in most categories, see category listings below
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We do not have any premiere requirements
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Works in progress are welcome
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For video submissions, we only accept one singular video file that includes a maximum of 65 minutes of content and/or a maximum of 3 episodes, whichever is shortest. For example: (1) 60 min ep or (3) 15 min eps.
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Watch our walkthrough video on this page for more details
For more details, watch our submission walkthrough video:
The Difference Between the Content Festival & the Storieroad Institute
The Catalyst Content Festival is a 5-day annual event in Duluth, Minnesota where selected pitches, scripts, and produced pilots/series are showcased to the general public & industry audiences. The festival also includes live panel discussions, industry social events, and an awards ceremony.
The Catalyst Story Institute (aka, Storieroad) is a year-round professional development program that prepares creators & their projects for industry meetings, pitches, and potential mentorships through a series of virtual and in-person seminars, workshops & events. There is no deadline to enroll - you can begin any day, 365 days a year. Institute members are automatically granted 1 free festival submission and 1 free Industry badge to the Content Festival.
You do not need to be an institute member in order to submit for the festival. Everyone can submit just for the festival.
CATALYST CONTENT CATEGORIES
DRAMA
A scripted, fictional series or limited series. Submit as a pitch deck, completed script, produced video or all three!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT 20-60 pages/episode
VIDEO 5-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. Video series under 15 mins/ep will be awarded in the Short Drama category.
COMEDY
A scripted, fictional series or limited series. Submit as a pitch deck, completed script, produced video or all three!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT 20-60 pages/episode
VIDEO 5-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. Video series under 15 mins/ep will be awarded in the Short Comedy category.
thriller
A scripted, fictional series or limited series. Submit as a pitch deck, completed script, produced video or all three!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT 20-60 pages/episode
VIDEO 5-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. Video series under 15 mins/ep will be awarded in the Short Thriller category.
DOCUMENTARY
A non-fiction series or limited series. Submit documentaries as a pitch deck, produced video or both!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT Not applicable
VIDEO 15-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. There is no Short Documentary series category (see "Social Media" category below)
ANIMATION
A scripted, fictional animated series. Submit as a pitch deck, completed script, produced video or all three!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT 20-60 pages/episode
VIDEO 5-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. Video series under 15 mins/ep will be awarded in the Short Animation category.
REALITY
A non-fiction, unscripted reality TV series. Submit as either a pitch deck, a produced video, or both. Scripts not accepted.
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT Not applicable
VIDEO 15-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. There is no Short Reality series category (see "Social Media" category below)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Produced video of a scripted, fictional series (comedy & drama), a documentary series, or an unscripted reality series.
SCRIPTED 1-5 mins/ep
DOCUMENTARY 1-5 mins/ep
UNSCRIPTED 1-5 mins/ep
Separate awards are given for each category, including distinctions between vertical and horizontal content. Pitches and scripts not accepted.
KIDS
A scripted, fictional series for audiences under 14. Submit as a pitch deck, completed script, produced video or all three!
PITCH 5-15 pages
SCRIPT 20-60 pages/episode
VIDEO 5-60 min/episode
Separate awards are given for each category. Video series under 15 mins/ep will be awarded in the Short Kids category.
PODCAST
Produced audio of a scripted, fictional series (comedy & drama), a documentary series, or an unscripted reality series.
PITCH Not accepted
SCRIPT Not accepted
AUDIO 15-60 mins/episode
Separate awards are given for each genre. There is no Short Podcast series category.
GAMING
An unscripted series of video gaming & live play. Submit as a produced video. Pitches and scripts not accepted.
PITCH Not applicable
SCRIPT Not applicable
VIDEO 15-30 min/episode
There is only one award for Gaming series. There is no Short Gaming series category.
VR/AR/XR
Produced video of a scripted, fictional series (comedy & drama), a documentary series, or an unscripted reality series.
SCRIPTED 1-60 mins/ep
DOCUMENTARY 1-60 mins/ep
UNSCRIPTED 1-60 mins/ep
Separate awards are given for each category, including distinctions between vertical and horizontal content. Pitches and scripts not accepted.
LITERARY
Written literary works of most categories and genres. Short form and long form accepted.
Awards will be given for each category for which there are official selections made.