Screenwriting guide
Short Film Scripts: Free Short Scripts to Read
Short film scripts to read for free: two complete original short scripts on this page, a third in our short film guide, and five produced short film scripts published by BBC Writersroom. Each example below notes why it works, so you can read it as a writer, not just a viewer.
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Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
Two complete short film scripts
Both are originals written for this page and set in standard screenplay format. Read each with a timer: one runs about ninety seconds, the other about two and a half minutes.
Comedy short · about 1.5 pages
The Last Slice
A comedy short for two actors in one kitchen. It would run around ninety seconds and needs one pizza box.
INT. SHARED KITCHEN - NIGHT
One slice of pizza sits in an open box on the counter. A sticky note on the lid: DO NOT.
PRIYA (20s), hoodie, walks in, sees the slice, checks the hallway. Empty. She reaches for it.
TOM (O.S.)
I can hear you breathing.
Tom (20s) stands in the doorway with a toothbrush in his mouth.
PRIYA
I'm reading the note.
TOM
It says do not.
PRIYA
It doesn't say do not what.
Tom takes the toothbrush out. Considers this.
TOM
It's implied.
PRIYA
Nothing in this flat is implied. You labelled the ice.
TOM
Because people kept using the ice.
PRIYA
It's ice, Tom. It's water that got cold.
They both look at the slice.
PRIYA (CONT'D)
Split it?
TOM
You can't split one slice.
PRIYA
Watch me.
She takes a knife. Cuts it with great care. One half is clearly bigger.
She hands Tom the bigger half. He stares at it, then at her.
TOM
That's the nicest thing anyone's done for me this year.
PRIYA
It's October.
TOM
It's been a long year.
They eat, standing, in silence. Tom peels the sticky note off the lid, writes on it, and sticks it to the fridge.
INSERT: The note now reads DO NOT. SHARE.
FADE OUT.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- The conflict is tiny on purpose. Small stakes played seriously are where short comedy lives.
- The note on the box is set up in the first line and paid off in the last image.
- Each line of dialogue turns the argument a little, so the scene never stalls.
- The ending is an action, the rewritten note, not a line that explains the joke.
Drama short · about 2.5 pages
Night Bus
A drama short for two actors on a bus. It would run around two and a half minutes and can be shot on a parked bus at night.
INT. NIGHT BUS - TOP DECK - NIGHT
Empty except for two passengers. Rain on the windows. Orange street light sweeps over the seats.
ADA (70s), good coat, handbag on her knees, sits at the front.
Three rows back, KOFI (17), school blazer under a parka, earbuds in, watches her reflection in the window.
The bus brakes. Ada's handbag slides off her knees. Coins roll down the aisle.
Kofi pulls out an earbud. He gets up, gathers the coins, and holds them out.
ADA
Keep one. For the trouble.
KOFI
It's fine.
ADA
It's not a tip. It's a fee.
He takes a coin. Sits across the aisle from her, not too close.
ADA (CONT'D)
You're out late for a school night.
KOFI
So are you.
ADA
I'm allowed. I'm retired. What's your excuse?
KOFI
Library shut at ten. Home's loud.
She nods, like that is a full answer.
ADA
Mine's quiet. Forty one years of noise, and now it's very quiet.
She looks out at the rain.
ADA (CONT'D)
I ride to the end of the line and back. Two hours. People talk to you on buses.
KOFI
Do they?
ADA
Not usually.
A beat. Kofi takes the other earbud out and puts both in his pocket.
KOFI
What did you do? Before you retired.
ADA
I drove this route. Twenty two years.
Kofi laughs. Then sees she means it.
The bus pulls up at a stop. The doors hiss open downstairs. Kofi checks the sign. His stop. He does not move.
The doors close. The bus pulls away.
ADA (CONT'D)
That was yours.
KOFI
There's another one at the end of the line.
She smiles for the first time.
FADE OUT.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- Two strangers, one location, one night: the classic shape for a short you can actually make.
- The spilled coins get them talking without either of them having to explain why.
- Both characters give a short reason for being out late, and both reasons are about loneliness.
- The turn is a reveal about Ada that recolours everything she said before it.
- The change is shown by Kofi staying on the bus, not by anyone saying how they feel.
A third complete short, Lost Property, is in the short film writing guide. For single scenes from feature scripts, see the screenplay examples.
Produced short film scripts you can read
BBC Writersroom publishes these BBC Film short scripts for free private reading, each with a link to watch the finished film. The scripts stay on the BBC site.
- LizardWritten by Akinola Davies Jr and Wale Davies, directed by Akinola Davies JrAn eight year old who can sense danger follows a lizard into the hidden workings of a mega church.
- Precious Hair and BeautyWritten and directed by John OgunmuyiwaThe high street seen through the window of an African hair salon.
- Shé (Snake)Written and directed by Renee ZhanA teenage violinist’s anxieties take monstrous physical form when a rival joins her orchestra.
- Festival of SlapsWritten and directed by Abdou CisséA Nigerian mother serves her son a slap so powerful his life flashes before his eyes.
- Area BoyWritten and directed by Iggy LondonA teenager in a new town splits his time between delinquent friends and the church.
For unproduced shorts, SimplyScripts keeps a collection of short scripts posted by their writers, many marked as available for production.
How to use it
- 1
Read a short script once for the story, with a timer running. One page is roughly one minute of screen time.
- 2
Read it again and mark the setup, the turn and the ending. Most shorts have only those three moves.
- 3
Count the locations and speaking parts. That is most of what a short costs to shoot.
- 4
Then write your own in the same shape, and check the length with the runtime calculator.
Short film script length and runtime (one page is about one minute)
| Pages | Runtime | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 1 to 2 minutes | One joke or one reveal, one location |
| 3 to 5 | 3 to 5 minutes | One scene with a full turn, two or three actors |
| 8 to 12 | 8 to 12 minutes | A few scenes, a small arc, the usual festival length |
| 15 to 30 | 15 to 30 minutes | A full story; harder to program at festivals |
What does a short film script look like?
A short film script uses exactly the same format as a feature: scene headings, action, character names and dialogue, in 12 point Courier on US Letter. The only difference is length. Most short scripts run from 1 to 15 pages, and the shorter the script, the fewer locations and characters it can carry.
Good short scripts tend to share a shape: one character, one want, one turn and an ending that shows the change in an action. The two originals on this page are written to that shape so you can see it working.
Where can I read produced short film scripts?
BBC Writersroom publishes the scripts of several BBC Film short films for free, for private reading, next to links to watch the films. Reading a produced short next to the finished film is one of the best ways to learn how much of the page actually reaches the screen.
SimplyScripts hosts a large collection of unproduced short scripts posted by their writers, many of them marked as available for production. They vary in quality, which makes them useful practice for reading like a script reader.
Are the screenplays on ScriptLix short films?
No. The ScriptLix library holds original feature length screenplays, developed in house with AI tools under human direction, and the first 10 pages of each are free to read. Ten pages is about the length of a short, so the openings are still useful for studying how a script sets up a world fast. They are not produced films.
Questions writers ask
Where can I find short film scripts for free?
This page has two complete original short scripts. BBC Writersroom publishes produced BBC Film short scripts for free private reading, and SimplyScripts hosts unproduced short scripts posted by their writers.
How long is a short film script?
Usually 1 to 15 pages. One page of a screenplay runs about one minute on screen, so a 10 page short script plays in about 10 minutes.
Is there a short film script template?
A short uses the same template as a feature. Our free screenplay template works in Google Docs, Word and Pages, and the format is identical for a 3 page short or a 110 page feature.
Can I shoot one of the short scripts on this page?
The Last Slice and Night Bus were written for this page as examples. You may read and study them freely. For anything you plan to shoot and show, write your own short or get permission from the writer of any script you use.
What makes a good short film script example?
One clear want, few locations, a turn the audience did not see coming but believes, and an ending shown through action. A short that tries to cover a feature sized story usually feels rushed.
Sources
More free tools
- How to write a short filmGuideLength, ideas, structure and a full example short
- Short film ideasGuide65 ideas tagged by locations, cast and runtime
- Screenplay examplesGuideAnnotated example scenes, every element explained
- What is a screenplayGuideDefinition, a labelled sample page, who writes it
- What is subtextGuideOn the nose vs subtext, side by side