MY WORKs
Feature Screenplays
Bonnie & Hyde
Recognition: FilmMonaco Winner, Austin Under the Stars Winner, Emerging Screenwriters Semifinalist.
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
Bonnie & Hyde
Bonnie and Hyde is a fast-paced romantic crime adventure about two down-on-their-luck strangers who collide in the most chaotic way possible and decide, for reasons only love and desperation can explain, to rob an armored truck. Michael Hyde, a battle-scarred veteran trying to survive civilian life, and Bonnie Parker, a fiery Houston hairdresser drowning in bills and bad luck, stumble into each other’s orbit and discover they’re the perfect match for bad decisions.
What begins as small annoyances, broken faucets, dead-end jobs, and grocery-store mishaps quickly spirals into disguises, fake terrorism, a Florida-sized heist, a runaway trip into Mexico, and a string of impulsive choices that somehow feel like fate. As the money piles up, so does the tension, the thrill, and the sense that neither of them is quite ready for the consequences chasing right behind them.
It’s gritty, funny, reckless, romantic, and shamelessly human. One look at this story, and you’ll want to see just how far these two lovers can outrun their past, their luck, and the law.
HARD-HEARTED HANNAH
Recognition: Berlin New Wave FF (May 26, 2023) FINALIST
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
HARD-HEARTED HANNAH
Hard-Hearted Hannah During the 1943 Schweinfurt raid, a B-17 bomber, Hard-Hearted Hannah, is set aflame by flak and forced to dump its bombs short, killing civilians in a shelter. Two German boys, out on a Sunday jaunt, see the plane go down and ride to rescue the pilot and copilot from the burning wreck, only to find out later their families have been killed by its errant bombs. Orphaned together they enter into a grim pact of revenge, which blossoms in deadly, diabolic form during the 1970 Mighty Eighth reunion in Savannah, Georgia. As apparently natural deaths pile up, a rookie Savannah detective stumbles on the chilling connection between the deaths and that distant wartime mission. Can he stop them before they kill- and kill again? The story builds toward a race against time, revealing hidden consequences of war, but culminating in an act of devotion that shows how love conquers all.
FUNNY BONEYARD
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
FUNNY BONEYARD
Funny Bone-Yard John Dean, a cash-strapped entrepreneur comes up with the Next Great Idea and plunks his last dime into Heaven-Wise Acres, a crazy kind of cemetery theme-park where no one’s buried but you can have your own wacky memorial. His sensible, down-to-earth girlfriend, Mary Summers, a salesgirl in the small Catskill town of Merrill, NY, wants nothing to do with it, but with the help of her construction-worker brother Larry, the two get the project going- and to everyone’s surprise, Funny Boneyard turns into a huge hit- until things go horribly wrong.
This modern-day callback to comedies like The Loved One combines slapstick humor, a coven of evil witches intent on human sacrifice, skeletal paintball warriors doing battle amidst the tombstones, Fright Night song and dance partying at the horror-flick drive-in and much more- a comical horror dramedy guaranteed to generate fears- and tears.
The Moonshining
Recognition: First Prize – Gulf Coast Film Festival
Interest from NASA-affiliated producer (festival encounter)
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
The Moonshining
The Moonshining follows astronauts Jill Cameron and Ross Andrews as NASA sends them back to the Moon for humanity’s most outrageous experiment: can a couple actually conceive off-Earth? Their peaceful mission quickly unravels when Ross discovers a strange cave slime and, in a moment of genius or stupidity, turns it into moonshine. His drinking spirals, Jill finds out she’s pregnant, and their once-romantic lunar hideaway becomes a pressure cooker.
Things get even more chaotic when they encounter intelligent Moon dwellers who believe Ross is stealing their food source. Misunderstandings escalate into a full-on lunar war, leaving Jill and Ross fighting for their lives as their burning HabiStation becomes surrounded by furious Moon Men.
Blending sci-fi adventure, dark humor, danger, and heart, this is a story about survival, love, and the wild things that happen when two humans try to build a family 240,000 miles from home.
Panama Fever
Recognition: Scriptapalooza 2018
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
Panama Fever
Panama Fever This comedy, set in the late ‘70’s, reflects the dramatic and often tumultuous times when President Jimmy Carter and the charismatic Panamanian leader, General Omar Torrijos were engaged in negotiations to transfer Panama Canal Zone sovereignty from American to Panamanian hands, amidst major pushback both stateside and among the “Zonians” who called it home for a century, along with a comedic look at military life, the challenges of being a military wife, and all that goes with struggling to adapt to life in a foreign, and not always friendly place.
Set against this volatile political backdrop, Panama Fever follows Americans living in the Canal Zone as global politics collide with everyday life. As tensions rise between nations and cultures, personal relationships, military routines, and domestic expectations are tested in ways that are both challenging and often humorous.
By blending political satire, relationship comedy, and a fish-out-of-water perspective, Panama Fever captures a unique moment in American and Panamanian history while exploring identity, loyalty, and resilience during a time of profound change.
SHORTS FILMS
Cleopatra’s Revenge
Recognition: FILMONACO (12/3/25). WINNER
Austin Under the Stars FF(9/13/25). WINNER
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
Cleopatra’s Revenge
Cleopatra’s Revenge is a sharp, fast-moving suburban comedy about fear, marriage, and one very unlucky snake that manages to turn a new homeowner’s life upside down. When Mike and his wife Pam settle into their freshly built Houston house, everything feels perfect until a snake slips into the walls and Pam’s phobia detonates like a bomb. One innocent sighting spirals into chaos, lies, improvised cover-ups, marital meltdowns, and a neighbor who somehow makes everything worse.
Mike’s desperate attempts to keep the peace become increasingly absurd as he juggles a terrified wife, a scheming friend, and a house that suddenly feels like a cursed Egyptian tomb. Packed with quick banter, escalating disasters, and a playful nod to Cleopatra’s legendary bite, the story hooks readers with its humor and keeps them entertained through every wild turn.
The Problem With Moon Men
Recognition: Wildsound Festival Table Read
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
The Problem With Moon Men
The Problem With Moon Men is a playful, irreverent sci-fi comedy that follows two astronauts stationed on the Moon whose mission gets derailed by jealousy, unexpected “close encounters,” and one very questionable alien fling. When Jill returns from an unauthorized rover trip claiming she met a polite but overly friendly Moon Man, her partner Ross spirals into disbelief, suspicion, and equal parts cosmic outrage and hilarious insecurity. What begins as a simple misunderstanding on a lunar base quickly erupts into a chaotic, flirtatious showdown about love, loyalty, and extraterrestrial “thingies.”
Blending sharp dialogue with absurd humor, the script turns space exploration into a wonderfully messy human comedy. Readers looking for a fast, witty, and delightfully off-beat sci-fi short will find themselves hooked from the first page.
Let’s Try This One
Recognition: Cambridge Short FF 5/27/25) SELECTED (TBA)
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
Let’s Try This One
Let’s Try This One is a fast-paced comedy about a woman whose cosplay fantasies spiral into chaos when she hires four different male actors to play along. Silvie designs increasingly elaborate role-play scenarios, casting each man in a new fantasy role, but every encounter quickly derails as egos clash, boundaries blur, and reality crashes the party.
Each actor enters confident and game, and each one exits bruised, confused, or humiliated as Silvie’s imagination proves far more demanding than expected. What begins as playful escapism turns into a string of escalating disasters, exposing the absurd power dynamics, misunderstandings, and emotional fallout hidden beneath the costumes.
Sharp, irreverent, and unapologetically comic, Let’s Try This One is a satire about fantasy versus consent, performance versus intimacy, and how badly things can go when cosplay stops being pretend.
Produced short film
A Texas Trilogy (Produced)
Recognition: Berlin Indie FF 10/29/25 WINNER BEST COMEDYBerlin Indie Film Festival(July 2024), WINNER BEST SHORT
CINE PARIS Film Festival(May 2024), WINNER short comedy IFF Melbourne FF AWARD WINNER. 12/2/24
Written by
Robert M. Tartell
Scriptsmith1@gmail.com
A Texas Trilogy
A Texas Trilogy is an 18-minute short film that captures the rich, intertwined lives of characters living in Houston, Texas. Blending comedy, drama, and action, the film presents a sequence of interlinked vignettes that reveal how different people experience life, struggle with challenges, and connect with one another in ways both surprising and deeply human. Set against the vibrant backdrop of modern Texas, the story explores everyday moments with humor and heart, turning ordinary encounters into a reflection on community, identity, and what it means to live in a place full of contrasts. Poignant one minute, laugh-out-loud funny the next, A Texas Trilogy celebrates the spirit of Houston through characters whose paths cross, collide, and ultimately illuminate a classic slice of American life
Select projects available for development, production, or collaboration.
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