Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

FIRST PLACE

Do Unto Others - by Joseph Micheal Leone
An elderly woman and a middle-aged business banker form a bond based on mutual respect and the "Golden Rule."

SECOND PLACE

Edgar and the Undead - by Montgomery Burt
An amiable couple and their cynical house cat face tough choices trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. 

THIRD PLACE

Halverson and Halverson - by Karla S. Bryant
Two aging brothers, with a live entertainment show fading in relevancy, find unexpected appreciation in an unlikely venue.

FINALISTS

(In alphabetical order by last name)

G-String - by Fred Donner
(Synopsis not provided)

Vinnie Plays God - by Fred Donner and Rod Hewitt
A Wise Guy, Vinnie catches the attention of God. As Vinnie navigates himself through his Mafia family and criminal ways, he is always steadfast in his weekly confessions and financial obligation to the Catholic Church to repent for his sins.

Trapped - by Chris Keaton
A man searching for comfort from his past finds himself trapped.

Marshall and MacArthur - by Robert F. Redmond Jr.
Based on an actual event; Thurgood Marshall and General Douglas MacArthur have a dialog on race and the military in a empty courtroom in Korea during the Korean War

A Dream Come True - by Frank Scott
An evil wicked story about deception and immorality. Michael and Lizzie Judd are having marital problems. Both choose to go down a road of no return with no idea of its final destination.

Under the Influence - by Joseph C. Steely
Matt and Eric are two boys going for a night drive out on the town. They smoke and drink without a care in the universe. Until they are hit by the realization that the same universe is equally apathetic.

Sign Off - David Forrest Termuhlen
The fate of a TV repairman and his dying wife lies in the hands of devoted, but unusual supporters.

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Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com

Here They Are - The Official 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Posters!

Poster #1

“Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination.”

Designed By: Heather Kant

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Poster #2

“Everybody loves a winner”

Designed By: Amy Betts

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Poster #3

“This is the story of a lifetime.”

Designed By: Lisa Marie Lara

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Poster #4

“Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements!”

Designed By: Marty Freetage

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Don’t forget to check out the 2023 IHSFF Poster as well!

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

FIRST PLACE

A Package of Dreams - by Bradley M. Look
A boy longs to be a television horror host when he grows up. But that dream gets derailed as adulthood pressures him into work with his father at a parcel service. Fate steps in connecting him with a hero from childhood in a supernatural way, proving that even dreams need a little help.

SECOND PLACE

A Long Road Ahead - by Bernhard Riedhammer
A trailblazing transgender woman, stranded in the middle of nowhere, must hitch a ride with an opinionated retiree in order to stop her ex from leaving the country with their son.

THIRD PLACE

The Smell - by Stephen Hansen
Jay goes to a Walgreens to pick up some items. He’s met with an unexpected smell, and challenge.

FINALISTS

Hugh Was Here - by Montgomery Burt
Fantasy and reality collide as an unassuming long-time employee struggles to make a big exit on his last day at work, but his indifferent co-workers are no help as his violent fantasies finally catch up with him.

Blackboard Billions - by Jamila Jackson
A woman who rocketed to the top in the 80s cutthroat world of chalkboard sales recounts her success, but an arch nemesis from the past might erase her accomplishments.

Applicant American - by John Kestner
Fearing the worst, three stoners flee to Mexico when the government decides to save the environment by euthanizing the homeless.

Dolores - by Michael Seabolt and Greg Schroeder
Ethan (20’s) is having trouble sleeping. Every night, while he’s getting ready to go to sleep, a ghost lies down in bed with him. It scares him, but he also misses the ghost when it leaves, for its appearance and smell remind him of his dead girlfriend Dolores.

Three Nights Only - by Philip C. Sedgwick
A comedienne has a chance encounter with a recently unemployed man rumored to be devoid of a funny bone.

Deep Hush - by Kristy Walsh
While writing her brother's eulogy, a young woman discovers an avant-garde photograph that sends her down a path of self-discovery.

Heritage - by Chasah West and Charliese West
Grace, an African-American teenager with Louisiana creole heritage, has a whirlwind day entertaining a visitor who only speaks French.

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Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com

Here They Are - The Official 2022 Phoenix Film Festival Posters!

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A Singin' Swingin' Glorious poster for 2022!

Designed by Mandy Matthews

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There's no escaping next year's festival!

Design by Alex Patrick Merrill

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Another charming poster for PFF2022

Design by Lisa Marie Lara

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No need to fight! We'll give you all access to this epic poster!

Design by Amy Betts

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BUT WAIT! There is one more.

Marty Freetage has designed another amazing poster for the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2021 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

First Place

Petrov by Ryan Patch of Sun Valley, CA

In 1983, a Soviet Air Watch officer must make the most important decision of his life when he learns that the USA has launched five nuclear missiles at the USSR. A true story based on declassified Russian documents.

Second Place

Ella by Rodgers Wilson of Phoenix, AZ

Based on a true story, The first Black female physician in Louisiana faces misogyny, and racism in the early 20th Century as she embarks on a new career in the segregated south.

Third Place

MIJO by John McCarney of Goodyear, AZ  

As the Second American Civil War rages, an American father risks his life to get his son across the border to safety in Mexico.

Finalists

What's Wrong With Me? by Shawna Baca of Los Angeles, AZ

A young Indigenous woman must battle to escape the mental purgatory that she is trapped in before it consumes her.

The Basement by James Burns of Phoenix, AZ

Trapped in a cage in his father’s basement, a young boy fights to escape with his life; but when he discovers his father’s dark secret, things become a little more complicated than he imagined.

CHAT by Kim Hornsby of Seattle, WA

When a plain accountant attracts the online attention of a handsome man quarantined in a London Hotel room, she plays out the escalating and creepy relationship to the end just like she planned.

Divorce By Combat! by Carl Huebner of Brooklyn, NY

A novice attorney must defend an adulterous queen against the king's champion in an unconventional legal proceeding where the courtroom is a gladiatorial arena.

Jessie by John McCarney of Goodyear, AZ  

An elderly passenger confronts a mysterious young stranger on a city bus in 1955 Alabama.

Graveyard Girl by Sixa Monmarché of Gilbert, AZ

A deaf cemetery groundskeeper falls for an abused teen with supernatural powers and plots a robbery to help her escape her tortured life.

Heroes and Villains by Collin O'Brien of Scottsdale, AZ

A young superfan finds out that he's fighting for the wrong side and tries to become the hero he wants to be.

Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com.

Win tickets to see "The Little Things"

"The Little Things" starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, & Jared Leto is out in theaters on 1/29 and we've got a chance for you to see it FREE!"The Little Things" starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, & Jared Leto is out in theaters on 1/29 and we've got a chance for you to see it FREE!

Go to our Facebook page and tell us your favorite Denzel movie to enter today.

Military Wives is available to stream as part of PFF's Home Movies!

“Hugely engaging, enormously moving.”

— Daily Mail

The Phoenix Film Festival’s Stay at Home Movies is happy to partner with our friends at Bleecker Street and their Community Cinema program in bringing you their latest release, Military Wives.

From the director of The Full Monty and starring Kristin Scott Thomas (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and Sharon Horgan (CATASTROPHE), MILITARY WIVES centers on a group of women from different backgrounds whose partners are away serving in Afghanistan. Faced with their loved ones’ absences, they come together to form the very first military wives choir, helping each other through some of life’s most difficult moments, and quickly find themselves on an international stage.

MILITARY WIVES is available to stream for only $4.99 from the comfort of your home. And while we know that the best place to watch films is with other people in those comfy Harkins seats, until we can do that again, our PFF Stay-at-home movies allow you to see first run films safely at home.

Finding our voice together, apart.

MILITARY WIVES Trailer (2020) Comedy Movie © 2020 - Lionsgate

Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2020 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

First Place

Zap! by Philip Sedgwick of Tucson, AZ

An astronomer sharing backyard observations of the center of our galaxy has a run-in with mosquitoes, and a not so trusty bug zapper.

Second Place

One Afternoon In Purgatory by Timothy Kissel of Downingtown, PA

Imagine Purgatory as just another large, impersonal, retail store. One that has seen its better days, with all the panache of a rundown Walmart or aged super market. It's the story of three recently deceased individuals, and the interactions they have with the three cashiers who wait on them.

Third Place

MIJO by John McCarney of Goodyear, AZ  

As the Second American Civil War rages, an American father risks his life to get his son across the border to safety in Mexico.

Finalists

Continental Breakfast by Butterfly Cherry of Chandler, AZ

An overly imaginative girl finds creative ways to escape the mundane, desolate life of working and living in an old roadside motel in the middle of nowhere.

Downballot by John Goshorn of Statesboro, GA

A small-town Georgia politician tries to claw his way back to power by any means necessary.

Confession by Max La Caria of Peoria, AZ

A man makes his confessions for his past sins.

Mullarkey's Ghosts by Lesley Lillywhite of Tucson, AZ

As an urban couple celebrates an anniversary in Arizona, ghosts from the old west conspire to unravel their secrets.

Safe by Walter Long of Phoenix, AZ

A grieving young boy finds a way to remember his lost mother using his love of baseball.

An Unfinished Agenda by Philip Sedgwick of Tucson, AZ

Two journalists, previously separated in a war zone, reunite in the Arizona desert to document vigilante activities and catch up with their incomplete personal agenda.

The Eulogist by Peter Strupp of Carefree, AZ

A cynical eulogist receives a postmortem visit from one of his "clients," in a conversation that forever changes his outlook on life and death.

Punked by Kate Whitehead of Toronto, Ontario Canada

Punk rocker Daryl attempts to save his marriage in the divorce court parking lot, but his wife Renee proves resistant to his well-hidden charm.

Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com.