Catch Me

Short Film Script - Runner Up in OUFF Winter Screenwriting Competition 2021

OUFF host an annual Winter Screenwriting Competition. Entrants are invited to put together a short screenplay of 5 pages or less. I'd never tried my hand at screenwriting before, but after a few minutes thinking about what I could possibly write about, I suddenly had a very strong vision for a short, queer coming-of-age film.

I spent around a week of my winter vacation planning and writing the script. My method was led by particular shots that I had in mind. I would bulletpoint these snapshots into a google doc, then string them into a coherent order and start fleshing these special moments out into full scenes.

The trickiest part, I found, was the re-writes: how to condense things down, cut lines and, even, characters. Five pages is not long to establish your characters and the themes you want to target, let alone leave room for interpretation and development, but I gave it a solid go for a first attempt; I was happy with the final script. Even more unexpected, I was pleasantly surprised to have been awarded Runner Up for Best Script in the competition, with over 40 scripts entered.

I was lucky enough to receive feedback from award-winning screenwriter, Robin Mukherjee:

Love blossoms as a young man finds himself. This is very simple and yet affecting. The dynamic between the characters is believable and emotionally consistent. The settings and images are well drawn, and the final image strong.

~ Robin Mukherjee

The winning scripts are put up for production by OUFF, so I hope to turn this script into a short film in the near future - a daunting but very exciting prospect!

Stay tuned to hear updates on the production as it develops.