Blog: Film festivals

Grimmfest 2024 is scheduled for 3rd to 6th October, teaming up with our regular venue partner Odeon Great Northern, for a live event.

Submissions will open from 1st November 2023 and all awards still apply.

Grimmfest has fast become one of the ‘go to’ genre film festivals in the World, now in its 16th year, the festival will see thousands of fans attend in early October at the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester UK. Hosting a plethora of horror, dark fantasy and sci-fi movie premieres alongside Q&As from many of the film makers and stars of the films; Grimmfest 2024 will be a massive celebration of genre cinema on the big screen.

The festival seeks the very best cutting edge and exciting new horror and genre movies to premiere in the north of the UK. Every selected film will benefit from extensive press coverage and will also be in the running for one of our prestigious Reaper awards. This year, films will be competing for these categories: BEST FEATURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST SCREENPLAY, BEST SCORE, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST SHORT, BEST SFX, BEST SCARE and the Converted AUDIENCE AWARD. The winners will be announced just after the festival in mid October.

GRIMMFEST continues to draw a huge community of genre film fans, press and guests to Manchester (UK) and was recently named as one of the best genre festivals in the world' by MovieMaker magazine.

Submissions for short and feature films open in November 2023.

Selected films will be viewed and voted on by a special Jury of genre experts.

This year’s Jury will be selected and announced before the festival.

Previous award winners have included: PIGGY, THE PASSENGER, MIDNIGHT, THE SADNESS, SLAPFACE, WERE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR, THE DEEP HOUSE, THE RIGHTEOUS, BLAST, RENT-A-PAL, ROPES, TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID, WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, HARPOON, EXTRA ORDINARY and many more.

Grimmfest is also now a member of the Melies International Festivals Federation. Therefore all selected European short films (Including UK) will be in the running for a Melies D'argent award as well as our own short film award. Our Melies D'argent award winner is then in the running for a Melies D'or, presented at Sitges film festival.

previous guests have included: Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers), Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers), Alice Krige (She Wiil, Startrek), Reece Shearsmith (Inside No.9), Barbara Crampton (Re-animator), Dee Wallace (E.T.), Brian Yuzna (From Beyond), AJ Bowen (The Sacrament), Pollyanna McIntosh (The Walking Dead), Johnny Vegas (Eaten by Lions), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, The Soska Sisters (Rabid), Steve Oram (Sightseers), Ross Noble (QI), Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Patrick Mower (The Devil Rides out), Dominic Brunt (Wolf Manor, Before Dawn, Emmerdale), Robin Hardy (The Wicker Man), Matthew Holness (Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), Alice Lowe (Sightseers), Shaun Evans (Endeavour, Boy A), The cast of Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER, Myanna Buring (Ripper Street, The Decent, Kill List) and many many more.