HollyShorts
HollyShorts Screenwriting Competition
2025
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2012
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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!

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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2025 Quarterfinalists on Coverfly

Top 2%
Short  · Horror  · 21 Pages
The newest employee of a funeral home questions her sanity and safety when she suspects her all-male coworkers are committing necrophilia.
New York, NY
Lela Cermin is a screenwriter and novelist living in New York City. She received her degree in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch. She was a semifinalist for the Fimmatic Comedy Screenplay Awards as well as the Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition, a quarterfinalist for the Script Lab Free Screenplay Contest, and an Austin Film Festival Secon...
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Sweetheart
Private
Feature  · Comedy  · 115 Pages
In an attempt to dodge her traditional Vietnamese mom's plans for an arranged marriage, an 18 year-old girl pretends to date the high school jock in order to hide the pursuit of her own plans for her future - college.
Top 2%
Short  · Horror  · 5 Pages
A young girl turns to supernatural forces in a twisted attempt to mend her broken family.
Bangor, PA
Growing up as an immigrant sparked Tania's fascination with human behavior. She went on to research psychology, publish leadership books, and lead multiple companies. Her TED talk has nearly 2 million views. Her passion for people’s stories led her to fall in love with filmmaking. She wrote and directed multiple shorts, and her mockumentary, The...
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Announcements

Jul 17th
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.