With live script readings and cash awards, Pittsburgh Shorts & Script Competition is a destination festival for creators from around the world.
November 20 - 23, 2025
Placement
Genre
Format
Representation Status
Finalists
Finalist
Short
· Comedy
· 15 Pages
Scratch, the Scratch Off Lottery King of Bushwick, Brooklyn, must hit the brand new Mega Jackpot Scratch Off Lotto this Friday in order to afford his and his Ma’s gentrifying rent increase.
No bio available.
Finalist
Short
· Comedy
· 16 Pages
Two petty criminals must deliver a hostage to an infamous gangster. On the surface it's an easy task, but when our boys pick up an ex-lover en route their simple plan soon disintegrates. (Set in Ireland)
County Down, GB
Lover of words. Observer of humans. Connoisseur of weirdness. Changing the world one slang silver bullet at a time. Notable accolades: Winner with 'Sleeper' (Film Pittsburgh 2023 and Screenwriters Network 2022), Shortlist with 'Road To Hell' (Page Turner 2023). Born and raised on the fair emerald isle. Not a fan of jokes about leprechauns, sh...
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Finalist
Short
· Drama
· 9 Pages
A group of friends struggle to find the right words for a eulogy, minutes before the funeral.
Portia Lannak is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago. She is a Libra sun, Taurus moon, and Cancer rising. Her short script, Eulogies, won both the International Screenplay Awards and Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Competition in 2022.
WE'RE GOING DOWN!
Finalist
Short
· Comedy
· 10 Pages
A new couple goes through many layers of a relationship while stuck in an elevator.
Los Angeles, CA
Caroline is an award winning French-American actor and writer. Her work has been featured at Cleveland International Film Festival, Napa Valley, Sidewalk Film, Pittsburgh Shorts, LA Shorts, among others.
Raised in Northampton, MA, she writes female driven stories with themes of travel and the artistic pursuit. An alum of NYU's Tisch School of the ...
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Semifinalists
Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 12 Pages
After a laughably awful night of speed dating, a wounded romantic takes a ride home that turns out to be unexpectedly difficult, but necessary.
Atlanta, GA
My passion for writing is fueled, in part, by my desire to prevent the symbolic annihilation of Black queer people from television and film. I'm seeking to tell new stories of Black and queer Black people that are rich and dynamic, showing our full humanity. I have stories to tell that will shine a light on the multi-faceted lives of people who loo...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Fantasy
· 10 Pages
Christopher is in a dark place. He spends his nights recording silence, avoiding all contact, shunning life itself.
Until one night, when he hears hope.
Odiham, Hampshire, GB
My journey to becoming a filmmaker began in the early 2000's when I picked up a camcorder and tried doing a Spielberg around my small Irish hometown.
In more recent years, I have two scripts which have made it onto the Coverfly red list and a few others that are climbing the rankings.
I currently have two features and one pilot ready to submit to ag...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Drama
· 14 Pages
Harry is trapped in his car on the edge of a steep cliff and has to think fast if he's to survive. He gradually realises that it was a murder that put him there, but also that the same murder might just eventually save him?
Falkirk, GB
Author of 'The Trapdoor to Murder', 'Beasties and other stories' & 'Halloween's Best Cellar'. Martin's love of horror writing led to several award winning short screenplays around the world. His feature length horror script, Trapdoor to Murder, in pre - production 2020 shows his love of the portmanteau script and his developing skill in this are...
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Semifinalist
Short
· Horror
· 7 Pages
A couple buys an old house and discovers a mysterious door that's only visible in the reflection of a mirror.
Valencia, CA
A multi-hyphenate filmmaker with multiple children, Geoff loves writing stories in multiple genres, especially: Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thrillers and Drama. He works as an Assitant Film Editor at a movie studio by day, and writes by night. He's relieved that writing the word multiple doesn't involve math. His goal is to be a working writer/director/...
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The strawberries ain't for pickin'
Private
Semifinalist
Short
· Unknown
· 15 Pages
An enigmatic strawberry farmer protects her crop and warns folk that the fruit isn’t for picking, but when her words are unheeded, mother slips along to help.
No bio available.
Semifinalist
Short
· Other
· 13 Pages
In TO THE DEATH!, Man and Woman play an absurdly high-stakes ping pong match with unspoken rules and unfair advantages that culminates with the loser's death.
Brooklyn, NY
Chad Sogas is a filmmaker who has spent the past 15+ years working in every facet of the industry, from pre-production to post. His films explore flawed characters searching for fulfillment, often set in heightened realities.
His films have screened internationally at Academy Award qualifying festivals and been selected by Vimeo Staff Picks and Sh...
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Quarterfinalists
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 8 Pages
A New York City college student attempts to obtain preventative HIV medication PEP without his parents finding out as his window of time to take it lessens.
New York, New York
New York based actor and writer with hopes to write and produce my own work that I can be in.
As a first generation American, black and queer creative, I love to create work that helps people feel seen.
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 15 Pages
Pearl cannot face her dying mother until she gets a much needed lesson from her father.
Los Angeles, CA
As a queer Black non-binary writer, Jess Waters focuses on the reimagining of history to create both grounded and fantastical explorations of Black and LGBTQ+ identity through a unique lens. Jess’s two most recent works are a short film called “The Divinity Streak” and a short film called "Gumbo", on Netflix Film Club and AllBlk respectively.
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 10 Pages
While the world grapples with mounting atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine, an elderly woman in Kyiv endures a living nightmare when her dementia and reality intersect.
I was born in Poland. English is my second language. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago. As an emerging playwright and first-time screenwriter, I write and workshop projects in Chicago and New York. I'm also a script consultant across various media, including award-winning short films (Berlin Independent Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, M...
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Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 11 Pages
When Bhima goes to beg for water from upper-caste's well for his ill child Ramu, he is beaten up badly. His wife Jaai gets perturbed by his wounds, and decides to dig her own well.
Hyderabad, Telangana, IN
Wardaan is an Indian scriptwriter and director.
His documentary film 'Neev - The Foundation' won the Special Jury Award at the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival.
His diploma film Dream Merchant was screened at many film festivals, such as IFFI Goa, KFF Kolkata, & TISS Mumbai.
Recently, he worked as a scriptwriter on India's beloved animati...
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Black Lipstick Girl
Private
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Comedy
· 13 Pages
Kayla, who is a good person, decides to extend her friendship to loner Exie in their high school's parking lot, you know, before Exie goes nuts and does something bad. When the two girls encounter a real threat, they discover they have more in common than they thought.
Mora Harris
No bio available.
Bucket
Private
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Unknown
· 15 Pages
When a boy with Down's Syndrome sees a woman crying in her garden, he assumes it is because of her rusting bucket so decides (despite many hurdles) to give her a new one.
Milethia Thomas
No bio available.
Irish Exit
Private
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Comedy
· 14 Pages
Two friends attempt to stop an acquaintance from continuously pulling an “Irish Exit”: leaving gatherings and hangouts early without informing anyone of his departure. They soon realize getting him to end his ways is easier said than done.
No bio available.
Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 12 Pages
Jaxon, an artificial Intelligence unit of a disabled spaceship floating further away from a rarely used trade route, becomes something the ship's captain desperately needs.
Midland, Georgia
Paul is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer out of Columbus, GA with notables in Austin, Page, StoryPros, Save the Cat!, and more. He is a founding member of Columbus State University's Rankin Screenwriter's group which focuses on amplifying the local film community and immersing new writers into the craft. He is also a founding me...
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Quarterfinalist
Short
· Drama
· 12 Pages
As Leon offers a fading Robert his hand to dance, the story of their relationship is told through the living memory of their movement. One that inspires Leon to carry on and live the life he never thought available to him.
Long Beach, CA
A gay Hare Krishna Devotee from the south, my goal has always been to focus on complex LGBTQ+ characters, exploring the depths of reconciliation and chosen family. With a BA in Film from George Mason University, I worked in the NYC and LA markets as both production staff and talent. My most recent pilot, “Ms.Guided,” advanced to the semi finals/fina...
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Quarterfinalist
Short
· Animated
· 13 Pages
Friendship between a prideful yet lonely Baobab tree, and a 10-year-old boy, blossoms as the years go by. A century after the boy's passing, the tree meets the boy's great-great-grandson, forcing him to come to terms with his grief and the absence of his best friend.
Maryland
By day, Danielle serves as a John R. Lewis Social Justice Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, working alongside the House Agriculture Committee to take meaningful strides towards a more equitable food system. Beyond her professional commitments, Danielle showcases her talents through the 2D animated works on her Youtube channel, P...
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