ISA Staff Picks: May 2025

The ISA team is proud to spotlight these screenplays and their writers as standout examples in their respective genres and formats for May 2025. These projects are currently under consideration for submission to ISA-approved agents, managers, producers, and production companies actively seeking fresh talent and high-quality material to develop. 

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PROFILE      PROJECTS     SUCCESS STORIES

Introducing ISA's Staff Picks for May 2025:

Phantom Frequency by Scott Richards

Logline: When a deeply grieving widow’s dead husband contacts her through on old radio, she risks letting his torturing Demons into the real world in a desperate attempt to save him, but the truth of why he’s in hell and her own failure may destroy everything.

Selected by ISA Staff Member Max Timm

Comments: A deeply emotional, gritty, dark yet hopeful horror film that adds just the right amount of “weird” with action, suspense, and character-driven drama and conflict. This is a wild ride with vicious visuals, personal trauma, but still all the right amount of fun that a mainstream horror audience expects.

ISA Connection: Scott has been an ISA member for a long time, and has worked with Max Timm and The Story Farm closely for the past three years. He has multiple projects in development with various producers across multiple genres.

Awards:

Special Jury prize Los Angeles Film Awards

Fast Track Fellowship 2nd Round, multiple contest wins and placements.

No Ghosts Tonight By Adele Smaill

Logline: In a bid to get home, a young woman forces her way aboard an inflatable dinghy full of asylum seekers who must band together to evade capture and survive a deadly Channel crossing.

Selected by ISA Staff Member Shayna Weber

Comments: No Ghosts Tonight is a thriller that couldn’t be more relevant in today’s world of refugee crises and identity struggles. This script is both heartbreaking and eye-opening and it feels both timeless and urgent. Beautifully crafted and fast-paced, this story centers around a fierce and resilient female protagonist holding onto hope in a world that offers little. It’s gripping, compassionate, and worth a read!

ISA Connection: Category Selection for 2025 Fast Track Fellowship

Awards: 

Finalist - 2024 Academy Nicholl

Winner - 2024 Shore Script Feature Contest

Winner -  2024 Golden Script Competition,

Claustrum by Jen Krueger and James Mullholland

Logline: As the world's first human clone, 16 year old Izzy struggles under intense private and public scrutiny as she attempts to live up to often contradictory memories of the girl she was made to replace, while also fighting to form her own identity.

Selected by ISA Staff Member Felicity Wren

Comments: This script explores complex themes around family dynamics and hidden secrets in a grounded, accessible way. Although set in a slightly futuristic context, the narrative feels incredibly possible and relatable, resonating deeply on an emotional level.

Central to the story is the concept of identity replacement—exploring the idea of teaching someone who they are meant to be, which raises compelling questions about what it truly means to be human. Also what happens in a partnership when dealing with grief and the possible remedy when their only child has passed. 

Comparable to "Never Let Me Go," with its exploration of identity and humanity, or "Ex Machina," which similarly blends subtle sci-fi elements into a deeply human drama. Additionally, episodes from the series "Black Mirror," such as "Be Right Back.”

Overall, this is a fresh, emotionally rich narrative that thoughtfully examines significant moral and existential questions.

ISA Connection: Fast Track Fellowship Selection May 2025

Awards: Fast Track Fellowship 

THE PUBLIC DOMAIN by Adam Somang Karlson and Joe Neil Hayes
- Animated Television Series

Logline: After discovering that he’s the A.I. avatar of a fictional character, Wally Chang and his famous literary teammates must find a way to break out of THE PUBLIC DOMAIN - History’s first completely A.I. generated TV show.

Selected by ISA Staff Member Craig James

Comments: This is the second project I’ve read from co-writer Adam Karlson, and it’s clear this is a team of rising stars. To be honest, this kind of story wouldn’t normally be on my radar, but the concept is too intriguing to ignore. Taking beloved characters from our youth—now part of the public domain—and thrusting them into a high-stakes AI simulation for the ultimate battle royale makes for an irresistibly fun animated series. Get ready as some of history’s most iconic figures, including Winnie the Pooh, fight to the death! A must-read for fans of bold, boundary-pushing adult animation.

ISA Connection: ISA Development Slate for CHOKE (another project by Adam)