Jan 17th
Earlybird
Mar 21st
Regular
May 2nd
Late
Jun 2nd
Extended
HollyShorts
HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition
2025
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2012
Accepting Shorts, Short Documentaries, TV Pilots, Features, and Feature Documentaries
Enter Now
Extended Deadline is 2 weeks and 4 days from now

About

The Academy Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) is an annual short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films and short screenplays from around the globe. The festival showcases the top short films produced 40 minutes or less and is looking for the best short screenplays 30 pages or less and TV pilots 50 pages and under.


The 12th annual HollyShorts Screenplay Contest is part of the 20th annual HollyShorts Film Festival (August 7-17 2025). We are looking for short screenplays 30 pages or less. All Quarter, Semi, and Finalists will be announced and invited to the festival with an all access pass. Top 5 screenplays will be announced/awarded at the HollyShorts Awards Ceremony and the winning scripts receives production deals courtesy of 88th Street Productions. ISA story prize rounds out the top 5. The completed shorts will screen at the 2026 HollyShorts Film Festival at the TCL Chinese Theatres and receive automatic distribution on Bitpix!

Prices & Deadlines

Jun 2nd
Extended
Short Screenplay
$75.00
Short Screenplay + 1 Page of Feedback Notes
$110.00
Female Short Screenplays
$75.00
Television Pilot
$75.00
Feature Screenplays
$80.00
Female Short Screenplay Entry + 1 Page of Feedback
$110.00
Television Pilot Entry + 1 Page of Feedback
$110.00
Feature Entry + 1 Page of Feedback
$120.00

Benefits

Awards & Prizes


Best Short Screenplay 
The first place winning short screenplay will get prizes courtesy of 88th Street Productions, Festival Formula, Alta Global Media, and Bitpix.  The Finished film will get an automatic screening at HollyShorts and distribution on Bitpix!  
Top winner will also receive a meeting with Alta Global Media and Festival Formula for festival strategy consultation. 

Sponsors:  88th Street Productions + Bitpix + Festival Formula + Alta Global Media
*all completed winning scripts (if and when completed) get automatic distribution on Bitpix, will screen at HollyShorts and will receive intro to Festival Formula to make festival submission plan for said short film. 

ISA story Award 
ISA prize 
Sponsor: ISA. 

Best TV pilot 
Optioned by 88th Street Productions.  

Quarter and Semi Finalists 
All Quarter and Semi-finalists get invite to attend the festival, all-access pass. 

Best Female Screenplay
Sponsors:  88th Street + BeCine + Bitpix + Festival Formula
$1000 cash for the shoot and Becine providing rental camera gear for the shot for the winner of Best Female Screenplay, along with guaranteed screening at HollyShorts and distribution on Bitpix along with a festival strategy discussion with Festival Formula.  

Script Compass Award
script consulting prize for this award courtesy of Script Compass

Feature Screenplay Award
Sponsor:  Alta Global Media 
Consulting meeting with Alta Global Media for the winning Feature Screenplay

Writer Success

I attended the festival and met several writers, directors and producers. It's one of a handful of film festivals that offers events geared to writers - so, thank you HollyShorts!
Michael Clifton
2024 Finalist
By placing as a finalist at HollyShorts, I was able to receive valuable credibility as a writer.
Robert Sartori
2023 Finalist
Oftentimes, I was intimidated to enter screenwriting competitions for a couple of reasons. I was a fiction author transitioning to screenwriting, and I'm a self-taught screenwriter who just started taking occasional virtual classes. I didn't have huge expectations when I entered a few competitions but Hollyshorts gave me the best reward -- validation. That's why I took the time to fly out and attend their awards ceremony and my first film festival. I felt like I could finally call myself a screenwriter and even put it on my new business card! Everyone at Hollyshorts was so friendly, professional, and they love movies! They told me my Finalist placement was a great start for a new screenwriter. I couldn't agree more and I am definitely less afraid when I press submit.
Monique Hayes
2022 Finalist
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Coverfly Program Insights
Coverfly vets all programs on its platform, but not every program is right for every writer. Program Insights help you decide where to submit your work.

2024 Winners on Coverfly

Top 1%
Short  · Drama  · 14 Pages
A young inventor turned her dad into a duck. By accident. Oops. Can she get him back before the big father/daughter dance at school -- and without mom finding out?
Portland, OR
Shaun is a thoughtful dreamer who loves to tell inventive tales that are character-driven with heart. In addition to screenplays, he also likes to write comics and picture books.
BABKA (Hollyshorts screenplay)
Private
Short  · Unknown  · 15 Pages
This logline was hidden by the writer.
New York, NY
Serena Dykman is a New York-based filmmaker and graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Film and Television program. Her work, ranging from comedy to drama and documentary, has won her over 40 awards in the past four years. Her films THE DOORMAN, BED BUGS & COMPANY, and WELCOME have been selected in over 80 film festivals around the world, incl...
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Top 1%
Short  · Drama  · 14 Pages
13-year-old Elly's first real date takes a turn for the worse when the Iranian police show up to arrest her.
Born and raised in the middle of the desert in Iran, Sheida is a writer/director currently based in Prague. Like most Iranians, she has an obsession with the subjects of memory, freedom, captivity, and choice. She also has a background in Architecture, an MA in Film Studies from Tehran University, and a second MFA in Film Directing - Fiction from F...
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Announcements

Jul 14th
Semifinalists
Jul 28th
Finalists
Aug 17th
Winners

Rules

At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.

All entries submitted are eligible to win the top prizes.


Employees (and their immediate families (parent, spouse, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and those living in their same households, whether or not related) of HollyShorts and any of their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising and promotion agencies or festival sponsors, are not eligible to win. There is no limit on the number of short screenplays you can submit; however, each short screenplay submitted by you must be original and different from any other short screenplay submitted by you, submitted separately and accompanied by its own completed submission form and participant agreement. Short screenplays may be a maximum of 30 pages, must be in English and must be submitted in proper script format. HollyShorts reserves the right to reject any short screenplay that it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, contains prohibited content or is offensive, inappropriate or otherwise unacceptable. All eligible entries received by HollyShorts will be judged by the HollyShorts selection committee and the production company sponsoring the contest.


By submitting your script for consideration for the HollyShorts Screenplay Contest, you agree for HollyShorts and its contest sponsor to produce your short screenplay if selected as the overall winner. The completed film(s) will premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival and on our distribution platform Bitpix.