The following screenplays are the Top 30 Short Screenplay Finalists for the 2022 FilmQuest Best Unproduced Screenplay Competition. If you are a producer or filmmaker, collaborating with these writers may produce your next film, so feel free to explore these great projects waiting to be made. Featured here are some of the best un-produced genre screenplays on the circuit today. If you would like to find out more about the screenplays, please feel free to reach out and we will put you in contact with the writers.
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/HAAW/
Written By: Joey Scoma
Synopsis: A typical day at a ski resort takes a bizarre turn when a xenophobic teenager shares a gondola with an unusual family.
Genre(s): Horror, Sci-Fi, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Joey Scoma is an Emmy nominated editor. He’s also a member of the comedy collective 5secondfilms and co-wrote/ co-directed their feature film, a satirical 80s slasher movie… DUDE BRO PARTY MASSACRE III. Joey continues to write genre films with passion and vomit!
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A NEW LEAF
Written By: Kieran Shea
Synopsis: When a college girl bumps into three vampires eager to drink her blood, she convinces them to delay feasting on her and try a new non-bloody diet first.
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy, Comedy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Kieran Shea is a California native who’s lived on both coasts, in addition to having spent six years in the South American nation of Paraguay. Before venturing into the world of film, he started off in the field of genetics. After three years of science and a prestigious internship at the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington, D.C., Kieran made a U-turn toward a career in the filmmaking industry. He moved to Los Angeles and immediately dove into production. He worked as a professional assistant director on a number of independent features and then began writing full-time with his writing partner, David Osorio.
A NEW LEAF, however, is a solo script that Kieran undertook on a dare. And the dare is paying off as the script has been recognized at various festivals, including being named a finalist at the California Women’s Film Festival. Together, Kieran and David have written numerous screenplays, ranging from comedy and adventure to drama and horror. Kieran intends on filming A NEW LEAF and is actively working toward that goal.
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ALLUSION
Written By: Scott Hutz
Synopsis: When she was a child, Geri witnessed her mother agonizing over her sister’s death. Now, with her mother institutionalized and her sole guardian grieving over his wife’s death, Geri relives the events that led her to where she is… and the horror she cannot let go.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Originally from Buffalo, NY, Scott moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. An avid writer, he has always gravitated towards the horror and thriller genres and finding new ways to scare his readers and audiences!
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ASH IN AMBER
Written By: Allison Hana
Synopsis: A young Amazonian girl’s father returns after missing for several days, but he isn’t quite what he seems.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Allison is a feature writer specializing in horror, while occasionally dabbling in fantasy and sci-fi. After the loss of her father in 2015, she felt more driven to honor his memory and his encouragement of her future by doing what she does best: tell stories.
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BONESEED
Written By: Brett Brooks & Joshua David Matthews
Synopsis: An abused young girl befriends the skeletal remains of a murdered man — now fused within the trunk of an old tree — and helps investigate his murder.
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Joshua David Matthews is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter whose films have been screened nationally and internationally, including at the Cannes Short Film Corner and the prestigious CAMERIMAGE in Poland. Brett Brooks is an award-winning actor who co-wrote and acted in the feature film CURSED TO KILL, accrued by Showtime in 2017. They were both born in Alabama. They both graduated from SCAD. And they both wrote BONESEED.
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EMF
Written By: Vincente DiSanti, Jeremy Brown & Mike Meade
Synopsis: An aging ghost hunter gets in over his head when he attempts to capture evidence of spirits haunting an abandon asylum.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Vincente DiSanti, Jeremy Brown, and Mike Meade are accomplished filmmakers and screenwriters working together from all corners of the United States. With previous work on the award winning short film, “Imagine”, they have reunited to tell a new ghost-inspired horror tale, “EMF.”
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ENTRAINMENT
Written By: Bill Prokopow
Synopsis: In order to prevent his own death, a man must learn to use a device which allows him to see moments into the future.
Genre(s): Sci-FI
Screenwriter’s Bio: his is Bill’s first screenplay and first time directing a film. You can follow him on IG @prokopow
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GENTLEMEN OF LEISURE
Written By: Jason Kupfer
Synopsis: 12-year-old Henry Martin steals his father’s $1499.99 camcorder and enlists the help of his friends to make their own Christmas film, but the discovery of a mysterious magazine in the woods causes a devastating chain reaction that could not only ruin the film, but Christmas for the entire town as well.
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Jason Kupfer is a filmmaker and musician who has directed everything from music videos (Matt Pond PA) and commercials (Florida Film Festival) to short horror films (Invaders). His film, “Invaders”, screened at Slamdance, Beyond Fest, and won at Fantastic Fest. Jason is also a member of the band The Pauses (sharing the stage with Weezer, Metric, and The Zombies) and is a Composer and Sound Designer for Deeb Studios in Orlando, Fl. Jason was named as one of the top 14 young global directors (joining alum Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and David Cronenberg) at the legendary Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase in Cannes.
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HICCUPS
Written By: Jason Von Godi
Synopsis: A man takes things too far while attempting to scare away a case of hiccups.
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Jason Von Godi has wanted to be a writer since fifth grade English class. A group project awakened not only his love of writing, but also a love for horror. He spent the following years writing short stories and devouring books. It wasn’t until High School when he saw A Clockwork Orange for the first time did he realize that he’s been trying to describe the movies playing out in his head, so the desire to be a filmmaker was awakened. He spent his young adult life making short films and attempting to write a feature length screenplay. After years of failed attempts he finished his first feature screenplay at the age of thirty. He has written seven more features since then and has produced and directed one of them titled The Hoot Owl that is on blu-ray via Brink Vision. He is also the co-author of Slaves For Gods, a graphic novel published by Hermes Press in 2017.
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HOUSE OF WOLVES
Written By: Andrew Yeremeyev
Synopsis: Bound to the earth and to each other, goat farmers Hal and Annalise attempt to conceive a child before the next full moon.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Andrew Yeremeyev is an award winning writer and director based in Sydney, Australia. As a graduate of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), Andrew has gone on to write and direct the short films Rat Trap (2017), The Madman with Lightning in his Hands (2017), The Big Image (2018) and Toe-Sucker (2019); and has assisted on music videos, web series, and video content.
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I WOULDN’T TOUCH THAT
Written By: Meik V. Fischer
Synopsis: Two kids decide to spend some time on the beach. Things take a sudden turn when they stumble upon a dead Orca.
Genre(s): Horror, Sci-Fi
Screenwriter’s Bio: I was born in Germany but grew up in the US. I’ve flown around the planet more than once and met many interesting people. I believe everyone should travel. The world has so much to offer. In my opinion, writing should be a passion and an art that must always be kept sharp. It’s a tool we use to clear a path through the jungle of our imagination.
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INHERIT
Written By: Melissa Balint
Synopsis: A sister and brother discover a magical family secret on their way to their mother’s funeral.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Melissa Balint is a director and multi-hyphenate multi-racial multi-obsessive pop culture nerd and award-winning filmmaker who loves TV, tech, and cameras. She makes creative pieces that are about connecting with the weirdo in all of us. Melissa is the mother of wild twin toddlers and in between chasing them around she loves to talk about her Star Wars themed wedding and nerdy tattoos so only open the door to nerd-ery with her if you are prepared.
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KILLER CRUSH
Written By: Rakefet Abergel
Synopsis: A chubby teen, with the help of her best friend, pursues the hottest guy at camp despite rumors that he’s dangerous.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Rakefet Abergel is a Los Angeles native. She is the producer, writer and actor for two award winning short films, Jax in Love and Boo (which she also directed). Her scripts have won awards and appeared as a finalist in dozens of festivals. She is currently seeking financing for her first feature, He’s a Vampire, But At Least He’s Jewish.
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LOVESICK
Written By: Michael Muchnij
Synopsis: Jill develops a mysterious illness when she reunites with self-centered former flame, Jack. Their turbulent relationship soon compounds with her new affliction and results in otherworldly horror.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Michael Muchnij is an award winning writer, director and composer. A Phoenix-born Brooklynite, Muchnij was originally incubated as a storyteller writing musical scores for short films. Hybridizing his passion for composition with his love of writing and photography, Muchnij soon stepped into directorial roles. His formal debuts as a filmmaker were award-winning short films “Shutter” – a taut, time-bending study on voyeurism – and “Sweet Tooth” – a sugar-coated fable on one man’s stunted growth. Hosted on respected online horror outlet ALTER, the two films collectively aggregated over four million views, receiving 55K viewer “upvotes” in less than a year. Prioritizing narrative nuance and thematic duality, Muchnij refuses “truisms” and twists the tropes of traditional genre filmmaking in his commitment to fresh, vital storytelling.
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MAKE ME A PIZZA
Written By: Talia Shea Levin, Woodrow Currie & Katie Peabody
Synopsis: We’ve seen the scenario before, we know the sleazy set-up. But it’s never been this delicious. A woman tells a pizza delivery man she can’t pay for the pizza she ordered. But can the sex she offers instead of currency possibly equate to the true value of a pizza? Is there anything that can be worthy of pizza, aside from what the market has decided? Two people, burdened under capitalism, decide to become the pizza themselves, to through sex make one another into pizza, in order to become free.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Talia Shea Levin is an LA and NYC based director, writer, and producer for film, theater, and virtual reality. In her work she uses non-naturalistic narrative techniques like science-fiction, dance, and fantasy, to build worlds that can help us see our own more clearly. Her dance films have been featured across international platforms and festivals including Short of the Week, Nowness, Dance Magazine, Source Creative, and the Cut Magazine. Her short science-fiction film NEXT TIME took home an audience award at the Academy Award-qualifying Nashville Film Festival and also screened at HollyShorts Film Festival. She holds a degree in Screenwriting and Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. She likes goat cheese on her pizza. www.taliashealevin.com
Woodrow Currie is an actor and writer of stage and screen. Trained in clown, mime, and Buffon, he’s dedicated to moving beyond the tyranny of realism – pushing performance into the expressive, surreal, and abstract, with one foot always planted firmly in joy. He’s a founding member of The Nonsemble clown troupe. He likes his pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms.
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MAN BABY
Written By: Aaron Murtagh
Synopsis: An anxious new father turns into a baby.
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Aaron Murtagh studied filmmaking at California Institute of the Arts. He lives and works in Bozeman, MT and Brooklyn, NY.
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MARIETA
Written By: Cassie C. Phillips
Synopsis: TBD
Genre(s): TBD
Screenwriter’s Bio: TBD
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MOKO JUMBIE
Written By: PJ Germain
Synopsis: When her home life begins to crumble, a young indo-caribbean girl is forced to face her ancestral demons.
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: PJ Germain is a Writer / Director based in Los Angeles. He has a penchant for all things dark and genre. PJ is a graduate of the Directing Fellowship at the AFI Conservatory.
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MURMUR
Written By: Matthew Woods & Kevin Burns
Synopsis: TBD
Genre(s): TBD
Screenwriter’s Bio: TBD
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REGENESIS
Written By: Stephonika W. Kaye
Synopsis: Miranda, bent on revenge, crosses paths with Atlas on a desolate world in a withering galaxy. She is faced with the choice to continue on her hellbent path or help him on his journey to save millions.
Genre(s): Sci-Fi
Screenwriter’s Bio: Stephonika has come up through the art and set dec departments and consistently works as a production designer, decorator and dresser on movies like WRONG TURN 2021, THE MUTILATOR 2, and SHIRLEY. Her true passions lie in writing, directing and acting.
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SCAM
Written By: Julie Sharbutt
Synopsis: A phone scammer makes a late night call and gets much more than she bargained for from the woman on the other end of the line.
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Julie Sharbutt (Writer/Director) is a female-forward genre and comedy filmmaker who comes from the worlds of theater and improv comedy. Her work explores contemporary social issues with character-driven stories filled with warmth and dignity, even and especially within Genre. Recent credits include 2021 Tribeca Film Festival World Premiere short comedy film CUPIDS, which she co-wrote with director Zoey Martinson for Tribeca Studios’ 8:46 Films Program. Her 2021 horror comedy feature screenplay GHOSTIES was a 2021 Nantucket Film Festival Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, FilmQuest and Other Worlds Finalist. Her feminist horror feature screenplay RETREAT is currently in development to film at the end of 2022 with Toronto production company West Film.
Prior to her career in filmmaker, Julie was a full time theater, film and television actor in New York, with an MFA in Acting from NYU. Julie’s 2019 short horror film 3 DAYS screened at over thirty film festivals including 2019 Fantastic Fest, San Francisco Indie Fest and Atlanta Shorts Fest (Best Screenplay), and is now streaming on premiere horror channel ALTER. Her debut feature film debut as a writer and director, MOVED, was distributed by 1091 in 2015. With additional background in comedy writing and performance from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and The Peoples Improv Theater, Julie’s comedy writing has been featured in The New Yorker: Shouts & Murmurs, McSweeneys, Funny-Ish and more.
Julie is a member of Film Fatales and Alliance of Women Directors, and is a longtime volunteer at Inner-City Arts, LA Promise Fund, Opening Act and 52nd Street Project. A 2018 Time Warner (WarnerMedia) OneFifty New Storytellers Initiative Artist,She enjoys gardening, hiking, art, activism, taking pictures of animals on her phone, and ghost stories.
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SKINNY DIP
Written By: Daniel Pappas
Synopsis: Two teen girls run for their lives when they break into a local YMCA and accidentally witness a murder by the head lifeguard.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Born and raised in Dallas, TX Daniel Pappas aspired to be a screenwriter ever since he was little. After living in Peru for a year volunteering he returned home to North Texas and works as a freelance editor in the film industry here. Daniel carved a niche for himself boom op’ing on indie genre films and daytime television. The friday night lights of his adolescence inspired his feature films and hour-long television episodes focused on coming-of-age. His teen thriller ‘Disco! Rave! Attack!’ placed as a Quarterfinalist in the Screencraft Feature Competition.
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STRANDED
Written By: Kevin Machate
Synopsis: A series of extreme decisions leads a distraught man down a desolate road where his encounter with a young woman alters both of their fates.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Kevin has directed eight short films and his credits as a producer have exceeded 50 at the time of this writing. His recent works include three short series starring Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Barry Bostwick and Saturn Award Winner Doug Jones. STRANDED is his third short screenplay in as many years to be included at FilmQuest.
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SURPRISE BABY SHOWER
Written By: Tim Troemner
Synopsis: Kim encounters a number of surprises at a surprise baby shower celebration.
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Writer of previous FilmQuest screenplay finalist “The Heart is an Organ,” Tim has also written and directed “The Pickman Model.”
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SWEET MOLLY
Written By: J.C. McNaughton
Synopsis: 16 year old Molly, born and raised in the FLDS religion, makes a chilling discovery through her ability to astral project that leads to a life-altering event.
Genre(s): Horror, Sci-Fi
Screenwriter’s Bio: J.C. McNaughton is a director, writer, producer, and cinematographer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is best known for the short horror film, Isolate (2021) and the music video I Wonder (2021) for the alt/rock band, Stereo Ranger. He is married to actress and producer, Camila Guerreiro, and they share 3 children together.
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THE GHOST LIGHT
Written By: Nick Burchard
Synopsis: After the worst audition of her life, high school theatre geek Winnie gets help from the ghosts that haunt her school’s theatre.
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy, Comedy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Nick Burchard is a Writer, Director, and Comic Book Artist from The Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. He is the founder of Tiny Viking Productions, a company that focuses on developing stories with the mindset of ‘character first’. His Directorial Debut Short ‘ The Uncredited’ has screened worldwide at festivals.
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THE SAFETY GAMES
Written By: Jerry Sampson
Synopsis: A mother’s hyper-vigilance may be the very thing that thrusts her daughter into harm’s way.
Genre(s): Horror, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Jerry Sampson is a screenwriter whose focus is strongly on the Horror and Thriller genre. Her supernatural horror script PREYTA has been optioned and two other features are currently being shopped with directors and actors attached. Jerry’s feature screenplays have been Award Winners, Finalists, and Official Selections at such festivals as — Renegade Film Festival, Film Quest, Lake Travis Film Festival, Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, Shockfest, HorrorHaus, British Horror Film Festival, and Pasadena International Film Festival. Jerry is currently in pre-production on her directorial short film debut, IN DREAMS, a surreal meditation on grief.
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THE UNKNOWNERS
Written By: Stirling McLaughlin & Wilder Konschak
Synopsis: The least qualified paranormal investigators in the universe seek answers to the world’s great unknowns, including why they’re doing this in the first place.
Genre(s): Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Wilder Konschak & Stirling McLaughlin have joined forces to become Spaceship Town. Their debut feature COLD WAR is available on streaming through distributor Stadium Media. Wilder has set up projects at Relativity, Myriad, Amazon Studios, and more, and most recently served as staff writer on Syfy’s DAY OF THE DEAD series. Stirling is a freelance creative director whose commercials have appeared during the Super Bowl, on billboards in Time Square, and also in a LOT of those little ads on Facebook.
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THE WHISPER TREE
Written By: Daniel Alan Kiely
Synopsis: In the Appalachian foothills, two sisters attempt to escape their abusive father with the help of a vengeful spirit.
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy
Screenwriter’s Bio: Daniel Alan Kiely is a writer and actor from Columbus, Ohio.
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THIS MODERN LOVE
Written By: Nate Southard
Synopsis: A couple experience strange marital problems find an even stranger solution.
Genre(s): Horror
Screenwriter’s Bio: Nate Southard is a filmmaker and author. His short films include The Message, The Bag, and Two-Headed Beast, while his novels include Porcelain, Bad Dogs, and Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?
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UNBOUND
Written By: Tavis Doucette
Synopsis: A reserved and ineffectual woman discovers an innate power to bend the world to her will.
Genre(s): The Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Tavis Doucette is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles. Tavis’ screenplays have been selected at Austin Film Festival, FilmQuest, Boston Screenplay Awards, and more. Tavis is obsessed with the beyond and the fantastic. To quote Stephen King, “There are other worlds than these.”
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WITCH, PLEASE!
Written By: Meg Swertlow
Synopsis: After a misfit teen and her plucky younger sister discover they’re witches, the two outcasts must perform 111 “good” magical tasks or lose their powers forever, all while trying to navigate the most fearsome place imaginable: high school.
Genre(s): The Beyond
Screenwriter’s Bio: Meg Swertlow is a Los Angeles-born and based screenwriter/director who focuses on creating badass female-driven projects in the horror genre. She has directed eight short films in the last two years. Most recently she shot No Overnight Parking, a horror proof of concept starring Alyssa Milano. Her short films have been included in some of the world’s top genre fests including Fantastic Fest, Brooklyn Horror Fest, FrightFest UK, Nightmares Film Festival and FilmQuest.
