I’m one half of NOBODY MOVE with Chicago-native (and Austin Script Competition winner) David Singer. Together, we create sci-fi comedies that are equal parts smart and silly. I also work with fellow Aussie (and AWG Monte Miller award-winner) Philip Tarl Denson on darker sci-fi and horror scripts.
I got my start writing and directing drama and comedy, making my feature debut with Play It Safe in 2015. I followed this up with my work on Clayton Jacobson's Brothers' Nest, which Rolling Stone reported "could (and should) be the sleeper hit of" SXSW 2018, and my pilot script The Trouble With Unicorns, which was a finalist in the 2019 Austin Film Festival's Script Competition.
Since then I’ve contributed to numerous high-concept productions — including projects in development for Village Roadshow and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, numerous Screen Australia and Film Victoria funded productions, and in rooms alongside acclaimed writers like Marieke Hardy, John Collee, Kirsty Fisher, and Grant Scicluna.
Check out my slate below, and you can get in touch with me at chris.pahlow@gmail.com or via this form —
released
Incoming (coming August 21st)
drama/comedy | half-hour cinematic audio series
credits script producer (8 eps), written by (3 eps), story by (1 ep)
releasing August 21st 2024
In 2018, an Emergency Broadcast Alert sent millions of Hawaiians into a panic, believing that a nuclear missile was on the way.
INCOMING is an anthology series that zooms in on moments just like this. Each episode presents a different set of characters, a different location, a different year… But the key question remains the same: what would you do with your last few minutes on Earth?
Featuring performances from Tracy Letts (Lady Bird, Ford Vs. Ferrari), David Pasquesi (Veep, The Book of Boba Fett), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Paul Adelstein (The Menu), Amy Landecker (Transparent), and many more.
Brothers' Nest
black-comedy/thriller | feature-length
credits additional material, script editor, associate producer
released 2018 — watch on iTunes, Google Play, or DVD
Two brothers go to extreme and deadly lengths to protect their inheritance from being signed away before it's too late.
"This could (and should) be the sleeper hit of [SXSW]."
— David Fear, RollingStone
“Razor-sharp, darkly funny and tense.”
— RogerEbert.com
Play It Safe
drama/comedy | feature-length
credits co-writer, producer, director
released 2015 — watch online
When 26-year-old Jamie's band breaks up, he's left with no money, no career, and no girlfriend. Now he teaches piano at a soul-destroying music school. Will he take a risk and follow his dreams? Or will he surrender to his new-found unhappiness and play it safe?
"This new film will resonate with every struggling musician you know."
— TheMusic.com.au
“First time director Chris Pahlow is a talent to watch...”
— Sharon Hurst, Cinephilia.net.au
writing samples
Rats in the Walls
horror | feature-length
credits written for the screen by (with Philip Tarl Denson)
script sample september 2023 email me to request script
When a grieving widower inherits his ancestral home, he’s forced to confront the secret rituals of his accursed family. Rats in the Walls is a subversive reimagining of HP Lovecraft's short story that explores privilege, intergenerational trauma, and how failing to interrogate the past can devastate your future.
Time Management
sci-fi/comedy | half-hour TV series
credits creator, writer, producer (all with David Singer)
script sample october 2022 read the pilot / view the pitch
2026: The giant ORCA corporation sends an ambitious middle-manager back in time for a top secret mission. But it’s not to kill Hitler — they're sending Joe back a measly three years to complete “administrative” work. And while he’s in the past shredding documents and purchasing chicken farms, he sees his old life clearly for the first time — including the marriage his old self is about to ruin. Joe decides to grab the future he thinks he deserves, even if that means drugging, kidnapping, and taking the place of the other Joe to do it.
The Trouble With Unicorns*
comedy/drama | half-hour TV series
credits creator, writer, producer, writer
script sample september 2020 download pilot script
Could it actually be possible to have your cake and eat it too? A couple in their early-30s begin their first non-monogamous adventure, only to find that open relationships aren’t always as liberating as you might think.
Script competition finalist, Austin Film Festival 2019.
Screen Australia Development Funding 2019.
Sorry to Call
comedy/drama | half-hour cinematic audio series
credits creator, writer, producer, director (all with Michael Jones)
script sample august 2020 download pilot script
A comedy/drama podcast about the phone calls no one wants to make, and no one wants to take. Each episode features a new character facing a similar challenge. Something’s gone seriously wrong and they need to pick up the phone and deal with it... But things aren’t always as they seem, and there’s a big difference between small talk and real talk.
in active development
Transmission
drama/thriller | half-hour cinematic audio series
credits creator & writer (all with Philip Tarl Denson & David Singer)
scheduled for 2025
A seemingly idyllic couple is left marooned on their remote island retreat when a mysterious fog envelopes the mainland. They begin to question how well they really know each other as they listen to terrifying radio bulletins from their home city & the fog marches towards them.
NPR Radical
drama/comedy | half-hour cinematic audio series
credits written by (with David Singer)
scheduled for 2025
When a rally demanding the removal of a Confederate statue descends into violence, white “NPR radical” Ryan Carrow ends up zip-tied in the back of an unmarked van. Proto-fascism collides with bureaucratic incompetence as the authorities decide he’s a mysterious terrorist. and shuttle him from black site to black site, until he’s unsure if he’s in Sacramento or Azerbaijan. How will his big-PTA-energy stand up against waterboarding? And when push comes to shove, will he beg to be released back to the suburbs, or will he join the real freedom fighters?
Heavy Machinery
sci-fi | graphic novel
credits written by (with David Singer)
scheduled for 2026
In the not-too-distant future, an Artificial Superintelligence has all but eradicated humanity. As the robotic drills approach the earth’s core, the few remaining human slaves that maintain the equipment are suddenly informed that the team with the lowest productivity will be “reassigned”. The different teams go to war with each other, desperate to maintain their feeble hold on life, and what starts out as sabotage quickly turns into bloody combat. Will they be the ones who wipe out humanity once and for all with their vicious civil war, or can they band together to spit in the unseen eye of their oppressor?
writers’ rooms etc
Incoming | audio series, released — 2024
role: script producer, writer
creator: David Singer
Alchemy | TV series, in development — 2024
role: writers’ room
creator: Richard Kelly
company: 2Jons
Monologue | web series, released — 2023
roles: script producer, additional material, writers’ room
company: Truce
Sorry to Call | cinema audio series, in development — 2020
role: showrunner, creator, writer (all with Michael Jones)
funding by: ABC
The Trouble With Unicorns | TV series, in development — 2020
role: showrunner, creator, writer
funding by: Screen Australia
company: 2Jons
Pub Crawl | feature, in development — 2019
role: writers’ room
writer: Marieke Hardy
company: Village Roadshow
Dreamtime | feature, in development — 2019
role: writers’ room
head writer: John Collee
producer: Shane Jacobson
work for hire
The Girls | feature, financing — 2019
role: screenplay by (with Clayton Jacobson & Lis Collins)
director: Clayton Jacobson
producers: Jason Bryne, Kristian Moliere, Clayton Jacobson
Fergus Moondrops | feature, in development — 2019
role: co-writer (with Darcy Prendergast)
director: Darcy Prendergast
company: Oh Yeah Wow
Distant Runners | feature, in development — 2018
role: screenplay by (with Clayton Jacobson)
director: Clayton Jacobson
story by: Clayton Jacobson & David Michôd
Wildflower (야생화) | feature, in development — 2018
role: story by (with Sam Bliss)
producer: David Gim
company: Continuance Pictures
Brothers' Nest | feature, released — 2018 (SXSW)
roles: additional writing, script editor, associate producer
writer: Jaime Browne
director: Clayton Jacobson
producer: Jason Byrne
Burnt | feature, in development — 2016
role: rewrites
writer: Jaime Browne
music videos
Mantra - The Fear | 2014
credits: director
Allday - That Phone Is A Brick | 2014
credits: director, producer
Nathan Liow - Artifacts | 2014
credits: director, producer, cinematographer
Allday - Girl In The Sun | 2013
credits: director, producer, cinematographer
NLT - Procession | 2012
credits: director, producer, cinematographer
The Dead Leaves - If The Shoe Fits | 2011
credits: creative director, editor
Watson/Liow - Going Away Song | 2011
credits: director, producer
Spacecadet Lullabies - Tali Meets Mr Ricketts | 2010
credits: director, producer, editor
Patinka Cha Cha - We Are The Knife | 2010
credits: director, producer, editor
Bianca Chen - Something Great | 2009
credits: director, producer, editor
shorts
Starky | Docco, 18mins | 2013
credits: producer, editor
Supermarket Musical Massacre | Animation, 8mins | 2008
credits: writer, director, producer, editor
Neon Blue | Docco, 12mins | 2008
credits: director, producer, editor
Fraught | Animated Docco, 8mins | 2007
credits: producer, editor, cinematographer
Best Australian Film, 2007 Melbourne International Animation Festival
The Line | Animation, 3mins | 2006
credits: co-director, producer, editor
press
Play It Safe - Interviews
RRR Test Pattern, September 9th, 2015
Play It Safe - Features
MX Newspaper November 7th, 2014
Girl In The Sun
St Kilda Film Festival, Soundkilda 2014 - Festival Screening
We Are The Knife
Neon Blue
Supermarket Musical Massacre
Metro Magazine, Issue # 157, July, 2008 (view scan)
Video Interview for The Memory Grid, ACMI, Melbourne
MX Newspaper, June 16, 2008 (view scan)
Inpress Magazine, Issue #1023, June 11, 2008 (view scan)
Frankie Magazine, Issue #11, June/July, 2008 (view scan)
MX Newspaper, March 14, 2008
Fraught
Desktop Magazine, Issue #225, March, 2007
EG, The Age Newspaper, Friday June 15th, 2007