I write character-driven stories that balance drama and comedy — and psychological thrillers that get under your skin and stay with you long after the credits roll. My work has screened at festivals including Toronto, Palm Springs, Aspen, and Angers. My feature Death of a Whistleblower won the SAFTA for Best Feature Film and is now on Amazon Prime. I wrote my animated short The Tornado Outside while completing my M.A. at the National Film and Television School in England — it earned a Student BAFTA LA nomination and screened at over 30 festivals worldwide. I specialise in features and shorts, and I'm equally comfortable developing original ideas from scratch or coming in at any stage of an existing project — whether that's cracking structure, finding the emotional core of a story, or writing dialogue that expresses character and drives conflict. If you've got a story you're trying to bring to life, I'd love to hear about it.

Marius Scholtz

I write character-driven stories that balance drama and comedy — and psychological thrillers that get under your skin and stay with you long after the credits roll. My work has screened at festivals including Toronto, Palm Springs, Aspen, and Angers. My feature Death of a Whistleblower won the SAFTA for Best Feature Film and is now on Amazon Prime. I wrote my animated short The Tornado Outside while completing my M.A. at the National Film and Television School in England — it earned a Student BAFTA LA nomination and screened at over 30 festivals worldwide. I specialise in features and shorts, and I'm equally comfortable developing original ideas from scratch or coming in at any stage of an existing project — whether that's cracking structure, finding the emotional core of a story, or writing dialogue that expresses character and drives conflict. If you've got a story you're trying to bring to life, I'd love to hear about it.

Available to hire

I write character-driven stories that balance drama and comedy — and psychological thrillers that get under your skin and stay with you long after the credits roll.
My work has screened at festivals including Toronto, Palm Springs, Aspen, and Angers. My feature Death of a Whistleblower won the SAFTA for Best Feature Film and is now on Amazon Prime. I wrote my animated short The Tornado Outside while completing my M.A. at the National Film and Television School in England — it earned a Student BAFTA LA nomination and screened at over 30 festivals worldwide.
I specialise in features and shorts, and I’m equally comfortable developing original ideas from scratch or coming in at any stage of an existing project — whether that’s cracking structure, finding the emotional core of a story, or writing dialogue that expresses character and drives conflict.
If you’ve got a story you’re trying to bring to life, I’d love to hear about it.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

AI Writing Tutor at xAI
January 1, 2025 - November 21, 2025
Providing expert-level feedback, evaluation, and creative input to improve storytelling, clarity, and contextual reasoning. Drawing on professional writing and consulting experience to enhance the model’s understanding of narrative, dialogue, and character development.
Script Doctor & Consultant at Freelance
January 1, 2025 - November 21, 2025
Script development and doctoring on confidential feature and television projects; Consulting with writers and production companies on narrative structure, dialogue, and pacing; Worked with HAAVN (Sebastian Assaf, UK) on storytelling workflows.
Writer at Pocket (Audio Room)
January 1, 2024 - January 1, 2024
Contributed to long-form audio-first storytelling projects; Focused on structuring episodes, developing hooks, and shaping collaborative narratives in a story-room environment.
Writer at Be Amazed Media Ltd
August 1, 2023 - August 1, 2023
Wrote documentary and entertainment scripts for a YouTube channel with 11M+ subscribers; developed concepts and narratives for a broad international audience.
Screenwriter at Known Associates Entertainment
January 1, 2023 - January 1, 2023
Wrote a feature screenplay under exclusive licensing deal; film shot in Johannesburg; premiered at TIFF (2023) and released on Amazon Prime (2023).
Writer & Researcher at Giant Films & Inspired Minority Pictures (South Africa)
January 1, 2020 - January 1, 2020
Assisted in research and script development for commercials and feature projects; worked with director Kevin Fitzgerald on treatments and pitches.
Co-writer at Known Associates Entertainment
January 1, 2023 - Present
Co-writer of Death of a Whistleblower (2023); feature film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival; SAFTA Best Feature Film winner (2023); nominated for SAFTA Best Screenplay; released on Amazon Prime (2023).
Screenwriter at National Film and Television School (NFTS)
January 1, 2023 - Present
Wrote The Tornado Outside, an animated short written at NFTS; nominated for Student BAFTA LA (2023); screened at over 30 international festivals and won multiple jury prizes.

Education

MA in Screenwriting at National Film and Television School (NFTS)
January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2023
BA (Hons) in English Language & Literature at University of Cape Town
January 1, 2016 - January 1, 2016
BSocSci in Psychology & Philosophy at University of Cape Town
January 1, 2011 - January 1, 2014
CELTA (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Goodwood School, Cape Town
January 1, 2011 - November 21, 2025
Training program at National Film and Television School (NFTS)
January 11, 2030 - March 31, 2026
Screenwriting at National Film and Television School (NFTS)
January 11, 2030 - May 4, 2026

Qualifications

CELTA (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
January 1, 2011 - November 21, 2025

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Professional Services, Software & Internet, Other