26FA loglines

screenplay-pic
  1. A bizarre graduation ritual occurs the night 4 before graduation, which forces four seniors to sacrifice the pieces of themselves they aren’t ready to leave behind. 
  2. A car wash1 attendant must overcome a situation where a customer can’t get their car2 into neutral.
  3. A college student gets their ID snapped in the cafeteria 1 by a worker because it wasn’t working correctly. 
  4. A detective grows increasingly suspicious when he finds the missing murder weapon 2 from their most recent case in his partner’s car. 
  5. A disorganized team 3 of aspiring animators scramble to develop a winning pilot in two weeks—but when a surprise news interview is scheduled for the next day, their creative differences explode into chaos as they race to pull together anything pitch-worthy.
  6. A focus group3 engages in heated debate after being told that one among them is actually a lifelike android, unaware that none of them are human.
  7. A fortune teller only gives ridiculously bad fortunes.3 The fortune teller could use tarot cards or the actual “fortune teller” paper craft kids used to make in school.  
  8. A game of ‘Never Have I Ever’ reveals that one member of the friend group3 is a serial killer2.
  9. A girl and her art teacher have a heart to heart about the death of the girl’s older brother.
  10. A guy is trying to convince his two other friends that he’s communicating with a real alien through his old computer, put the conversation is treated like it’s one of those “Nigerian prince” scams that go after old people. 
  11. A guy repeatedly3 gets “accused” of being wasian. He is not wasian.
  12. A low level gangster becomes caught in a lie that could cost him his life, when confronted during a private meeting arranged by his boss. 
  13. A man slowly realizes his new friend knows a little too much about him via a phone notification.
  14. A man’s calm, sunny afternoon is interrupted when a crazed stranger jumps onto his park1 bench.  Claiming to be the next big star, the stranger begins shouting very ad-libbed Shakespeare.  What starts as a minor annoyance rapidly spirals into a conversation on the meaning of art itself.
  15. A method actor struggling to change his habits takes a part playing a serial killer.3
  16. A painter can’t stop smudging their paintings at the last second.
  17. A pair of siblings attempting to fix a leaky faucet go back and forth on whether they should call a plumber or learn to fix it themselves in a metaphorical conversation about the benefits of being entirely self sufficient in uncertain times. 
  18. A person advises their friend to please stop dating white women.
  19. A person in their 20s is asked for the first time about their aspirations, and has no idea.
  20. A person notices for the first time how alive the woods are.
  21. A woman is sick and tired of her cultural food getting gentrified.3
  22. A young woman becomes concerned when her friend begins engaging in an odd conversation with seemingly nothing.  He claims to be speaking with a bored, somewhat pathetic, ghost, but is he telling the truth?  Could he require professional help, or are the two of them in the presence of a bothersome supernatural entity?
  23. A, B, and C share a round of garage beers on a weekend afternoon, when A and B converse about the wonders of gorilla tape. C, confused, inquires to the wonder. A and B then attempt to explain the raw power of fatherhood-jobs (a finished lawn, a new tool, no knee pain today, etc) to the childless C.
  24. An aging gospel singer draws from his many experiences to convince his nephew to reject an offer to a job he doesn’t approve of.  At the same time, the nephew tries to help his uncle accept changing times.
  25. An older man reflects on why his kids have gone no contact with him.
  26. As a nuclear missile races toward Chicago, two morning radio personalities must decide whether to flee or stay behind, ultimately using their final broadcast to inform, comfort, and unite a city facing extinction.
  27. Friends using a spirit board start to realize it is spilling a dark secret that was supposed to stay hidden.
  28. Pondering the existential guilt of being a passenger princess in this economy.
  29. Two childhood friends see each other again for the first time in years and have an argument on why they stopped being friends after they graduated high school.
  30. Two friends are learning far too late how to cook.
  31. Two friends compare their ‘record’ collection but aren’t on the same page on what that means.
  32. Two friends discover the sexual tension of “bro flirting” that’s only half a joke.
  33. Two people discuss pregaming breakfast.
  34. Two roommates without air conditioning debate the merits of moving north while doing whatever they can to cool down in the summer heat.
  35. When 2 people are driving in a car,1,4   one person swears they keep seeing a deer while the other denies it, saying they’re just seeing things, and an argument continues. It ends with a different person in a deer costume jumping on the hood of the car.
  36. When a blackout 4 hits overnight, a blunt, logic-driven barista and her warm, people-pleasing coworker descend into their café’s basement to restore power—only to clash over a creature in the walls that may be the key to fixing it.
  37. When a late-night4 call center2 employee answers a routine phone call, the caller claims to be witnessing her own murder in real time.
  38. When a photographer accidentally captures the same unknown figure in every picture she takes, she becomes obsessed with identifying it before it gets too close.
  39. When a young woman misses the last bus home, an unexpected conversation with a stranger forces her to confront a decision she has been avoiding.
  40. When a young woman notices small changes in her apartment every day, she becomes convinced someone is entering while she is away, but her therapist suspects another explanation
  41. When AI translation glasses start mistranslating everything they hear, two friends find themselves trapped in a spiral of misunderstandings.
  42. When overall office 3 enthusiasm takes a decline, the Business Clown must do their best to raise the stakes and stocks, before the Friday work party becomes an uncheerful fiasco
  43. When two former best friends are assigned as partners for a class project, they must finish the assignment before graduation despite the secret that ended their friendship.
  44. While at an autumn festival 1,3 with her friends, Lili struggles to fully commit to any of the fun activities, wanting to enjoy them all. On a self-dare, she goes alone to an old barn outside the fairgrounds and finds another world, full of decisions that Lili too, cannot commit to.
  45. While preparing a meal, a man and his guest debate death, purpose, and what they’d choose for their last supper. Until the guest discovers he’s not there for just a dinner, but his final meal.
  46. While struggling to write an important paper about a little-known historical figure, a student is surprised when a stranger wearing modern clothing appears, claiming to be that same figure.  Together, the two finish the paper, and learn a bit about legacy and humility along the way.

1 May require prohibitive location.  As much as I would love to tell stories that take place while people stand in line waiting to be served at Wendy’s, it is often difficult to obtain permission from the owners to shoot on premises. (especially from franchised businesses).  Those who do grant such permission generally want the shooting to take place when the business is closed (often requiring several all-night shoots with an owner/manager on set).

2 May require a specialized or dangerous prop.  Killers use knives and guns and axes and what-not.  Such items are ubiquitous in storytelling, but demand special construction and safety precautions. 

3 May require prohibitive cast size.  Schools, workplaces, public spaces, barbecues, and so on are often populated by non-speaking background roles.  These actors must be scheduled, blocked, and costumed.  Alternatively, when a script describes a character repeatedly performing the same task (usually to establish a narrative rhythm that the story breaks), it often means that a person must interact with different people.  A protagonist with anger management issues, for example, might be shown insulting three different people who don’t have lines, but nevertheless increase the size of the cast. 

4 May present an insurmountable technical challenge (usually lighting).  I embrace opportunities to teach specialized skills, but… a script that includes expansive nighttime exteriors (a section of road, for example) may require rental of equipment beyond what the school keeps in inventory.

I didn’t tag them specifically, but you may wish to consider whether a scripted situation gives off “student film” vibes.  I don’t have a problem telling stories that address the concerns and experience of 18-24 year olds.  My issue is that you (1) attract the interest of broad festival audiences and (2) produce reels which age well.