Screenplay Finalist 2025

Submission now open!

Congratulations to the 5 screenplay finalists for the Manchester Film Festival Screenplay Competition in association with ScriptUp Studios 2024.

Rare Fiddle (TV) by Jade Maitre

When feisty rebel Kathleen is desperate to escape her privileged life in far-flung New Zealand for the Bohemian life in London, she does not know that she is destined to change the landscape of literature forever. But it will come at the cost of her freedom, her health, and ultimately, her life. Rare Fiddle is the true story of writer Katherine Mansfield, Edwardian firebrand and Bloomsbury bisexual, who changed the world forever with her groundbreaking short stories and died at 34.

The Nightshift (TV) by Shiv B

A hapless emergency doctor is tasked with protecting a mysterious patient during a chaotic nightshift. This culminates in a terrifying game of cat and mouse between staff and sadistic assassins.

Lark (Feature) by Matilda Corley Schulman

Lark, a young horse trader, enters the world of a secluded West Texas Cattle Ranch in hopes of getting hired, but when a certain something catches her eye on the ranch, her own secret desires take over. But along the way, she may forget herself and be dragged down by this corner of the universe and its inhabitants — both animal and human.

Tryouts (Feature) by Johnny Rae-Evans

Teenager Maggie Henderson, whose family is about to lose everything, lands a prestigious internship at a mysterious company. The only catch: they’re a covert agency of assassins.