A crime short film typically runs 5-15 pages and is defined by tight criminal narratives focused on a single heist, confrontation, or moral choice. crime shorts strip the genre to its core: one plan, one twist, one consequence.
Crime shorts work best when focused on a single criminal event — the robbery, the deal, the disposal. Start in the middle of the action. Two or three characters maximum. The criminal plan should be simple enough to grasp immediately but complex enough to go wrong. Dialogue should be terse and loaded with tension. The twist — betrayal, miscalculation, or irony — should recontextualize everything that came before. Show the consequences of crime in the final moments. The moral dimension should emerge from the situation, not from characters moralizing.
Open during the criminal event or immediately before it (1-2 pages). Build tension through complications and character friction (3-8 pages). Deliver the twist and its consequences (1-3 pages). Total: 5-15 pages. Festival-ideal: 8-12 pages.
Map the crime itself in detail before writing the script. You need to know everything — even what you won't show.
Give your criminal and your investigator equally compelling motivations. The best crime stories make you understand both sides.
Ground the world in specific, authentic detail — the language, the procedure, the geography of the criminal world.
Write the scene that shows the personal cost of the crime. That's what separates crime drama from crime procedural.
Free Screenwriter gives you industry-standard formatting, AI coverage, and structure tools — everything you need to write a crime short film.
Start Writing — FreeNo credit card. No trial. Free forever.