SWA AWARDS 2024

The Only Awards For Screenwriters and Lyricists!

The Screenwriters Association Awards ceremony, dubbed “SWA Awards,” was launched in 2020 as part of the association’s Diamond Jubilee Year. It is India’s first and only award for screenwriters and lyricists of Hindi Films, TV Serials/Shows and Web Series. The awards in the various categories are decided by a jury comprised of eminent screenwriters and lyricists from various mediums of the entertainment industry. These awards are by the screenwriters, for the screenwriters.

Objective

A major goal of the event is to recognize and celebrate the best screenwriting of the year in various categories. It also aims to introduce the entertainment industry to the best writers and lyricists, and bring the best of writing content to producers and broadcasters.   Rather than ticket box office, TRP, total income, or popularity, the most successful writing is determined by the quality of the writing art (content and craft).

Award Categories

SWA Awards are given in several categories in different mediums of script writing. They are as follows:

FEATURE FILMS

1. Best Story
2. Best Screenplay
3. Best Dialogue
4. Best Story (Debut)
5. Best Screenplay (Debut)
6. Best Dialogue (Debut)

TV SERIES/SHOWS

1. Best Story
2. Best Screenplay
3. Best Dialogue

OTT WEB SERIES

This category is further divided into sub-categories as per below:

1. Web Series – Originals
2. Web Series – Adaptation (Any published book/play/novel)
3. Web Series- Adaptation (Remake)

In all 3 sub-categories, separate Awards are presented for Best Story, Best Screenplay, and Best Dialogue.

LYRICS

1. Best Lyrics – For Film, and
2. Best Lyrics – For TV Serial & Web Series

Songs from both TV Serials and Web Series are included in this category and the best lyrics award are given to any one song from all the songs included.

About SWA:

Screenwriters Association is a trade union for screenwriters and lyricists working for feature films, Television shows & Web series. Any individual who desires to become a writer or lyricist for films, Television or digital media can become a member of SWA.

SWA Awards Rules and Regulations

Membership of SWA is not a criterion for the participating Writer/Lyricist

No fee of any kind is to be paid for this. (No fees will be charged by SWA for nomination)

Nomination Eligibility:

In all the following circumstances, the writer will NOT be permitted to file a nomination.

If the writer files a nomination and is found to be in the list of exclusions, the nomination will be automatically discarded –

1. Dubbed films, short films or films of less than 70 minutes’ duration will not be included in this award process.
2. Authors of programs aired on DTH platforms like Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon will be considered ineligible for submission of nominations.
3. Writers – Lyricists of any non-fiction Films, Serials, Series are not eligible for nomination.
4. Writers-lyricists of Children’s Films/TV Serials/Web Series too are not eligible to submit their nomination for this award.
5. Non-Hindi language songs from a Hindi film, TV Serial or Web Series will not be considered eligible for entry for the awards. Similarly, Hindi songs from a non-Hindi film, TV Serial or Web Series will also not be eligible for nomination.
6. If a writer has been found guilty in any case relating to sexual harassment or is undergoing a trial against him, then that person will not be qualified to file a nomination
7. If there is an ongoing or proven case of copyright infringement or script piracy (at SWA’s DSC or any court) and the author knowingly hides this information, the entry of that author, writing team, or lyricist will be immediately disqualified.
8. No song will be considered eligible for this award unless it has been featured in a film, television series, or web series.

Terms and Conditions (Nomination Procedure):

1. All genres of TV Shows, Web Series and Lyrics are welcome to file for a nomination
2. Please submit separate entries for more than one category and/or for more than one TV Serial, Web Series and Songs.
3. Any writer who has written for all three categories of story, screenplay, and dialogue in a film, television series, or web series is eligible to nominate themselves for all three in separate categories.
4. If the entire script or story, screenplay, dialogues, and lyrics are written by more than one writer, any one writer can fill in the entry on behalf of the team, nevertheless all the writers on that team will be eligible for the awards.
5. If multiple writers are working on the same TV serial/web series, they can individually submit two consecutive episodes for which they have been credited.
6. Only the author can submit the entry form. No one else can do this on his/her behalf. However, in the event of death, their relatives can submit the entry for the award along with the death certificate, which will have to be submitted.
7. Submission of entry is not required for the story, screenplay and dialogue of feature films. All Hindi films, which have been released either in cinemas in India or on any OTT platform in India during the period from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, are automatically included in the SWA list. The film will not be considered eligible for submission if it has been screened only at an Indian or international film festival.
8. The list of all the films being considered for the Film Awards will be published on the SWA website. If any writer feels that her/his particular film (released in the year 2023) is not on the list, the writer can communicate with the awards committee at awards@swaindia.org
9. To file a nomination for Lyrics of a song from a released  movie, the lyricist has to fill in the entry himself, and while filling out the entry, the link to the song as well as the pdf of the lyrics have to be uploaded.
10. For TV shows and web series, episode length should not be less than 20 minutes.
11. For the story category of the TV serial, the broad story of the serial has to be submitted, which should be about 5 to 10 pages. Its font size should be 12 and it has to be uploaded in PDF format at the time of filling out the Nomination form. OR include links to five consecutive episodes of their choice along with a password (if your links require a password).
12. Nomination forms from the writers of TV serial and Web Series should include links to two consecutive episodes of their choice for the screenplay and dialogue category, along with a password (if your links require a password).
13. The PDF of the lyrics of the song has to be uploaded along with the nomination form. The name of the film, TV serial or web series has to be mentioned along with it. Please upload written lyric/s in PDF format along with the form. Please mention the name of the Film, TV Serial or Web Series it featured in.
14. If you are unable to upload the documents online, please submit the hard copy of the Song or kindly submit it on a pen drive at SWA office
15. Authors of a film or web series released on YouTube can also submit their entry for the award if the production company producing the film or web series is a member of any one of the four producer associations based in Mumbai and the producer has signed a contract with the author.
16. In the case of a sequel, the writers of the sequel are not required to get permission from the writers of the first season before submission. However, on winning, the names of the writers of Season 1 will be announced along with those of Season 2 writers.
17. Only those writers/lyricists who have a writing credit on screen are eligible for submission. However, you are not eligible for submission if your name has appeared under the heads of Associate Writer, Script Consultant, or Script Head.
18. Even if the producer and/or channel forbid him, the author may still submit his entry because the SWA will not screen the aforementioned TV series/web series on any other media or platform. The permission of the manufacturer or the channel is thus not necessary.
19. The script and/or song of the nominated film, TV serial, web series, and/or song should not be pending or proved to be copyright infringement or script theft in the DSC of SWA or any other trade union or in a court of law.

Click here to submit your entry for Television category.

Click here to submit your entry for Web Series category.

Click here to submit your entry for Lyrics category.

Submission deadline: April 5th, 2024 (Midnight)

NOTE:

SWA may make changes to its guidelines and conditions at any time, which will be communicated to the members through its website. Any dispute relating to the award will be settled in the courts of Mumbai.

Please read the rules and regulations thoroughly before filing your nomination.

Members of the SWA Executive Committee may also submit their entries.