Promotional poster for "The Battles of Birdtown," a screenplay by Christopher Shank. The top features award laurels, and the central image shows a foggy lake scene. Below is a cemetery with gravestones. Caption reads: 'A family’s journey from heartbreak to healing.' Coming soon announcement included.

The battles of birdtown

A despondent musician, who seeks to move on from a life of trauma, faces conflict when he comes home for his mother's death and is forced to confront his painful past.

Finalist in

Semifinalist, Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2025

Finalist, Richmond International Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2023

Quarterfinalist, Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition 2023

Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship 2023

Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Winter 2022-23

Quarterfinalist, Filmmatic - Inroads Fellowship Season 6

Quarterfinalist, Filmmatic Drama Screenplay Awards Season 8

More Placements in

Honorable Mention, Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition Spring 2023

A moody scene featuring a man sitting on the street with a small dog. The background shows cars and houses shrouded in fog. The text reads "Me the Dog and the Dark Fog" with film competition accolades beside it.

Me, the dog, and the dark fog

On the night Will decides to end his life, an unexpected request from his ex-wife to dogsit her teacup Yorkie disrupts his plans, leading him to reconsider his choices and find hope in unexpected companionship.

Finalist in

Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival 2024

Semifinalist, Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition 2024

Quarterfinalist, Vail Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2024

Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay Short Script Lab 2024

A dramatic movie poster for "Keep Driving" featuring a car parked on a highway between towering cliffs. Two people are near the car, one standing with a rifle and one sitting on the car. The tagline reads, "One drive can save a life... if you just keep going." A keychain with "Keep Driving" is in the foreground.

Keep driving

A grieving rideshare driver picks up a troubled passenger heading to a remote canyon, but as their journey unfolds, he discovers the man’s plan to end his life. Forced to confront his own failures, the driver must find the strength to intervene, forging a fragile connection that could save them both.

Currently in competition.

A group of diverse people standing in a street in front of a building with a sign saying 'Here For This.' Various graffiti covers parts of the building. The scene has a stylized, illustrated look.

Here for this

When Sean and Maya’s dream of turning their community store into a vibrant hub for creativity faces relentless opposition from a corrupt local power broker, they must navigate personal sacrifices, deepening conflicts, and their fears to restore hope and unity in their fractured town.

Currently in competition

A surreal scene depicting a boy standing in shallow water holding a large anchor, with a misty background showing silhouettes of people and a boat. The sky is muted with a setting or rising sun. Trees and reeds frame the scene, enhancing the dreamlike atmosphere.

anchor - “Pilot”

A young man grapples with the heavy burden of family loyalty and personal dreams, as he navigates love, loss, and the haunting legacies of his past—culminating in a journey that tests his resolve to stay anchored to his roots or break free into the unknown.

Currently in competition.

Brown jacket with patches and 'This Town Kills People' text, poster for 'The Reservist' film.

the reservist

After his brother's death in Iraq, a disillusioned punk rocker faces the ultimate dilemma between escaping his suffocating small town life and honoring his late brother by deploying to the very war that killed him.

Second drafting.

Silhouette of a person and an urn on a rock in a desert landscape at sunset with text "How to Disappear Completely, A Refestlama Drama".

how to disappear completely

A year after their friend’s passing, a group of estranged friends reunites in the desert to scatter his ashes, confronting unspoken grief, fractured relationships, and the truths they’ve been avoiding—all while discovering that letting go doesn’t mean forgetting.

Second drafting.

A dimly lit room with a hospital bed and a smartphone displaying 'Standby' on a table, text 'The call will come' above.

STANDBY

A man on the verge of losing his father is forced into a state of constant waiting—balancing hospital calls, legal battles, and his own unraveling—while trying to hold his family, and himself, together. As he prepares for the inevitable, he learns that grief doesn’t begin with death—it begins the moment you realize life will never be the same.

Outlining.

Meme featuring a person laughing with text overlay "FUCK YOU TOM CRUISE."

fuck you, tom cruise

An aspiring screenwriter must navigate a devil's bargain when his lifelong crush and Hollywood icon Tom Cruise become romantically involved, prompting him to choose between advancing his career by betraying his heart or standing up to the star to win true love and artistic integrity.

Outlining.

Illustration of two people jogging with a tropical cityscape and mountain backdrop, surrounded by tropical leaves and flowers, captioned 'Miles Apart.'

miles apart

A married couple travels to Hawaii to run the Honolulu Marathon, each hoping for something different—she sees it as a test of discipline and redemption after an injury, while he hopes it will rekindle their relationship and connect him to something deeper. As the race unfolds, their physical and emotional endurance are pushed to the brink, forcing them to confront what they’ve been running toward—and what they’ve been running from.

Outlining.

Stylized artwork featuring a helicopter flying over a small town with American flag elements and military funeral procession.

birdfall

When a military helicopter carrying local Army reservists crashes during a routine training mission, a small town is shattered by the sudden loss of its sons and daughters. Through thirteen interconnected vignettes, the film follows grieving families, friends, and survivors over the three weeks leading up to the burials, revealing how the ripple effects of tragedy alter the town’s identity forever. As the community struggles to honor the fallen, they must also confront their own fears, regrets, and the difficult question of how to move forward when the people who defined them are gone.

Outlining.