Raul Sharma is a Kiwi-Indian screenwriter with extensive development and production experience that spans Los Angeles and New Zealand. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from the New York Film Academy and currently resides in Auckland, where he works for New Zealand’s longest-running medical drama, SHORTLAND STREET, as a Staff Writer/Storyliner and Scriptwriter. Before this, Raul was the Script Coordinator for Season 30 of POWER RANGERS and its 30th Anniversary Netflix Special, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: ONCE & ALWAYS.
Having written several features and pilots on spec, Raul’s screenplays have seen local and international success. In 2020, his thrilling sci-fi feature TURNSTILE was the recipient of the New Zealand Writers Guild’s Seed Grant. In 2022, it placed as a Quarterfinalist in the coveted Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and a Semifinalist in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. In 2023, Raul was recognised as one of ‘25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2023‘ by AFF & MovieMaker Magazine.
Raul has also been selected for Roadmap Writers’ Pitch Prep Programme through their Diversity Initiative Competition, The Big Idea’s Toipoto Mentorship Programme, shortlisted for the 2022 Tahuna Writers Residency, and has been a Finalist in NZWebFest’s Pitch Competition two years in a row.
When he lived in L.A., Raul worked as a Development Assistant at Pantheon Entertainment (FOSTER BOY, YOU ARE MY HOME). Here, he had the privilege of assisting Oscar-nominated producer Andrew Sugarman in running his office, selecting scripts for development, and managing a team of interns, all of which provided him with invaluable industry experience and insight into what it takes to bring a script to life.
Prior to that, Raul was a Development Intern and Script Reader for Hollywood production companies Arad Productions (SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, UNCHARTED, VENOM) and Emmett/Furla Oasis Films (SILENCE, POWER), where he read screenplays and provided script coverage on submissions. This was his first taste of film development, which further cemented his desire to be a screenwriter.
When he’s not writing dark, escapist, genre stories, you’re likely to catch Raul watching a movie with his friends, jamming to hip-hop, cruising at his local skatepark, or playing with his adorable pug!
If you wish to contact Raul, you may follow him on social media or send him an e-mail.
