The Nashville Film Festival is excited to announce the quarterfinalists across 8 categories in this year’s Screenwriting Competition. Since 2014, NashFilm’s Screenwriting Competition has championed exceptional stories for film and television, and the visionary voices behind them, from around the world.
This year’s quarterfinalists write from across oceans to right here in Tennessee. Their stories span genres, time periods, and themes, but what they all have in common is that they stay with you long after the last page is turned.
Congratulations to the 2026 NashFilm Screenwriting Competition quarterfinalists on this recognition.
NashFilm will next announce the scripts advancing to semifinalist status, followed by finalists, who will be invited to the 57th Nashville Film Festival and treated to a live table read of a scene from their screenplay. Winners in each category will be announced at the festival’s awards ceremony and will receive cash prizes and personalized awards.
Tennessee Writer Quarterfinalists
32 by Melissa Sheridan & Jett Sheridan
A World Without Cold Beer by Melisee Pruinski
An Obvious Fact by Ama M Adair
Bit Players by Sally Pitts
Camp by Alexia Greene
Chihua-Wolf by John Hayes
Dolls of the Dead by Cashea
Grapefruit by Ali Alsaleh
Greg’s Dojo by Jeremy Ray Burchard
Heartline by Michael Henry Moore
Heavy Weight by Kael McCall
High Heels and Daffodils by R. Lloyd Ritchie
Last Past the Post by C.H. Henry
Newfound by Gerald C Wood
not THAT kind by Michael H Moore
Old Man Dead by Allen Sircy
Pageant Dad by Carrie Freedle
Resurrect The Boy by Grant Gill
Revelation by Gabriel Eby
Rise Up Little Girl by Matthew Avant
Roomates of the Silence by Victor Atkins
Saving A Christmas Carol by Shirley Amitrano
Sexy Chapter by Carrington Fox
The Cold Below by Robert Hamilton
The Lake by Jonathan Everett
The Qualifier by Andy Rogers
The Wreck King by Mason Dixon
There was a Fire on Alger Hill Road by Candace Jayde Boswell
Vibez by Alexia Greene
Comedy Feature Quarterfinalists
All Our Times Have Come by Devi Snively
Bagels & Salsa by Lara Reznik
Fortune & Glory by Chuck Copeland
Guest Relations by Harim Sanchez
I Got You Babe by T. Camponeschi
Jackalope by Luke Guidici
Land Of Enchantment by Bob Giordano
Loose Threads by Erick Lev Thoren
Middlescence by Angela Manfredi
Notice Me by Jody Wiltshire
Salamanca Shadow by Christian Stevens
Saving A Christmas Carol by Shirley Amitrano
Sexy Chapter by Carrington Fox
Smut by William Casey
The Anti-Comic by Steve Savitz
The Bald, The Buffed, And The Beautiful by Dustin Richardson
The Guessing Game by Johnny Kurtzuba
The Suitcase Movie by Richard Jean-Paul Isaac Selvi
Together Delirious by Ben Fussiner
You Just Don’t Do That by Matt Shapiro
Horror Feature Quarterfinalists
32 by Melissa Sheridan & Jett Sheridan
Avenging Addie Lewis by Christy Nichole Urquieta Cortes
Bloody Show by Andrew Betzer
Checking Out by JJ Brent
Chihua-Wolf by John Hayes
Curse of the Frontier by Samuel Jones
Darien by Farah Ysvette Mourad Vera
Dolls of the Dead by Cashea
Eiden (A Red Riding-Hood Tale) by David A Daniels
ENTITY by Adam Stephenson
Felt by Ran Jing
Heather Would Never by Emelie Claxton
HIKR_95 by Elvis Wilson
Murmurmen by Anthony Preston
Old Mother Lynn by Justin Brock
Reunion by Mac Wallach
Rise Up Little Girl by Matthew Avant
Simulacrum by David Bayles
The Depths by Tommy Bentz
The Evaluation of Mercy Downs by Toby Marks
The Seventh Rule by Matthew David Riffle & Zackary D Hill
The Shimmers by Brendan J Vogel & Ruth Sabin
When the Night Comes by Jaye Starkes
Genre Feature
A Dangerous Woman by Mary Delsol Dobon
A Quiet Reckoning by Wilson Shaw
Amber Alert by Matthew C Simon
Artificial by Tsung-Long Wu
BUSted by Hunter Davis & Bryan Bockbrader
Darien by Farah Ysvette Mourad Vera
Dark As Night by Andrew Davies Gans
Durango by Daniel J. Ricottone
Feral Mountains by Terry Luke Podnar
Flight Plans by Keith Rivers
Haven by Alessandro Chille
Helada by Faith Dismuke
Inertia by Nyah Gazda
No Peace I Find by Hyten Davidson & Christian Missonak
Peyton Dekker And The Curse Of The Camel’s Tears by Jack Messitt
Porch Pirates by JJ Brent
Praying to a Laughing God by Summer Shelton
Shadow In Hawthorn Bay by Steven Robert Mitchell
The Blood of a Stone by Richard Braine Jr
The Caretaker by John Dilley & Seth Corr
The Consultation by Christopher J Lopez
The Linguist by Maggie Tsavaris
The Qualifier by Andy Rogers
The Real Me (Can’t Explain) by Philip Paternite
Who Stole the Head of Bobbi DuPree by Kris Shuman
Wild Woman Of The Woods by Tobi Iverson
Wings by Maja Pavic
Drama Feature Quarterfinalists
A Hard Print by David Alan Templeton
A Special Correspondent by Liam Bradley
Ballad of a Poor Man by Deangelo Mcbride
Burden of Silence by Paul Frank
Carrie Buck by Paul Wagner
Ceasefire by Stash Capar
Cotton’s Sack by Will Sims
Day One by Stephen Hoover
Death in Poland by Grant Huffman
Dope Friend by Matt Ferrucci
Dry Land by Oscar Rodriguez Gorriz
Durango by Daniel J. Ricottone
Echoes of a Gathering by Regina Junior
Eskimo Brothers by Alex Halpern
Filthy by Lisa Cole
Flashing Back by Jj Brent
Going Dark by Kate diRienzi
Good Ol’ Adventure, Oomph, and the Spunkiest of Souls by Kurt Anbarci
Inside Water by Adeline Jackson
Lucky Lucy and her Auto Dare Devils by Jan Reesman
Mambo by Peter Gibbons
Mesa Verde by Sean Joseph Salazar Jourdan
Panguitch by Jason Kaleko
Parlay by Brian Joseph Spatz
Perfectly Able by Robert Mcfalls
Shadow Self by Tom Zimmerman
Significant Brother by Jeffery Allan Faulkerson
Sins of the Father by Jaya Anna George
Summer of ’98 by Kavis Karlando Peak
The Brothers of Saint Francis by Rob Figueroa
The Caretaker by John Dilley & Seth Corr
The Education of Ebbe Graves by NC Jones
The Long Fall by Alex Butter
The Real Me (Can’t Explain) by Philip Paternite
The Stars Above Us by Molly Joss
The Track by Alex Halpern
There are Monsters by Andrea Aptecker
Winter in Budapest by J. Penberth Rabold
Short Quarterfinalists
A Family Tree by Grant Lahaie
A True Crime by Girault Seger
Answer Man by Lucy Foster
Babycake by Lauryn Massenburg
Blue by Ak Vinothkumar
Cabbie by Paula Cantillo
Cavell by Alexander Menu
For the Children by Aaron Dougherty
Crispy Pleasure by Lucia Bellini
Dead Water by Kevin Machate
Death Sentence by Matt Moeller
Dream Vacation by Stephen Newton
Final Draft by Michael H. Moore
Gold Rush by Rachel Morgan
Independence by Marc Pitre
Kanna (Dear) by Vivek Pranavamurthi
Last Man Standing by Alex Dauphin
Lejos de Aquí (Far From Here) by Missy Hernandez
Like Love by Ali Alsaleh
Mass Production by Burak Sahin
Mopey Dick by Jack Lafferty
Not That Kind by Michael H Moore
Olivia Colman Says My Farts Don’t Stink by Lisa Marie Tedesco
Only You by Seth Kelman
Our Last Trip by Blake Van Curen
Over and Out by Callie Currence
Patron Saints by Ashley Gabriela
Piggyback by Vincent Gallagher
Quimbara by Angelik Laboy Torres
Rebrand by Tammy L Klein
Retrograde by Michael H. Moore
Same Time Next Week by Travis Jeffery
Self Love by Jeremy Brull
Sinner Man by Chad B. Hamilton
Spirit Walkers by Victor Dean
The Band-Aid Pilot by Andrew Miller
The Call by Nelson Spear
The Debutante’s Gown by Ashley Heathcock
The Mortician by Phil Burdette
The Revver by Mike Hanson & Kelly Susan Moothart
This Email Could Have Been a Meeting by Chase Norman
Triple Crown by Tyler Totten
Vegan Club by Lillian Carole Mclemore
What Remains by Sam Das
60 Minute Pilot Quarterfinalists
Body Electric by Caitlin Dee
Bug Out by Jeff Affrunti
Báthory by Brenna N. Penrod
Dark Country by Daniel Yi
Deadeye Daisy by Tim Young
Freedom General by Raymond Cho
Gleason’s by Jess Waters
Gods of Iowa by Terry Rietta & Andrew Chapman
Heartline by Michael H. Moore
Lords of Franklin County by Kris Shuman
Oh Bloody Hell by Nigel Tyrone Simms
Out of Order by Christine Torres
Protection by Casey Madaley
Scooped by Eric Ortega
Tell Me About It by Jack Maxwell
The Back End by Daniel Gessner & Kyle Campbell
The Drome by Hunter M. Davis
The Good Thief by Matthew Scott Dejohn & Frank Leon Dejohn
The Memory Tax by Russell Babcock
The Pirates of Lake Superior by Larkin Flanagan
The Solicitor by Ellen Ancui
The Urning – Life and Times of a Gay Rights Pioneer by Christopher M Halligan
The Whole Famdamily by Jaimie Bouwkamp & Riliey Bouwkamp
Valdez by L.E. Coleman
Wendigo: Pilot by Noah Keates
What’s Buried Beneath The Pines by Kris Shuman
Wormwood by Jordan Oakley
30 Minute Pilot Quarterfinalists
20-Something Zeus On Earth – Episode 1: The Ember in ehe Ruins by Will Moro
Camp by Alexia Greene
Clown U by Nick Eagles
Dead Weight by Orly Morris
East Nashville by Josh Wilson
Exclusive by Zane Swift
How Did I Get Here? by Sarah Zanotti & Kd Amond
In Fertility by Jane Miller
Live From Studio 7C by Zack Morrison
Pharaoh Taharqa – Warrior King by Will Sims
Prime Time by Chance Wellnitz
Son of a Beekeeper by Marcus Ross
The Disappearance Of…Dorothy Arnold by Brian J. Spatz
The Orchard by Jeremy Pick
The Palace 9 – Personality Hire by Anna Cate Jones
Tight by Heather Birmingham
Todos Santos by Erin Donovan