We are thrilled to announce our GRAND PRIZE WINNERS and TOP 5 FINALISTS!
It has been such an honor reading so many imaginative and powerful short scripts this season. But our Short Film Fund doesn’t end with the screenplay competition. While the decisions were undeniably challenging given the impressive quality of work shared with us, we are humbled and thrilled to now assist the winning scripts into production and beyond.
This is only the beginning.
For full details of what happens next, check out our Short Film Fund post-contest timeline.
You can read all about the history of the Short Film Fund here, and the amazing relationship we have with our sponsor ARRI Rental who will be offering free camera equipment rental over the duration of both productions.
GET YOUR SHORT SCRIPT INTO PRODUCTION WITH THE SHORT FILM FUND.
Don’t miss a deadline. Download our Contest Calendar!
GRAND PRIZE WINNER - NEMT (AWARDED $10,000 CASH GRANT)
written by Chelsea Isabella Clark-James
NEMT
A driver for a family transportation business has to find an open medical bed for a long-time alcoholic involuntarily committed for medical detox by the state, which turns out to be more difficult than it should be.
SECOND PLACE WINNER - WEDDING DAY (AWARDED A $5,000 CASH GRANT)
written by Brendan Beachman
WEDDING DAY
For newlyweds Brad and Jill, it seems the honeymoon is over before it even began. When an eccentric stranger named Jess White stumbles into the couple’s first argument as man and wife, the day takes an abrupt turn and changes their lives forever.
OUR TOP 5
In addition to our two grant winners, we would like to congratulate our Top 5 Finalists.
TO THE DEATH! by Chad Sogas
THE SECRET by Nir Paniry
THE COMMITMENT by Rachel Benaissa
MUDDY RIPENING by Rebecca Ozer
DUTY DAY by Sarah Albonesi
This season, our Top 5 Finalists will receive feedback on their scripts from our Judges along with a Free Copy of Final Draft & Free 1-Year access to our Writers’ community – THE SCRIPT HUB. Plus, the Grand Prize Winner will also receive a free Festival Pass to HollyShorts 2022.
OUR TOP 15 FINALISTS
(in alphabetical order)
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Brendan Beachman | Wedding Day | For newlyweds Brad and Jill, it seems the honeymoon is over before it even began. When an eccentric stranger named Jess White stumbles into the couple’s first argument as man and wife, the day takes an abrupt turn and changes their lives forever. |
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Chad Sogas | To The Death! | In TO THE DEATH!, Man and Woman play an absurdly high-stakes ping pong match with unspoken rules and unfair advantages that culminate with the loser’s death. |
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Chelsea Isabella Clark-James | NEMT | A driver for a family transportation business has to find an open medical bed for a long time alcoholic involuntarily committed for medical detox by the state, which turns out to be more difficult than it should be. |
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David Campbell | The Bookstore Clerk | When a grieving and precarious bookstore deaf clerk commits a heinous crime out of passion, he must cover his tracks before his crumbling psyche jeopardizes his integrity and freedom. |
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Hannah Levin | Golden Child | A young woman is reunited with her childhood friend at a pool party and reckons with the fact that he used to pee on her when they were kids. |
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Marcus Stricklin | 99 | In order to build a community garden, young Tiana must gather one hundred signatures in order for the gang to abandon the neighborhood lot. |
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Nico Casavecchia | White Latino | A blond Latino man attends his low-wage job at a garment factory dressed in a business suit. What looks like a humorous personality quirk, turns out to be a dark survival strategy when the police raid the factory to crack down on illegal migrants. |
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Nir Paniry | The Secret | A young man visiting his Fathers’ grave meets an Old Man with questionable motives. |
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Rachel Benaissa | The Commitment | A new mom’s struggle with motherhood. |
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Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid | On The Last Day | A deceitful actor faces reckoning at the hands of a zealous extra for betraying his director/wife during a macabre stage production. |
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Rebecca Ozer | Muddy Ripening | Convinced her first period is a “mortal punishment” from God after masturbating, Lou and her best friend Ziggy embark on a twisted mystical journey to save her life. |
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Richard Willett | The Gazebo | The final moments in the lives of an elderly couple trapped when their household elevator stalls during a heatwave. |
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Sarah Albonesi | Duty Day | DUTY DAY is a Philip K. Dick inspired short thriller by Sarah Albonesi. For years, single mother Bronwen has successfully hidden her 10-year-old son Milo from his father and his harsh, authoritarian views – even deceiving Milo and telling the boy his father is dead – but when Milo discovers his mother’s deception, he reaches out to his father and sets in motion a threat bigger than he ever imagined. |
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Shay Kuehlmann | Happy Death Day | “When I die, I want to die like my grandmother: who died peacefully in her sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in her car.” – Author Unknown |
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Xavier Stiles | Kayfab | An indie wrestler gets over as top guy when he learns to perform their truth. |