2024 SHORT FILM FUND SPRING SEASON WINNERS AND TOP 5 FINALISTS

WE ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS & TOP 5 FINALISTS FOR THE SPRING SEASON OF OUR SHORT FILM FUND!

We are extremely grateful to all the writers and filmmakers who graciously shared their work with us. We have been humbled by the quality of the stories we were fortunate enough to read, as well as the boldness with which so many writers shared their unique voices.

This season, we received 1,963 submissions. Our Finalists represented the Top 1% of all submissions and our Semi-Finalists represented the Top 3%. There were many excellent scripts that we could not acknowledge this season but we are continuously impressed by the quality of work so many talented writers share with us.

We are excited to now help our Grand Prize Winner into pre-production, production, and beyond. We will also be circulating the Top 15 Finalists’ and Winners’ scripts to select members of our Industry & Directors Rosters with the writers’ permission.

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

Learn more about our Short Film Fund alumni and how we can help you bring your stories to life by checking out the History of Our Short Film Fund.

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TO CATCH A SIREN

A young orphan desperately searches for the mermaid he believes to be his mother before he is adopted and sent to live far away.

Read Pre-Shoot Q&A

LATER IS TOO LATE (‘PA LUEGO ES MUY TARDE’)

After running into each other through happenstance, two estranged siblings ponder if they should try to reconcile their relationship one last time.

And congratulations to our Top 5 Finalists!

TOMORROW NIGHT by Drew Marquardt
GREEDY FOR LIFE by Emma Selinski
THE MOST MARVELOUS MAN IN THE WORLD by Khris Burton & Colin Scott
COMING OUT TO GRANDMA by Leanne Imber
BABKA by Serena Dykman

This season, our Top 5 Finalists will receive feedback from one of our esteemed judges and will be considered for a guaranteed meeting with Gunpowder & Sky (for US-based writers) or FilmNation (for European-based writers).

OUR 2024 SPRING SEASON TOP 15 FINALISTS

(in alphabetical order by writer’s first name, representing the Top 1% of all submissions)

	Drew Marquardt	Tomorrow Night	A turning point in the lives of an elderly couple.
	Emma Selinski	Greedy for Life	In the future, a greedy, 153-year-old woman, attends an exclusive dinner where she consumes the lives of others.
	Harvey John	To Catch A Siren	A young orphan desperately searches for the mermaid he believes to be his mother before he is adopted and sent to live far away.
	Helen Sun & Laura Malatos	Wonderland	In the aftermath of her father’s funeral, a grief-stricken Alice falls into the haunting Wonderland, where an uncanny version of her father makes her question her own sanity.
	Isabel Anderton	Little Death	Like any other teenager, 18-year-old Marianne wants to experience sex. However, her disability means she is reliant upon her parents and carers. In order for Marianne to achieve her goal, her mother Laura is forced out of her comfort zone and has to acknowledge her own desires. Ultimately, Marianne discovers that sex isn’t the hard part.
	Joseph O’Toole & Harriet Davies	The House Always Wins	One elderly man’s refusal to die prevents Charlotte from moving into her dream apartment.
	Khris Burton & Colin Scott	The Most Marvelous Man In The World	Heralded as “the most marvelous man in the world” by Barnum & Bailey’s Circus, Luger Sylbaris, the sole survivor of the 1902 Mount Pelée eruption – saved only for being imprisoned for murder the night of the catastrophe – traverses the decimated island of Martinique in search of his missing wife.
	Leanne Imber	Coming Out To Grandma	A usually confident woman panics when faced with the prospect of ‘coming out’ to Grandma. When Grandma is kicked out of her aged care facility and unexpectedly moves in, she strives to keep the relationship with her girlfriend secret, fearing the truth might just spell the end of her 99-year-old grandmother!
	Luis G. Santos	Later is too late (‘Pa Luego Es Muy Tarde’)	After running into each other through happenstance, two estranged siblings ponder if they should try to reconcile their relationship one last time.
	Matthew McInerney-Lacombe	Maya’s Brother	Brian is a deeply insecure teen overshadowed by his popular sister and embarrassed by his working-class mother. He must confront his troubled familial relationships when his upper-class boyfriend dumps him right before he’s supposed to meet Brian’s family.
	Mimi Nguyen	Children of War	When the air raids escalate across Ukraine, a determined doctor must evacuate the orphaned children. While struggling with the separation from her family, she embarks on a difficult journey that will test her judgment.
	Paula Crichton	Adela	During the peak of the Mexican Revolution, a quiet but complex young woman’s domestic life is disrupted when a spirited general and her group of soldaderas arrive, igniting a passionate bond that forces her to choose between fulfilling her familial duty, or leaving it all behind.
	Sarah Phillips Batchelder	Little Horse	When Astral Lieutenant Aiden discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant, her career onboard the spaceship Little Horse is suddenly in jeopardy. As the other officers (and the government command) react to the news, her supervisor demotes her to the purgatorial overnight shift on the helm. Her assignment turns disastrous when reality merges with fantasy in the vast expanse of the stars.
	Serena Dykman	Babka	In the heart of South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a newly blind Jewish Orthodox baker forms an unlikely friendship with a queer Catholic Latino guide dog trainer, embarking on an eye-opening journey to overcome personal and cultural barriers in his quest to reopen his beloved bakery.
	Steven George	Demon Twink	A depressed queer man named Dante is offered eternal youth via a mysterious glory hole, but soon learns his wish is granted with a deadly price.

OUR 2024 SPRING SEASON SEMI-FINALISTS
(in alphabetical order by writer’s first name, 60 screenplays have progressed representing the Top 3% of all submissions)