Ben Everard: What Producers Actually Look for in Film Competition Entries
You've got a project. Maybe a treatment, maybe a finished short. But how do you know if it's the kind of thing a producer actually picks up — or if it quietly disappears into the submission pile?
In this live session, Ben Everard pulls back the curtain on what the industry view from inside the funnel actually looks like. What makes a project compelling from a producer's perspective. What kills it. How competition entries get evaluated, what moves them into development conversations, and what it takes to get taken seriously. No vague encouragement. No festival-speak. Just an honest, direct conversation with someone who has made those calls.
For context, Ben most recently produced WAY OF THE WARRIOR KID, starring Chris Pratt, which premieres this Thanksgiving on Apple. A week later, he has THE MAN WITH THE BAG, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alan Ritchson, and Awkwafina, premiering on Amazon. Both big budget studio tentpoles. So he's been in the rooms and made these exact calls.
This session is part of the Future Vision XPRIZE — a $3.5M+ global competition challenging filmmakers to create 3-minute sci-fi trailers envisioning an optimistic future for humanity. Grand prize: $2.5M toward producing your film (up to $15M total budget via Range Media + Republic Film), plus $100K cash. Submissions close August 15, 2026.
Register to compete: https://futurevisionxprizes.com
If you're preparing an FVXP submission and want to understand exactly what the people on the other side of the table are looking for — this is the session that tells you.