by Marie Smalley

"An ensemble of intelligent characters that can appeal to wide audiences ... the leads are engaging ... a premise worthy of a series." Table Read My Screenplay

In addition to writing screenplays, my published works include “Comrades," in 2021, an essay for a NY Times subsidiary, and from my years in the NYC art world on the curatorial staff of The Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and The Takashimaya Art Gallery, I authored exhibition catalogs "Elemental Images,” “Quiet Light,” “Volume and Void,” and a reference book, “Painting and Sculpture in The Museum of Modern Art.”

Feature Film Script

Short Film Script

(c) 2026 mariesmalley.com

My pilot script, "The Proxy Mom," is the WINNER of a 2025 New York Independent Film Award and an Oniros Film Award for Best Series Pilot Script, and a semi-finalist in NY and Melbourne.

My feature screenplay "Searching for Shadow" is the WINNER of the Golden Pen Script Awards, Oniros Film Awards, New York Independent Film Awards, Melbourne International Screenplay Awards, and Brooklyn's Nocturna Film Festival and a Nominee or Official Selection in festivals in NYC, LA, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Munich, and Amsterdam.

"Smalley has crafted something genuinely rare: a screenplay that honours the full complexity of grief's topography whilst insisting on the possibility—however fragile, however hard-won—of survival, transformation, and meaningful creative work emerging from life's most shattering losses. This is screenwriting as psychoanalytic excavation, formally audacious yet deeply humane, and destined to become essential viewing for anyone who's ever searched for something they'll never find." Lonely Wolf Journal, 2026 Edition click here for the full critique

"Narratively very niche and even experimental – a little like a filmed take on James Joyce at times – “Searching for Shadow” has promising dramatic bones thanks to its deeply explored characters. Its unique tone launches an unusual writing voice." The Black List

"Searching for Shadow is an impressive first feature effort that demonstrates a strong grasp of narrative structure and emotional layering... There's a clear understanding of rhythm in the dialogue, and the writer shows a strong instinct for how people speak and relate... What stands out most is the script's quiet originality. This script has the bones and soul of a deeply affecting and distinctive feature debut." Melbourne International Screenplay Awards click here for the full review