Best Family Screenplays

ALTA CALIFORNIA

In 1780s California, a mixed-blood scout, torn between his native heritage and Spanish conquerors, is thrust into a battle of survival and identity as he navigates oppressive mission life and brutal colonizers. Script Excerpt

Curbside Service

"When a recently separated couple gets stranded in the desert en route to a chaotic family holiday gathering, they're forced to confront the spark, and baggage they left behind, one breakdown at a time."

Doors of Miracles

A young woman trembles as she thanks God anticipating another disaster when The Light of Heaven descends upon her projecting her past the Universe to Heaven to return with supernatural powers, miracles, and God speaks. Script Excerpt

Less Traveled

A well-known celebrity falls for a girl, unknowingly below his social status. He's torn between honoring his familial traditions and societal expectations regarding relationships or following his heart and true desires regardless of the consequences.

PIRANDELLO'S WIFE

Quiet, passive, obedient, a wonderful mother to her children and perfect wife to her Nobel Prize winning husband. Then, when it was time, she was locked away in an insane asylum for the final 40 years of her life. Here, she attempts to tell her story. https://pirandelloswife.com/ Script Excerpt

Under No Circumstances

A grounded, independent survivalist, swearing off parenthood, is forced to venture outside of his comfort zone when he reluctantly falls for a lively single mother.

Child of the Disappeared

In the shadow of Argentina's Dirty War, a woman facing terminal illness and her supportive husband embark on a poignant journey to find her long-lost son, confronting a pervasive web of silence and complicity. Script Excerpt

The Paper Route

On the eve of his 16th birthday, a teenager makes a discovery that could be his ticket out of his hellish small town life, but it means leaving his younger brother behind.

THE SCRIPT, A CELTIC HORROR TALE

A mysterious young, Irish girl, who refuses to name herself, insists that Aiden O’Brien, a Los Angeles literary agent read her work—both their lives depend on it! Despite Aiden’s repeated attempts to destroy the script, it returns, together with a host of Celtic demons and a sign, in Gaelic, “The Past Does Not Die.” Script Excerpt

The Mythical Golden Trout

When a cash-strapped family camping in the Sierras discovers a huge nugget of gold, the local police chief rounds up a posse of clueless misfits and sets out to steal it from them.

Pretty Baby: The Tragic Death Of Marion Parker

Based on a shocking 1927 crime, a grieving woman exposes the decades-old truth about her twin sister's murder to prevent the killer's lawyer from publishing his own skewed account of the tragedy.

RODEO

A wealthy, widowed New York socialite, and a know-it-all preacher enters the unfamiliar world of rodeo, determined to “rescue” the widow’s wayward daughter who has fallen for a young bull rider. But plans go comically awry. Eventually the rodeo and unlikely romances win the day. Script Excerpt

Dance of the Innocent

The just deceased spirit of a Black pro-life leader is restored in heaven with the two unaware children of her youth, recounting the events around their earthly loses decades earlier to a teenage abortion and the related miscarriage. The spirit of her one-time White fiancé divulges the explosive secret that had altered all of their lives.

PLAYING THE CHANGES

The country's top neurosurgeon, an unfeeling man, sees his perfectly ordered life unravel and, after hitting rock bottom, reinvents himself as a jazz saxophonist in an effort to recover his heart, humanity, and possibly his estranged wife – who is determined to resist his persistent and unwelcome attempts to win her back. Script Excerpt

THE QUISLING

When O’Clery, a high-profile Irish terrorist, is arrested at San Francisco airport, his deportation defense is led, surprisingly, by Sean Conlon, an inexperienced attorney. As the twists and turns unravel, Sean’s own family becomes the subject of an old betrayal. http://quislingmovie.com/

Tardigrades in Space

A larger-than-life tardigrade toddler befriends a spunky girl who longs for a little brother. Embarking on a quest to liberate the tardi's siblings from a university hospital lab, the duo jeopardizes a gene therapy that stands between life and death for girl's beloved cousin.

The Squawker

Two gonzo grad students and a fearless Native American woman clash with the FBI as they search for an endangered, sacred bird on her tribal homeland that could save the area from loggers. Script Excerpt

The Magnificent Kevin

The Magnificent Kevin, a young magician in the old west, teams up with Harry Houdini and a secret society of magicians to battle their arch-nemesis, Melvin the Mentalist.

Family

Seeking a fresh start, a newly married couple and their teenage daughter move to a small town, but the daughter begins to suspect that her stepfather is hiding something sinister. Script Excerpt

TIME OUT

A man who has willfully taken a time out from his marriage for fourteen years, is suddenly thrust back into it to save the life of an ailing son he never knew he had.

Marlowe

A brown, Virginia, field mouse moves into the bedroom of eleven-year-old-Cole who teaches the animal to talk and wear clothes. In the end, Marlowe saves Cole and his family and a small group of humans and animals, from a virus that kills all animals globally in less than a year.

FOR LIFE

Edged on by his incestuous sister-in-law, the president of a leading euthanasia group faces-off with his estranged anti-euthanasia daughter over the fate of his aged mother.

True Tears - Timeless Fairy Tale

A young princess who grew up hidden in the woods must find her father, the King, to save the kingdom from doom – His twin sister and self-appointed Sorceress Queen, who banished him about 18 years ago, uses all her powers to prevent a successful journey.

Turf War

As Florida neighbors fall in love, their rival lawn ornaments start a war. Script Excerpt

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

In trying to earn his gold wings, Jeremy, a young goldfinch, must find the courage to challenge the bird of prey that killed his father.

Love and Venom

After fleeing home as a child to escape the wrath of his deranged mother, a young man returns years later when he learns that his beloved father has just a few days to live and his mother wants to follow him to the gates of heaven.

ELIJAH

The King of Israel marries a Phoenician Princess, who is consumed by Baal worship and wants to kill all devout Hebrews. God’s prophet challenges the king to repent despite the threat of death.

Sky...Diamonds

From inside the mind of an eccentric Woodstock-era grandmother with advanced Alzheimer’s, we journey back ten years, piecing together her story as issues of family and communication surface while 3 generations grapple with her changing state. Funny, sharp and alarmingly direct Monique is a force to be reckoned with. Script Excerpt

CYCLONE - OPTIONED

OPTIONED. NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Quarter-finalist Screen Lab 2019. Semi-finalist Fresh Voices 2020. Semi-finalist Emerging Screenwriters 2022. Stevie is fifteen years old and well on the way to becoming a hardened criminal; Dave is a cop, natural enemy of Stevie; Susie is Dave’s two-year-old daughter who is kidnapped during a cyclone. The last thing a teenage boy needs is a baby. But it falls to Stevie to save the baby – without knowing who she is and for totally unselfish motives – and thus to save Dave and his family from total disintegration.

ONCE THERE WERE STORIES

In this family drama, Christmases of long ago, ones of togetherness, family entertainments, and memorable stories, as told by Grandpa Lynn, now living in his daughter, Rhiannon Nolan's, spare room, now contrast with those of the Nolan family with its packaged television and sports, relatives' distancing, and multitude of electronic distractions. Script Excerpt

The Cemetery Plots

Three elderly ladies don't look forward to being buried alone as their husbands' bodies were unfound after a plane crash. Each buys two cemetery plots and begins a quest to find men willing to share the everlasting; however, after signing the agreement papers, the police investigate when two men die. Script Excerpt

A ROSE BY THE DOOR

A God fearing woman finds herself burned out by hurtful tragedies in her life. By trying to hide secrets from the past, she comes to the place where faith seems gone. But she overlooks, that old wounds must be touched and tended before they could be healed for good. A ROSE BY THE DOOR is an adaptation of Deborah Bedford's inspirational novel with the same title.

The Rocking Horse Christmas

A seven year old boy named Cody saves Christmas with the help of his dog and two animated mice. In this action/animated adventure Cody passes through the fire of manhood by saving an ancient Christmas ornament that has been in his family for three hundred years.

FURGROW BIRDS SPIRITUAL ROSE

When a dog loses his owner and home, he discovers a dark conspiracy involving an evil king, a hidden realm, and God's magical crystals used to alter the world. Spiritually driven, he recruits crossbred animals to seize the crystals and end Earth's out-of-control evolution. Script Excerpt

Furgrow Birds back to the beginning

When a dog loses his owner and home, he discovers a dark conspiracy involving an evil king, a hidden realm, and God's magical crystals used to alter the world. Spiritually driven, he recruits crossbred animals to seize the crystals and end Earth's out-of-control evolution. Script Excerpt

I Hear You

A belligerent boss berates his employees and incurs struggles with his marriage and hearing-impaired son, but after he is caught pilfering from the company, he faces the threat of his wife finding out and losing his career.

Faithful Wife and Hooker

When a prudish, repressed wife uncovers her frustrated husband’s "intentional adultery,” in disguise, she replaces his hooker and blackmails him for cheating (!), setting off a series of cascading, mutual deceptions that ironically awakens her libido and restores their marriage.

Sam Fights Back

: An engaging, stroppy 12/13 year-old, having blinded his sister, must save for her eye operation by Christmas. He has to outwit ruthless crooks wanting his computer skills, or disappear.

MEND

A young widow with two children pursues her dream of opening a custom upholstery shop in defiance of her critical mother—and finds unexpected support from the brother-in-law she blames for her husband's death.

Twisted

A young man, scarred in a fire as an infant, exhibits secretive behavioral problems, but must straighten out his twisted thinking at a rehabilitation facility whose head has his own twisted logic.

Not About Money

A late forties competent corporate gal gets promoted into management, is soon demoted and files a discrimination suit, while the one most responsible for her demise surprisingly takes on the task to disclose the unscrupulous ruler behind the scheme to get rid of her.

Home Like a Shadow

College girl accompanies her new boyfriend to his decaying San Joaquin Valley home town for his mother's birthday and is pulled into family conflicts and lost dreams dating back to the Civil War. Script Excerpt

BORN TO BE YOU

A female seagull gets stranded and injured on an island of flightless cormorants. The leader nurses her back to health. He wants her to be his mate with the condition that she gives up flying. The story is about choosing wisely and following the path of destiny, no matter if born male, female or whatever race or origin.

We Wrestle Not With Flesh And Blood - 2nd TV episode of Free Indeed

Our hero is gifted to see into the supernatural if someone is in need. But Anger hinders her gift. She joins a Martial Arts School. A warrior demon pursues the founder by trying to snatch him over to the dark side. Can she free him?

The Christmas Cave

Thirteen year old Jack and his sister Amanda go in search of a mythical cavern their grandmother went looking for fifty years earlier... when her brother Bill was lost, never to be seen again.

Braumaru

A clever sixth grader must learn to control her dreams or be trapped in them forever by a power hungry janitor intent on world domination.

Robby's Eagle

A young orphaned boy struggles to become a man by saving an American Bald Eagle from a poacher.

Radioland! (Coming of Age/Psychological/Comedy/Drama/Memoir

A naïve 12-year-old boy, falls in love with a fantasy, learns the truth about his fatally flawed hero -- a 1960s Top 40 radio deejay -- and discovers the bittersweet Script Excerpt

The Angel Among Us

A story about high school classmates brought together bu a high school football game and how the game’s final outcome changed their lives.

Can U Love Me

Can U Love Me is a powerful and intimate story that speaks to the resilience of family, the pain of systemic failure, and the determination of a mother and son striving to transcend their circumstances. It serves as both a love letter to the strength of Black families and a critical reflection on the America that shapes—and often limits—their possibilities. Script Excerpt

WIZ KID

An 11 year old boy with a 180 IQ graduates from High School in Georgia, reluctantly leaves behind his wheelchair-bound mom, and heads off to a prominent university where he leaves his mark on the school, inside and outside the classroom... including on the football field.  Script Excerpt

True Family

Une jeune ado nommée Lisa a eu un enfance de princesse à LA. Ses parents se séparent et elle va vivre à Brooklyn chez son oncle Dominic qui est un homme très froid et distant. Elle rencontre ensuite une famille qu'elle va beaucoup apprécier pour son union et sa solidarité. Elle se sentira seule et blessée mais cette famille sera là pour elle. Et par la fin elle se rendra Compte que c'est elle sa vraie famille malgré qu'ils n'ont aucun lien sanguin.

FLIGHT OF THE HEN GLIDERS

When strong winds blow a flock of chickens and their coop away from young Emily and Sam's backyard, it's up to the chickens to learn to fly their coop back home. Script Excerpt

CHASING TAIL, A CHRISTMAS TALE

A CIA agent and soon to be first-time father is forced to team with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency's 9 year old grandson to find a computer hacker that goes by the code name: The Hacking Santa.

A Christmas Carol : The Next Chapter

On the day after his transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge embarks on a journey of redemption, determined to mend the relationships he once neglected and spread the newfound spirit of Christmas.

A Christmas Carousel

A determined journalist returns to her charming hometown to cover a Christmas festival, only to find herself reconnecting with her childhood friend while working together to restore a beloved carousel—and discovering love along the way.

Home For The Holidays

When a career-focused New Yorker accidentally ends up in Chicago during the holiday season, he finds himself unexpectedly enchanted by the city—and a local artist who helps him rediscover the meaning of home.

The Hidden Workshop

REFUGE

A woman has her husband arrested for assault and battery, only the husband has no memory of the event and depends on a young, inexperienced court-ordered attorney to discover what really happened.

A Force Of Habit

Two siblings, grappling with the emotional baggage that has taken a toll on their lives, find hope and healing through the power of faith and forgiveness.

Howlingween 5: Trip Along

Fate has dealt another terrible hand to the Forran family. Only wishing to enjoy a road trip across America, the family encounters a human-like wolf, the brainchild of a disturbed seven-year-old boy. Script Excerpt

THE AMAZING TOOTHBRUSH

A 11yr old boy receives a special toothbrush.

TEXT ME

MAN'S BEST FRIEND IS NOT A DOG, IT'S A CELL PHONE.

FISHING ON TUESDAYS

Friendship is the greatest catch.

Howlingween 4: Beastly Mist

A surprisingly intelligent swarm of flesh-eating insects is terrorising a small tourist community in Florida, leaving skeletons in its wake. It's left to a professor of entomology and the Forran family to battle the swarm. Script Excerpt

GOING ALONE

When a biologist working on aN important environmental report dies mysteriously, his estranged daughter takes over his work while an assassin is closing in. Script Excerpt

DOWN WITH DAD

3-time Man of the Year Dave McNabb tries to teach teen son Lincoln a life lesson -- “do good things, good things happen.” But much to Lincoln's delight and wonderment, while things seem to take a turn for the better for him, they suddenly go south for dear old dad and bad things happen... very bad things. Script Excerpt

ARMED:STAY

A grieving, young widow and mother will fight through severe depression and panic attacks to protect her family from a somewhat inept intruder who breaks into her home with a gun, a bullet wound, and an oxy addiction. Script Excerpt

Whirlabout

A man returns home to care for his father who’s riding a downhill early-onset Alzheimer’s spiral, but dark secrets revealed about the family patriarch’s past shock him to the core, dramatically altering the course of the old man's care... as well as the direction of his own life. Script Excerpt

THE GEPETTO PROTOCOL

To stay "real" in the real world after their last creator dies, an action figure, fashion doll, superhero, anime girl, and crash dummy—now real flesh and blood—must find new believers in ten days or be forgotten forever, and get help from two kids and their dad at a cosplay convention. (Could be Animation or Live-Action) Script Excerpt

On Board

A "ship of fools" indeed: madcap teenagers, a lush head of security, a priest who loves riddles, a captain off death-row, a martial artist challenging a boxer — and a serial killer. Come on board for the cruise of a lifetime. Script Excerpt

Howlingween 3: Red River County

A tourist-dependent town in Florida boasts of a historic inhabitant as being America's first serial killer, only to suffer his reawakening. Script Excerpt

Howlingween 2: Clarry the Clown

Holiday-makers on a beautiful island resort find themselves trapped with a murderous clown. Script Excerpt

Howlingween

A dream holiday turns nightmarish when a family encounters a malicious wolf and traders in fresh human organs. Script Excerpt

Counterchance

An FBI agent goes to any length to save his family. Script Excerpt

Splendid Isolation

A girl lost in the Alaskan wilderness meets her banished pet tiger — now fully grown. Together they survive many challenges — except, perhaps, one another. Script Excerpt

Once Young

Two parent-less 18-year-olds fall in love and, alone and together, struggle with what love and maturity may look like amid an adult world that is often confusing and sometimes dangerous. A panoramic tale of life as seen through the eyes of innocence. Script Excerpt

NOT ANOTHER VAMPIRE STORY

An embarrassment-prone middle school girl's life gets risky when she suspects her pretty older sister's good-looking boyfriend is really a vampire, and sets out to prove it. (Could be Animated or Live-Action) Script Excerpt

Watch Night

After his wife abandons him and their autistic son, a husband loses everything and needs supernatural help to regain his dignity and keep his son.

SWIM FOR YOUR LIVES

A dysfunctional father and daughter vacationing in Bali, conflicted over a pending divorce, are sole survivors of a plane crash at sea and try to swim to the nearest coast, fighting both natural and human elements of danger. Alternate version for a different location: British Columbia, Canada. Script Excerpt

A Dying Business

The story of a father and son who manage a funeral Business that is literally is dying. When a wonder drug comes a long to perlong life, this seems like the end for their business.

JANIE LOVES BOLLYWOOD!!

An updated heartwarming and relatable take on "It's a Wonderful Life!" - but Bollywood style with a Goth girl and a hot Bollywood actor "angel" instead of old-fashioned George Bailey and Clarence. Script Excerpt

The Liberty Bell Sweepstakes

A dazzling young woman who claims she can “invent the future” leads three lovestruck guys on a zany quest to win a big pile of cash on the Fourth of July. Script Excerpt

LIFE WITHOUT FATHER

Ghost dramedy with inspirational, faith-based family values, a la "Ghost" meets "Parenthood". An acclaimed news cameraman who's been neglecting his family for his career dies suddenly under mystical circumstances and returns home as a ghost to haunt his 12-year-old son a week before his 13th birthday. He only has a short time to teach his son life lessons and to learn how to be, and to redeem himself as, a once-absentee dad. Script Excerpt

DOWNsized

A young couple who work in a holiday display factory try to make their way back home after mysteriously being miniaturized among model Christmas villages.

THE WORD ON THE STREET

While trying to keep her family together, a young Catholic widow must deal with prejudice as black families start moving into their all-white parish in 1950s West Philadelphia.

Safari

The Danielson family from middle, suburb America, win a six week paid vacation down the Blyde River Valley Gorge in South Africa and it becomes the vacation from hell that almost takes the life of everyone in the family, one at a time. Script Excerpt