A local initiative to grow the region’s entertainment industry launches its latest contest on Monday.

As part of the Three Rivers Film Festival, the Steeltown Entertainment Project presents the fourth annual Steeltown Film Factory, a screenwriting and filmmaking competition.

The 7 p.m. event includes a screening of this year’s winning Film Factory short, “The Perils of Growing Up Flat-Chested,” a coming-of-age drama about a 16-year-old girl, by writer and director Yulin Kuang.

There’s also a panel discussion including past Film Factory finalists and winners. Tickets are $10.

Steeltown Entertainment Project, founded by Carl Kurlander and the late Ellen Weiss Kander, works to connect emerging regional talent with producers, directors, writers, actors and executives.

Kurlander has Hollywood connections dating to his days as a screenwriter and TV producer. Participants in past Steeltown events have included Chris Moore, producers of films such as Good Will Hunting, and Bernie Goldman, a producer on 300.

The Film Factory contest lets filmmakers compete to win a trip to Hollywood and up to $30,000 to make their short film here in Pittsburgh.

Panelists discussing their Film Factory experiences on Nov. 5 include Chris Preksta (best known for his web series Pittsburgh Dad); Scott Peters and Tony Peremski; improv-comedy troupe Hustlebot; and Randy Kovitz and Deborah Hosking.

Scripts for the 2013 Film Factory contest will be accepted starting Monday. The early-bird deadline for submissions is Nov. 30; the drop-deadline is Jan. 13.

For contest rules, see www.steeltownfilmfactory.org.