Short Screenplay AFIN 315
THE CONTRACT
Written by Giulio Valeri
AFIN 2025 Nominee
- 2025
-
Italy - English
- MA15+
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Synopsis
A painter undergoing a botched eye surgery is given the chance to save his precious eyesight, but it will cost him his soul
What makes this one special
From the Judges
From the Judges
A reading experience that leaves you unsettled in the best way, this short lingers on its questions of choice and consequence long after the final page. It moves with real imaginative nerve, blending surreal horror and existential dread into something tonally assured, carried by memorable set pieces and metaphors that land with weight. The panel found the writing so richly detailed that they could visualise nearly every shot, feeling the mounting psychological pressure at its centre.
Writer's Biography
Giulio Valeri Writer
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, I have been passionate about cinema, comics, and literature since childhood. My MA thesis in Linguistic, Literary, and Translation Sciences focused on analyzing the non-linear narrative structures of Memento and Mulholland Drive. I am currently working as an English teacher in Rome while remotely attending a screenwriting course at the New York Film Academy (NYFA)
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THE CONTRACT was an official Nominee for Best Short Screenplay at the AFIN International Film Festival 2025, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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