To become a great writer, one must be a reader.
Writing a short screenplay is no easy task. Although the page count is shorter than a pilot or feature, telling a cohesive story with developed characters and a solid plot–all whilst crafting a story that should keep an audience wanting more–can feel even more daunting. Reading other successful short screenplays can be a fantastic way to study the unique craft of short filmmaking and learn the tricks of the trade. This powerful collection of short screenplays and their corresponding produced films can offer writers, both experienced and new, a glimpse into script-to-screen and just what makes a strong short screenplay stand out.
Explore our collection below and click the links to read some of the finest short screenplays around.
 STUTTERER
Read the script | Watch the film at The New Yorker Screening Room Benjamin Cleary. 2016. A man whose lush inner thoughts are rendered mute by a crippling stutter feels isolated from the world despite a flourishing online relationship. STUTTERER won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2016. |
 AAMIR
Read the script | Watch the film on Vimeo Oliver Shuster & Vika Evdokimenko. 2017. 13-year-old Aamir is stranded alone in the largest unofficial refugee camp in Europe. When he is befriended by Katlyn, a thinly stretched volunteer, she becomes Aamir’s last hope for salvation. AAMIR was an official selection at TIFF, the BFI London Film Festival, and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2018. |
 SHÉ (SNAKE)
Read the script | Watch the film on Vimeo Renee Zhan. 2023. When pressures mount on a tightly wound violinist in a London youth orchestra, her internal monsters take external form. SHÉ (SNAKE) was an official selection at TIFF, Sundance, and is a Vimeo Staff Pick. |
| THE ‘AMIT SHAH’ TRILOGY: THE ORGY, BIG EARS, TALL DARK AND HANDSOME
Read “The Orgy” | Read “Big Ears” | Read “Tall Dark and Handsome”
Sam Baron. 2018 – 2023. Sam Baron’s Amit Shah trilogy came to fruition following his ultra successful THE ORGY starring Amit Shah himself; a comedy about ‘A heartbroken guy throws caution to the wind and goes to an orgy.’ The film was Shore Script’s 2017 Short Film Fund Winner and went on to become an official selection at the Austin Film Festival, Encounters Film Festival, and Interfilm Berlin. Baron continued his collaboration with Shah with his short BIG EARS about ‘A struggling actor finds a lump on his testicle and is forced to confront his life choices.’ In a massively fruitful finale to his trilogy with star Amit Shah, Sam Baron’s 2023 short film TALL DARK AND HANDSOME follows an Indian man who discovers his girlfriend has a long history of dating Indian men and just can’t shake it off.hilling TALL DARK AND HANDSOME was an official selection at the Hollyshorts Film Festival and Palm Springs International Shortfest. |
 LIZARD
Read the script | Watch the film on the BBC Akinola Davies, Jr. & Wale Davies. 2020. An eight-year-old girl with an ability to sense danger gets ejected from Sunday school service. She unwittingly witnesses the underbelly in and around a Mega Church in Lagos. LIZARD won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the BFI London Film Festival. |
 THE PRESENT
Read the script | Stream or Rent the film FARAH NABULSI. 2020. On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping? THE PRESENT was nominated for Best Live Action Short at the 2021 Academy Awards and won the 2021 BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film. The film screened at festivals globally, including Clermont-Ferrand, where it won the International Competition Audience Award. |
Do you have a short script that you want to get produced? Submit to the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund, which provides an opportunity for emerging writers, directors, and producers from around the world to receive much-needed financial support to get their work produced and seen. Learn more and submit.
