Festival dossier

Cinequest Screenwriting Competition

San Jose, United States · Est. 2005 · Multiple structural red flags — exercise caution before submitting

WarningWatchlist
San Jose, United States
25
Legitimacy Score

Overview

Cinequest Screenwriting Competition is the screenplay and teleplay competition connected to the Cinequest Film & VR Festival in San Jose, a festival known for combining independent cinema with Silicon Valley innovation and technology. It is notable for giving emerging writers industry exposure, finalist events, and recognition within a festival that has been voted Best Film Festival by USA Today readers and is Academy-qualifying for its short film categories. The broader Cinequest festival showcases premier films, emerging and renowned artists, and works spanning international independent film, shorts, and genre-diverse storytelling.

This overview may contradict our structured venue and screening data. Prefer the Legitimacy Analysis section and structured fields below for social posts or citations.

Last updated Aug 27, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+14 pts)

  • 21 years of verifiable history
  • 2 verified pro signals

Red Flags (-39 pts)

  • Listed as 'competition' not 'festival' - likely online-only awards
  • No physical screenings
  • 2 documented risk signals
  • On watchlist — negative reputation signals detected

Trust Signals

Risk Flags

  • COMPETITION_NOT_FESTIVAL
  • Description contradicts structured venue/screening data

Positive Signals

  • FF_GOLD_BADGE
  • Documented history with archived programs

Festival Details

Founded

2005

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Research

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At a glance

Legitimacy Score25/100
TierWarning
Reviews0
Community Reports0

How scoring works

Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.

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