ScriptUp is delighted to be producing the 2024 screenwriting track of the UK's Manchester Film Festival — not least because it brings us the welcome chance to read and assess some of the best unproduced screenplays circulating today. 

2024's Screenplay Competition saw over 250 entries from around the globe, with each submission read blind by a pool of thoroughly-vetted readers. The field has now been whittled down to five outstanding finalists. 

We're eager to share the loglines of these finalist scripts on our blog, not just to amplify the achievement of their writers, but also to help other developing writers see what kind of premises generate excitement and engagement in readers. 

Nailing a killer base story is over half of the battle in screenwriting; these five scribes have won resounding victories on that front... 

to be a bird (SHORT)

by Gavin O’Herlihy

LOGLINE: “11-year-old Seamus takes drastic measures to prevent his family from starving during the Great Famine.”

rare fiddle (TV)

by Jade Maitre
LOGLINE: “When feisty rebel Kathleen is desperate to escape her privileged life in far-flung New Zealand for the Bohemian life in London, she doesn’t 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 Bhatt

LOGLINE: “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

LOGLINE: “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

LOGLINE: “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.”

Our hand-picked industry jury will be bounced between continents and decades as they rank the five contenders, providing written development feedback on each. 

The overall winner of the 2024 Screenplay Competition will be announced at the festival awards ceremony, taking place on Sunday 24th March at the Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. 

Those interested in attending the festival can find out more on the MANIFF website, and those keen to submit for next year's competition should keep an eye out on the Film Freeway submission page and Coverfly page (as well as ScriptUp's social media).