BEST SCENE SCREENPLAY READINGS
The "best scene" take from features and TV pilots of winning screenplays.
-
LATINO Fest: El Cuento De Mi Papa (The Story of my Father), by Alejandro Lalinde
When a naive D.A.C.A. single young father gets unexpectedly deported to a country he’s never been, he must at all costs journey back illegally despite crooks and cartels and a desolate rugged desert to reunite with his estranged daughter before his family is ultimately separated.
CAST LIST:
Na...
-
ROMANCE Festival Best Scene: Astral Flames, by Nicolas James
A lonely, yet content young woman helps navigate a connection-deprived young man through the astral dimension while trying not to be detected by an ominous spirit.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Chase: Sean Ballantyne
Violet: Kyana Teresa -
Thriller/Suspense Festival: HENRY'S STARE, by A.M. Vasquez
After her stalker goes missing and is presumed dead, Violet McBride's dreams suggest that he may still be alive, threatening to shatter her newfound peace.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Violet: Kyana Teresa
Rachel: Hannah Ehman
Ben: Shawn Devlin -
TV Festival Best Scene: PALADIN, by Mark Andrew Pogodzinski
Paladin is a gun for hire in the new west in 1800. His current task is to collect Caleb Barnes and deliver him to justice. The Barnes Gang attacked a wealthy ranch, killing several people and burning the house to the ground. Paladin kills the gang with little difficulty, taking time to explain to...
-
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Festival Best Scene: THE GOD MACHINE, by Michael J Bowler
Using an antique machine, a grieving boy hopes to apologize to his deceased mother, but instead unleashes an interdimensional being that wreaks havoc in San Francisco. With the aid of his detached father, some friends, and a tough female detective, he determines to stop the creature, even at the ...
-
SCI-FI/FANTASY Festival Best Scene: Mysterious Island, by Don Thompson
https://www.nextpixprods.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nextpixnyc/CAST LIST:
Narrator: Shawn Devlin
Lisa: Kyana Teresa
Laura: Hannah Ehman -
LGBTQ+ Festival Best Scene: The Xenakis Family, by Spiro Skentzos
A mid-career stop-motion animator struggles balance his work with his family's demands to run their restaurant.
Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Greg: Shawn Devlin
Theo: Steve Rizzo
Marvin: Sean Ballantyne -
LGBTQ+ Festival: Good Pussy: The Anatomy of a Crazy Cat Lady, by Bree Wyrd
When a suicidal comedian is involuntarily hospitalized by her family, her ride-or-die drag queen BFF, and her unorthodox psychiatrist devise a plan to break her out, recover her eight cats, and help her to discover her reasons to live.
-
WILDsound Festival Best Scene: Snail Miller Criminal Confessions, by Tony Faria
Introducing "Snail Miller: Criminal Confessions," a razor-sharp satire that takes a hilarious jab at the world of crime-solving television.
Follow the adventures of SNAIL MILLER, Toronto's most unorthodox serial killer tracker, as he spearheads the RCMP's groundbreaking Victims Confessions Unit....
-
DIVERSITY Festival TV Best Scene: THUNDERSTORM, by Maria Mathis (interview)
This eight-episode limited series is about the turbulent life, death, and afterlife of Henry "Stormy" O'Dell, a biracial escaped slave with paranormal abilities. Set in Gold Rush California, Henry's mission is to stop a serial killer as he struggles to avoid forfeiting his soul to a demon who has...
-
DIVERSITY Best Scene Reading: FOLKTALE, by Donald Holmes Lewis, Ziggy Dantzler
When four young siblings spend a summer weekend at their grandmother’s home in the projects of Pawtucket, they listen to ghostly stories from the past but find themselves trapped in a dangerous and mysterious folktale of their own... with a fortune in slave trader gold at stake that can save the ...
-
DIVERSITY Festival Best Scene: BUMBLEFUCK, by Lindsay Heiman (interview)
Stuck in bumblefuck nowhere and pressured by her family to join a campaign she morally opposes, an angsty teen (who's seen too many heist movies) plans a covert operation to sabotage her stepdad’s run for office.
Think Kelly-Anne Conway’s daughter, Claudia. A Gen Z teenager known for outwardly s...
-
TV Festival Best Scene: DIE: Deadly Invisible Enemies Series, by Harold L. Brown
A renowned computer security expert loses everything when security is breached at the highest level of government and he enters an invisible underworld trading state secrets to the highest bidder.
http://www.storychaser.com/
Narrator: Val Cole
Joe: Steve Rizzo
Kevin: Geoff Mays
Wayne: Sean B... -
FAN FICTION Best Scene STAR WARS: REVELATIONS, by Darius Gerard Clar (interview)
MAZ OJAL, a corrupt business tyrant, discovers large amounts of Kyber Crystal deposits and sets out to gather the find, using slaves in the process. A 90 year old YODA, his son DAGO, and other villagers are captured and enslaved to mine the Kyber. During a dispute, Dago is slain by one of the gua...
-
COMEDY Festival Best Scene: SAVE THE DATE, by Nick Pappas
On the eve of his sister's lavish wedding, a meek guy in desperate need of a date meets the woman of his dreams who agrees to accompany him, but when she's subsequently kidnapped by her lawless and vengeful ex-boyfriend, he must find the courage to rescue her if he wants to save her life and his ...
-
COMEDY Festival BEST Scene Reading: GENDER SWITCH, by Tristan Venture
When a newly installed 5G Cellular Tower malfunctions and causes a career-oriented woman and eternal man-child to switch bodies they must learn to accept their differences before destroying each other’s lives.
https://www.instagram.com/genderswitchmovie
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Michelle: Kyan... -
ROMANCE Fest Best Scene: A Broken Heart & The Immortal Hen, by Benjamin Sarno
A teenage boy struggles to overcome a series of setbacks. Then he encounters his steepest hurdle yet.
Narrator: Steve Rizzo
Bobby: Geoff Mays
Jane: Kyana Teresa
Grandma: Val Cole -
FANTASY/SCI-FI Festival BEST Scene: PHAEDRA'S ODYSSEY, by Julie A. Thornton
In a universe where Chaos and Order compete for supremacy, a group of wayward other-worldly beings abandoned on a primitive planet make a deal with Chaos in exchange for their freedom.
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Bastian: Sean Ballantyne
Chiron: Steve Rizzo -
FANTASY/SCI-FI Fest BEST Scene Reading: Harrowed, by Aaron A. Moore (interview)
A P.I. is hired to investigate the disappearance of a homeless man. During the investigation he discovers the truth about his family and his planet.
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Lloyd (M): Geoff Mays
Caller/Chad (M): Steve RizzoGet to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
My...
-
ROMANCE: Topher & Nate & The Invaders From Mars, by Ryan P. Dooley (interview)
A down-on-his-luck gay man looks back on his former relationship with the love of his life... which just so happened to coincide with the Martian invasion of Earth.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Kyana Teresa
Topher: Sean Devlin
Nate: Allan MichaelGet to know the writer:
1. What is your screenplay ...
-
FEMALE Festival Best Scene Script: Outer Bankers, by Diann Ducharme (interview)
When Nolan, a powerful plantation owner, moves his family to a new oceanside home in North Carolina in the late 1860s, his highly educated daughter Abigail struggles to accept the role she's expected to play. Powerful forces work in the shadows, eager to corrupt the family and harness their power...
-
DIVERSITY Festival Best Scene: DON'T SAY GAY, by Kevin J. Howard
Working for an organization that detains children of the LGBTQ community, a terrified father and son flee across the country after finding his sons name on the list of detainees, risking their lives to get to a free zone state where they’ll be safe from authorities.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Allan...
-
COMEDY Festival Best Scene Script: Le Tour Kashmir, by David H. Miller
East beats West when Punjab’s fastest rick-shaw driver covertly enters the sub-continent’s biggest cycling race, but her road to victory is fraught with colorful contenders, scheming politicians, and a ruthless American coach.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Claus: Steve Rizzo
Pr... -
COMEDY Festival TV Best Scene Screenplay: BELLADONNA, by Danielle Tjoelker
In 1750 London, sisters Mary and Bella Roberts are accidental stowaways on a pirate ship, which sets them on a path towards a life of crime.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Windsor: Hannah Ehman
Mary: Kyana Teresa
Bella: Elizabeth Rose Morriss