How to Write a Logline That Makes Programmers Hit Play

A logline is not a summary. It’s a trigger—a 1–2 sentence unlock that makes a festival programmer lean in and actually watch your film instead of skipping to the next submission in their queue.

Festival programmers read 50–200 loglines a day. Most are forgettable. Yours needs to do three things instantly: show what the story is about, hint at why it’s funny, and make them curious about how it ends.

The Anatomy of a Logline That Works

Every great logline has these three elements:

1. A specific character in a specific situation

Not: “A man deals with his problems.”

Yes: “A narcissistic wedding planner sabotages her best friend’s engagement to be the one getting married.”

The more precise, the faster a programmer can picture it. Vague = skipped. Specific = watched.

2. The comedy engine (what makes it funny)

The funniest films aren’t funny because of jokes—they’re funny because of irony, contradiction, or absurdity baked into the premise.

Examples:

• “A yoga instructor with rage management issues gets hired to teach mindfulness at a prison.” (irony)
• “A man pretends to be his own twin to impress a date, but the twin is a serial killer.” (absurdity)
• “A life coach who’s never had a relationship teaches other people how to date.” (contradiction)

Your logline should hint at this engine without explaining the punchline.

3. The stakes (why we care if they fail)

Stakes don’t have to be life-or-death. They just need to matter to the character.

Weak: “A woman tries to get promoted at work.”

Strong: “A woman tries to get promoted at work, but the only way to do it is to admit she’s been faking her entire personality for five years.”

Now the audience understands not just what she wants, but what she stands to lose.

The Formula

Use this template to build a tight logline:

[Character trait/contradiction] [Character] must [goal/action] or [consequence].

Examples:

• “A perfectionist slacker must crash a corporate retreat she wasn’t invited to or watch her ex get credit for her idea.”
• “A struggling comedian must open for her estranged mother’s farewell tour or lose the only shot she’ll ever get to tell her the truth.”
• “A commitment-phobic wedding photographer must photograph her own wedding in 72 hours or lose the love of her life.”

Each of these gives a programmer:

• Who the character is (perfectionist slacker, struggling comedian, commitment-phobic photographer)
• What they want (crash a retreat, go on tour, photograph a wedding)
• What’s at stake (losing credit, losing a chance to connect, losing a person)
• A hint of the comedy (the irony and contradiction are already there)

What Makes Programmers Actually Click Play

Programmers are looking for films that are:

1. Premise-driven (not just “a good story”)

Your logline needs to make someone say, “Oh, I want to see how that plays out.” If your logline could describe five different movies, it’s too generic.

Bad: “A woman learns an important lesson about life.”

Good: “A woman who ghosted every guy she ever dated is forced to go on a date with her own clone.”

2. Visual and specific (not abstract)

Avoid vague adjectives like “quirky,” “unexpected,” or “heartfelt.” Those words mean nothing to a programmer who’s exhausted.

Instead, show the contradiction or irony in the premise itself.

Bad: “A quirky woman navigates modern dating in an unexpected way.”

Good: “A woman who speaks only in movie quotes tries to impress a guy who’s never seen a movie.”

Now I can see the comedy. Now I’m curious.

3. Comedy-forward (not hiding the funny)

The worst thing you can do in a comedy is bury the premise or play it straight in your logline. Programmers are selecting a comedy film festival. They’re looking for films that are funny, and they want to know that from the logline.

If your logline doesn’t make them at least smile, you’ve already lost.

Bad: “A woman encounters an unexpected obstacle in her life.”

Good: “A woman’s passive-aggressive mother-in-law accidentally becomes her life coach via a weird TikTok algorithm.”

Red Flags That Make Programmers Skip

• Too long. If it’s more than two sentences, it’s not a logline—it’s a synopsis. Cut it.
• Too vague. If a programmer can’t picture the story in their head, they won’t watch.
• Overly serious for a comedy. Your logline should feel like the tone of your film. If it reads grim, they’ll expect a drama.
• Comparison to other films. Never say “like The Office meets Bridesmaids.” Programmers want to know your film, not what it’s similar to.
• Backstory instead of premise. Save “He used to be a professional dancer” for the synopsis. Your logline is the now.

How to Test Your Logline

Read it out loud to three different people who haven’t seen your film. If they:

• Can picture it clearly
• Laugh or smile
• Ask a question about how it ends

You’ve got something. If they nod politely and move on, it needs work.

The Real Secret

A great logline makes a programmer think, “I don’t know how this movie ends, but I need to watch it to find out.” That’s the whole game. Not “this sounds good.” Not “this seems well-made.” But “I am curious.”

For a comedy, that curiosity comes from seeing a premise so specific, so contradictory, or so absurd that the programmer has to know how you pull it off without it being stupid or cruel.

Get that right, and programmers don’t just hit play—they finish your film, and then they remember it six months later when they’re building the festival lineup.

That’s when the real work begins.

Ready to test your logline? Share your one-liner in the comments below, and we’ll tear it apart (kindly). The best loglines often need only one or two cuts to go from “fine” to “I’m definitely watching this.”