2021's Short Film Fund Spring Winners

We are proud to announce our GRAND PRIZE WINNERS and TOP 5 FINALISTS!

We are now consulting with our winning writers on their plans for their projects.

It’s hugely inspiring to read the work of so many immensely talented writers. We are excited to begin the process of commissioning our Winner’s films and sharing our Finalists’ scripts with our Industry and Directors Roster.

For full details of what happens next, check out our Short Film Fund post-contest timeline.

THE SHORT FILM FUND RUNS TWICE A YEAR. FROM FEB-MAY & FROM AUG-OCT.

GET YOUR SHORT SCRIPT INTO PRODUCTION WITH THE SHORT FILM FUND.

Download our Contest CALENDAR to ensure you never miss a future deadline.

How to become a screenwriter. Screenplay Contests. Screenwriting Contests.

GRAND PRIZE WINNER - EL VALS - THE WALTZ (AWARDED $15,000 CASH GRANT)
written by Alycya Magaña

“I am so honored you chose El Vals for the fund and am so excited to be able to start bringing it to life!!
This means so much, thank you so much again!”

EL VALS (THE WALTZ)

With their mother deported and young Danny now the man of the house, acquiring a Quinceañera dress for his older sister means everything – yet how will he do it with no money and CPS closing in?

Read Pre-Shoot Q&A

SECOND PLACE WINNER - OVER THE NEXT HILL (AWARDED A $10,000 CASH GRANT)
written by Tarique Qayumi

“Thanks so much! This is amazing!!!!!! I am totally thrilled and blown away. Thank you again. Wow.”

OVER THE NEXT HILL

On a perilous journey as a refugee, eleven-year-old Zabi struggles to prove his manhood to his mother.

Read Pre-Shoot Q&A

OUR TOP 5

In addition to our two grant winners, we would like to congratulate our Top 5 Finalists.

A MIND OF ITS OWN by Courtney Randle
CARRION by Yvonne Zhang
HEATWAVE by Raúl Eduardo Galindo Peña & Andrea Porras
PASO DOBLE by Heida Reed
SNAKESBITE by Leaf Lieber

This season, our Top 5 Finalists will receive feedback on their scripts from our Judges along with a Free Copy of Final Draft & Free Enrollment into our Ultimate Screenwriting Course. Plus, the Grand Prize Winner will also receive a free Festival Pass to HollyShorts 2021.

OUR SHORT FILM FUND FINALISTS

(in alphabetical order)

Alycya Magana	El Vals (The Waltz)	With their mother deported and young Danny now the man of the house, acquiring a QuinceaÃ±era dress for his older sister means everything – yet how will he do it with no money and CPS closing in?
Courtney Randle	A Mind of Its Own	A black woman experiences microaggressions at her workplace due to her loud talking natural hair.
Hamish Parkinson & Brynley Stent	Sibbys	Two agoraphobic siblings drift apart and have to make a choice to stay together when they are locked out of their family home.
Heida Reed	Paso Doble	A washed-up Latin ballroom teacher takes his life frustrations out on a student’s parent.
Joseph Oxford	Jon In Wonderland	Joe is in a rut and is desperate for a good idea. When inspiration strikes, his obsession takes him down a rabbit hole that will test his sanity.
Kali Bailey	The WASP	“The WASP” is a short film about Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese-American woman to fly for the U.S. Military. Hazel is a mischievous, driven, and brave woman who wants to serve her country in any way she can.
Karina Hurtado	From Maintenance With Love	As if having to work through a pandemic wasn’t enough like living in the Twilight Zone, the skeletal maintenance crew of a deserted office building starts noticing strange, possibly supernatural occurrences, taking place during their shifts. As the unprecedented political events of 2020 intensify so do the surreal incidents taking place in the building.
Leaf Lieber	Snakesbite	In a post-apocalyptic world, a lonely lieutenant forms a bond with a weary traveler, in doing so, unlocking an internalized trauma that has persisted in the wake of extinction.
Michael Godere	Ginzo	A disgraced ex-cop takes his family on the lam as he battles a corrupt police department and local mafia, while his son and best friend fall in love with hip hop and battle racism over one hot summer in 1980s New England
Onyx Shelton	Hand of Glory	A young thief goes to ridiculous lengths to charm a dead man’s hand into a legendary and powerful object.
Raúl Eduardo Galindo Peña & Andrea Porras	Heatwave	A strong heat wave hits “Candela”, a peaceful and forgotten town in northern Mexico. Day by day, the suffocating heat pushes our three protagonists and the entire town towards an eruption of violence.
Shezah Salam	Bona Vacantia	Driven to paranoia by her job cataloging the empty homes of those who die alone, council worker Nadia Basheer finds an unusual way to cope in the home of a dead sound recordist.
Tarique Qayumi	Over The Next Hill	On a perilous journey as a refugee, eleven-year-old Zabi struggles to prove his manhood to his mother.
Yvonne Zhang	Carrion	8-year-old Mengmeng accidentally digs up a rotting carcass, and that night, something long-buried is unearthed in her mother.
Zack Hosseini	A Cotton Moon	A pastor’s estranged son begins intercepting strange TV broadcasts from a mysterious deity, known only as The Shepherd, that inspire a novel and radical religious awakening of his own.