Caleb Dillon
Screenwriter – Director

Self-diagnosed with whatever the opposite of writer’s block is (writer’s faucet?).
I am the guru of Genre-Mashup. Give me monster trucks on Mars, a heist in a space casino, and Amish vs. Aliens. No concept is too ridiculous for me.
News
The Ardent Ball (15 pg, historical) was selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the Killers Shorts Short Screenplay Competition 2025
Viral (1 pg) was selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the Killers Shorts Short Screenplay Competition 2025
Identity Theft (short story) was selected as a Quarter-Finalist in the Killers Shorts Short Screenplay Competition 2025
Snickety Snack has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Palm Beach Shorts, February 2025 edition of the festivals.
Snickety Snack (short film) is a Semi-Finalist at the Oakland Film Festival and the Sacramento Independent Film Festival
Nimrods is now a Quarter Finalist in the Outstanding Screenplay TV Pilot Contest 2024.
Snickety Snack is now a Semi-Finalist at the Nashville Independent Filmmakers Festival, the San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival, the Dubai Independent Film Festival, and the Brooklyn International Shorts Awards.
After nearly six months of pre-production, we wrapped principal photography on ‘Good Behavior’ and are now in post-production.
I attended the Austin Film Festival for the first time and was a finalist at the Austin Film Festival Pitch Competition with my pitch for Husky, which was also a second rounder in the drama feature film contest.
I am spending the holidays writing, catching up with friends, and gearing up for next years projects and fellowships.
Happy Holidays!
Snickety Snack is now a Semi-Finalist at the Berlin Short Awards
Good Behavior was a finalist in the Hollyshorts Short Script Contest. It is now on the Coverfly Red List, #4 in the Thriller Short
Husky is a Second-Rounder in the Austin Film Festival, 2024
Deplorable is a Second-Rounder in the Austin Film Festival, 2024
Deplorable is a Semifinalist in the Screencraft Virtual Pitch Competition 2024
Skullduggery is a Semifinalist in the Screencraft Virtual Pitch Competition 2024
June was crazy busy.
Good Behavior, a short thriller, is now a Quarter Finalist with the Shoot Your Short Creative Screenwriting Contest. It’s also #10 on the Coverfly Red List in Thriller Shorts. I’m hoping to produce this short myself and am meeting with a local producer in early July to discuss.
Husky is now on the Coverfly Redlist, #19 in Family. That script is currently being rewritten for future competition and will ideally climb the list with future passes.
I also recently started a blog, Modern Screenwriting, on Substack. I wanted a place to share my thoughts and chart my journey.
Sadly, no internships this summer, but that’s okay. I’m still reading for the AFF, and will be attending the festival in the fall.
Lots of writing, through: co-writing a biopic about George Lucas with a peer from UNCSA, and co-writing a Christmas comedy with another friend from my UCLA cohort.
And I squeeze in this Dead by Daylight Writing Sample, just for fun.
So yeah, June was crazy!
Good news! My pilot Deplorable, a modern take on Cyrano, has advanced to the Semifinalist round of the Table Read My Screenplay 2024 contest. Thanks to Janet Allard at UNCSA for mentoring me through development.
And the first year of grad school wrapped up a few days ago, whew! Got a lot planned for summer, more portfolio work, a lot of cold queries, and planning for a TA role in the fall at UNCSA.
Good news! My pilot Deplorable, a modern take on Cyrano, is a Quarterfinalist with the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, 2024 AND the Table Read My Screenplay 2024 contest. Thanks to Janet Allard at UNCSA for mentoring me through development.
My feature, Husky, about an esports athlete, is also a Quarterfinalist with the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, 2024. Thanks to Tim Albaugh at Pro-Path Screenwriting for mentoring me through development and thanks to UNCSA for providing a Career Development Grant to pursue this mentorship.
I am currently interviewing for several internships; fingers crossed.
In The Pines is entering the final stage of post-production and by Fall, we should start our Festival run. Whew… April was busy!
Whew, what a month…
A short I wrote last semester, Good Behavior, is now a Quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Short Film Screenplay Competition. Huzzah!
And for the moment it’s on the Coverfly Red List! Double Huzzah!
Just wrapped up an internship with DeadTalkNews and I’m on the hunt for a summer internship. I also started reading for the Austin Film Festival this month.
More good news, a feature film I directed, In The Pines, is entering post-production. It’s a longer story but more news on that soon!
Just started a new semester at UNCSA, still pursuing my Masters. New semester, new pilot, new short, new possibilities!
A short I wrote last semester, Good Behavior, is now a quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Film Fund. Huzzah!
I also will be a reader for Austin Film Festival this year! Looking forward to getting started.