Shore Scripts Names Film Fund Finalists

Shore Scripts has announced their Fall, 2025 Short Film Fund Finalists:

PRODUCTION GRANT ($15k)
(in alphabetical order by script title, 15 screenplays have progressed)

BELONG
Sikander Malik
Kaleel (Kal) Awan, a British Muslim soldier, returns home after serving his country, only to face rejection from the far right, his community, and even his family. Forced to become homeless and disconnected from his sense of self, Kal must choose to fall apart or rise up after uncovering a hidden and forgotten legacy.

Female Serial Killer
LG Stokes
A documentary crew follows the antics of Abigail — a ruthless yet charming serial killer who thirsts to prove herself a feminist icon among the male-dominated pantheon of psychopaths.

Grace
Lesley Fera
When a middle-aged woman with Down syndrome learns her mother has died, she embarks on a quest to attend the funeral in Los Angeles, enlisting the unlikeliest of travel companions.

Grind My Bones Into the Dust You Breathe
Angelina Hue
In a quiet, misty countryside somewhere off the coast of Scotland, a woman grapples with the aftermath of her husband’s mysterious disappearance – and her neighbours lurk two steps behind her.

Heat
Cassie Phillips
A young single mother navigates her way through a tragic series of setbacks on her way to a job interview that holds the key to a new life.

Know Your Lights
Al Benoit
In a Mexican-American neighborhood in Chicago, a young girl investigates mysterious “lights” that seem to make people disappear—only to realize the true danger stalking her community isn’t supernatural at all.

Krousaa
Kanica Suy
Amid the horrors of the Cambodian Genocide, a father fights to save his young daughter when their family is torn apart by the Khmer Rouge.

Machine-Man
Lily Gwynne-Thomas
Duke has a unique bond with his car, a Volvo that loves him back. However, when it breaks down, he must rely on another man to fix it.

MUEZZA
Khadija J. Khan
An aging Pakistani father cleans out his estranged son’s flat and slowly uncovers the life his son lived – and the bond they never had – through the quiet presence of his son’s cat, Muezza.

Rosemary’s Gayby (working title)
Billy Griffin, Jr.
A gay couple brings home their new baby only to discover that she might already be…a republican.

Tea
Nonzi Bogatsu
Stuck in a cold marriage, a sexually frustrated woman discovers in a dream that a few drops of her period blood in her husband’s daily tea magically makes him amorous and hot for her. But her period and the magic soon end, making her fear that she will lose him forever.

Texas Daughter
Zita Bai & April Maxey
A determined Chinese-American actress travels to a secluded Texas ranch to prepare for a role—only to find herself suddenly drawn to the tough Tejana cowgirl who’s training her.

The Cold Signal
Niklas Theorin
A 911 operator receives a call that stops her cold.

WHEN THE VEILS DANCE
Tayebe Babaei
After the fall of ISIS, an eighteen-year-old Kurdish mother returns from captivity to her family in the windswept borderlands between Syria and Iraq, carrying with her a three-year-old son, born of rape. But her homecoming comes at a price: to be accepted, she must abandon the child.

Young Man
Alex Matraxia
In 1990s London, Fox, a young hustler, forms an unlikely bond with an older client estranged from his son. As their connection deepens, Fox is offered a chance to reinvent himself, but the cost may be more than he bargained for.

FINISHING FUNDS ($4k)
(in alphabetical order by film title, 5 short films have progressed)

Bundle
Written & directed by Carlo Milillo
Buried alive under a pile of bodies… and the nightmare’s just beginning.

Girl | Dad
Written & directed by Lianzi Fields
Over four decades, a Chinese adoptee and her single father navigate cultural identity, family bonds, and ultimately, the fog of dementia.

Matando Moscas
Written & directed by Ericka Lavin
Trapped in monotony, a disillusioned office worker hires a hitman to kill him—only to discover that fate has a darker sense of humor.

Son of a Bikram
Written by Ash T & Johnny Rey Diaz, directed by Johnny Rey Diaz
After discovering he’s the illegitimate son of disgraced yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, a delusional office worker spirals into a heated identity crisis, determined to reclaim his father’s legacy, even if it kills him.

The Queen, The Knight, and The Witch
Written & directed by Letia Solomon
On the eve of her 35th birthday, Amber must convince her sex worker, a South LA native, T’Ron, to engage in unorthodox foreplay through a medieval fantasy audiobook to defeat her anxiety about skin-to-skin contact. In one night, Amber struggles with her internal “Witch” to achieve a real connection.

Updated: 12/04/2025

Additional Contest Info: Shore Scripts Short Film Fund