BEST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
The "best scene" take from features and TV pilots of winning screenplays.
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SCI-FI/FANTASY: ARTHUR PENDRAGON AND THE WANDERING WIZARD, by William A. Murphy
A baby is born to a married woman and the father is a king. Her jealous husband has them both killed along with their entourage. The baby is left to the wolves who call upon the wandering wizard to get this baby back to the humans it belongs with. The wizard takes the child, Arthur, to a comrade ...
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BEST Scene Script Reading: FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES, by Rosemary Gallagher
Rose is struggling to find that deep connection in her life, compared to her friends she's the only one without any kids, love or overall success.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Angel Bethany : Hannah Ehman
Rose : Julie Sheppard -
Female Festival Best Scene Reading: A FIELD FULL OF WISHES, by Malia Taylor
When an overwhelmed mother finally calls it quits on her marriage, she is faced with traumatic memories of her childhood.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Shawn Devlin
Malia: Hannah Ehman
Sophie: Julie Sheppard -
BEST SCENE Script Reading: KRIS KRINGLE, by Maria Ciampi
A genius but jobless toymaker is tricked by Santa's archenemy, who's livid the Naughty List is at a record low, into working in the Elves' Workshop where his presence sets in motion a magical curse to destroy Christmas.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Old Scratch/Geek: Sean Ballantyne -
Mr. Di... -
WILDsound Festival Best Scene: THE SENTINEL, by Damián Gajardo
https://youtu.be/wWBwXUuE3l0
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Athena AI: Hannah Ehman
Captain Bishop: Geoff Mays -
FEMALE Festival Best Scene: ALL THE KING'S HORSES, by Nancy Franklin (interview)
In a 1960s rural community, a young girl navigates her coming-of-age only to discover family secrets of mental illness, love, and loss that change the course of her life.
Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
It's a coming-of-age story about a girl trying to find her place ... -
FEMALE Festival Best Scene: ZOMBIE HOT SPRINGS, by Candace Rose
In a zombie world, a badass waitress from Iowasets out to cureherzombie brother with a magical hot spring - while dodging cultists, undead flashmobs, and a sexy ex-turned-zombie- hunter. Along the way they discover that family isn't who you're born with - it's who you survie the apocalypse with.
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THE TRIAL OF ROMAN WEINZAPFEL, by John M. O’Leary & John W. McMullen
In Indiana in 1842, an unhappilymarriedwoman accuses a young, immigrant priestof raping herin the confessional. His vow to keep the Seal of Confessionprevents him from speaking in his own defense. Aclimate of xenophobia and anti-Catholicismfuelsa sensationaltrialandviolent, shameful eventsthatult...
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FEMALE Festival Best Scene: BEASTIES, Amy Kolquist (interview)
Desperate to escape her abusive, Christian Nationalist family, a teenage girl finds an unlikely ally when a female werewolf from a pack dead set on killing her family lands in her home, and the attraction they develop for each other forces them into a fight for their very survival.
Get to know t...
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HORROR Best Scene: The P.I.'s (Paranormal Investigators), by Krista Crawford
When a disgraced ghost hunter reluctantly returns to her hometown, she faces a paranormal fight for her life as she tries to mount a comeback.
Years after escaping a family and hometown that shunned her, Bates thought she had it all. A successful ghost hunting career and show, a beautiful woman ...
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HORROR Festival Best Scene: Vamp Snail, by Carrie Alicia Hawks
In this animated feature film, vampire snails begin a battle to protect their home, enlisting a cross-species brigade including bats. The tale takes place in Cancer Alley, a region of Louisiana affected by hundreds of petrochemical plants.
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HORROR Festival Best Scene: BELOW THE TRESTLE, by Allen Sircy
After his brother is killed near an infamous trestle, a teenage YouTuber sets out to prove the legend of the Pope Lick Monster is real—only to discover that the truth is far more tragic, and far more dangerous, than he imagined.
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THRILLER/SUSPENSE Festival: YOU HAVE ARRIVED, by Jacqueline Dolisi (interview)
After being abducted by a suburban couple running an underground trafficking ring, a determined young woman discovers her missing best friend among the captives and rallies a group of women to fight back, outsmart their captors, and take their freedom by force.
Get to know the writer:
1. What ...
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WILDsound Best Scene Reading: BLEEDING BEAUTIES, by Jason Parks
Inside The Laced House, a luxury cosmetic clinic wrapped in velvet and silence, seven patients are stripped of their identities and forced into grotesque fairytale roles-voiceless mermaids, sleeping dolls, obedient swans, and sculpted princes. Through invasive procedures, psychological conditioni...
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WILDsound Festival TV Best Scene: UPTOWN SANTOS, by Jonathan Ramirez
In the gritty streets of New York City an unlikely young man is influenced by the charismatic yet ruthless acts of his uncle as he rises to the top of a major crime family and faces unexpected challenges.
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FANTASY/SCI-FI Scene: THE HARMONY SAGA, by Timothy Bradley Reinhold (interview)
The Harmony Saga is a five-part mythopoetic cinematic universe culminating in a transcendent sixth finale. Combining visionary science fiction, sacred myth, and philosophical depth, it follows the rise of a divine AI, the collapse of a galactic Church, and the rebirth of cosmic balance.
https://...
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ACTION/FANTASY Festival Best Scene: DJINN, by Matthew Karram
In a Middle Eastern refugee camp, 16-year-old Saeed discovers a magical ring containing a Djinn (spirit) while hiding from bullies. The Djinn offers him three wishes. With his first wish, Saeed asks for protection from his tormentors, leading to the death of the bully Hassan. For his second wish,...
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ANIMATION Festival Reading: AMERICAN FAIRY TALES, by A. S. Templeton (interview)
At the dawn of the twentieth century, a pampered young American girl has her life turned upside-down by a series of harrowing encounters with fantastical characters.
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Get to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
In 1902 San Francisco, Annie Jane Moore is a pampered young Am...
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TV FESTIVAL Best Scene Reading: IN ALL BUT BLOOD, by A.S. Templeton
On a colonized exoplanet threatened by a solar storm, an Eagle Scout escapes the safe confines of Alpha Colony to search the hostile alien wilderness for his missing brother.
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LGBTQ+ Festival Best Scene: THIS IS BAT COUNTRY, by Kerry Ann Boyko
A washed-up vampire playing PI turns a murdered girl to preserve her testimony—but she refuses to play sidekick in his pity parade. Together, they navigate an underworld where identity is fluid, transformation is inevitable, and survival means reclaiming what others tried to erase.
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LGBTQ+ Festival Best Scene Script: STRIP CRAFT, by Wilson Large (interview)
A former cop’s search for her missing sister leads her into the dark world of a witch’s coven, where ancient rituals and forbidden magic force her to confront her deepest fears and uncover the truth about her family’s past.
https://instagram.com/stripcraftmovie
Get to know the writer:
1. What...
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HORROR Festival Best Scene Read: TEXAN WEREWOLF IN MANHATTAN, by Terrence Ross
What was the last great American werewolf movie? If you answered, An American Werewolf in London, you win the prize. Its combination of reality, humor and absolute terror, hasn’t been matched. Instead the few werewolf movies that have been made have mostly been exercises in gore and heavy breathi...
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Best Scene Reading: CROWNED LIES, by Kirene Bolsen-Long (interview)
Dive into the high-stakes world of beauty pageants where appearances are not just deceiving—they're deadly. In 'Crowned Lies,' a seemingly glamorous event spirals into a treacherous game when Emily Brooks and her fellow contestants uncover a corrupt scheme involving the pageant’s top officials. A...
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WILDsound Festival Best Scene Reading: DAFFODILS, by Andry Platrites
Torn between the weight of her secrets and the desire for freedom, a single mother is forced to reveal the truth about her past, her sexuality, and her ex-husband to their children.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Aria: Hannah Ehman
Grace Rose: Val Cole