Blog: Film festivals

Presented by BLOODSTREAM TV, the REAPER FILM FESTIVAL is an inaugural Los Angeles horror and genre event with a single purpose: help short filmmakers reach the audiences their work deserves.

We built Reaper for the creators without the industry connections, the festival budget, or the inside track, who are making the most fearless work out there anyway.

We keep the entry low, the process honest, and we put your film in front of a room that came to be scared.

Every Official Film Selection receives non-exclusive distribution on BLOODSTREAM TV.

Your film keeps working for you long after the lights come up.


EVERY OFFICIAL SELECTION EARNS:

Your short film streaming worldwide on BLOODSTREAM TV!

ALL officially selected films will stream on BLOODSTREAM TV, non-exclusive, giving selected films a streaming home beyond festival night while filmmakers retain ownership of their work and make money back on their films.

GET SEEN

One night. Three screening blocks. A room full of genre fans who showed up specifically to be scared by your work.

GET AHEAD

The Reaper trophy, one-on-one industry consultations, featured placement, distribution opportunities, and direct interaction with filmmakers and industry professionals for the projects that cut the deepest.

TWO WAYS TO ENTER -

SHORT FILM

Horror and horror-adjacent short films under 15 minutes, including credits.

We welcome supernatural, slasher, psychological horror, folk horror, body horror, creature films, found footage, gore, science fiction, action, thriller, fantasy, and other work with a significant horror, dark, suspense, or genre component.

Completed films only.

Previously screened and previously distributed films are welcome, provided they are not currently subject to an exclusive agreement that would prevent the non-exclusive Bloodstream TV distribution associated with Official Selection.

Films may be in English or subtitled in English.

SHORT SCREENPLAY

Great horror starts on the page.

Reaper accepts original horror and horror-adjacent short screenplays of 10 pages or fewer, excluding the title page.

Every eligible screenplay is read and scored.

The Top Five Finalists receive one-on-one consultations and first-look consideration from the Reaper Film Festival team and partners.

The winning screenplay is announced live at the festival.


HOW WE JUDGE

Every eligible submission is watched or read in full, more than once, by working filmmakers and industry professionals.

No algorithms. No skim-and-score judging. Entries move through a disciplined judging pipeline, conducted blind wherever practical, so the work speaks louder than the name attached to it.

Every eligible entry is checked for category requirements before being assigned to at least two independent reviewers.

Every reviewer watches or reads the complete submission before entering a score.

Entries are scored from 1 to 10 across a defined rubric. Reviewer scores are averaged, and a significant scoring disagreement triggers an additional review so no single opinion determines a project's fate.

Top-scoring entries move to jury deliberation. Jurors may re-screen or reread contested projects, defend their selections, and must recuse themselves from projects in which they have a personal or financial stake.

Watched in full. Scored blind. Decided on the merits.

THE 2026 REAPER JURY
SCREAM QUEEN JUDGE

JENNA KANELL
Actor / Scream Queen Judge
Terrifier, The Bye Bye Man, Renfield

Who better to judge horror than someone who has survived it on screen? Our Scream Queen Judge hunts for the films that get under your skin and stay there.

HONORARY JUDGES

MARCUS J. MCGILL
Executive Producer
Terrifier

JASON NEESE
Producer
The Umbrella Academy

KIMBERLY SKYRME
Casting Director
Cut Shoot Kill

JAMES CULLEN BRESSACK
Producer
I Have Proof

JONATHAN MARTIN
Founder of FilmQuest

GIGI SAUL GUERRERO
Director
The Purge

JESSE COVE
Actor
Scream Boat

MICHAEL YEDWAB
Executive Producer
Monster Party

RACHEL PAULSON
Director
Stuck

DAVID M. PARKS
Director
Static Codes

MICHAEL PICKLE
Director
The Dead Place

JP OUELLETTE
Producer
Affection

SUNNY ZHAO
Director / Cinematographer
The Gift

More judges to be announced.


OUR PARTNERS

BLOODSTREAM TV

Founding Presenter / Distribution Partner

Bloodstream TV is the horror, thriller, and science fiction streaming service from The Horror Collective.

The platform launched with more than 1,500 genre titles and includes free ad-supported viewing, premium subscription programming, FAST channels, and direct uploads built for independent filmmakers.

Every Reaper Official Film Selection receives non-exclusive distribution on Bloodstream TV.

STUDIO DOME

Development & Distribution Partner

Studio Dome provides a direct connection to the professional development and distribution ecosystem.

Its services include VOD aggregation, global licensing to platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV, marketing, PR, and real-time royalty tracking.

Studio Dome was founded by industry veteran Shaked Berenson, who has released more than 1,000 films and series.

For Reaper, Studio Dome opens the door to consultations for top filmmakers and first-look consideration for screenplay finalists.

David Joshua Lawrence, Head of Acquisitions

THE NIGHT
IN-PERSON SCREENING AND AWARD SHOW AT THE EARL

OCTOBER 22, 2026

6:00 PM TO 12:30 AM

THE EARL
4408 W 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90004

This is not a theater full of strangers politely clapping. It is a night out in Los Angeles.

Killer horror on the screen, a drink in your hand, and a room where the person beside you might be your next collaborator, producer, actor, writer, crew member, or the reason the next film gets made.

The night includes:

Three 45-minute screening blocks
30-minute intermissions for drinks and networking
Award presentations
Winner announcements
Prize giveaways
The announcement of the Reaper Screenplay Competition winner
Dedicated networking and conversation areas
Horror atmosphere and costumed characters
A silent costume contest
Sponsor giveaways
Festival merchandise
Industry interaction
THREE ROOMS AND A PATIO. ONE ROOF.

The Earl gives Reaper a darkened screening chamber for the films, dedicated space for handshakes and war stories, another room that can open up once the credits roll, and an outdoor patio to breathe between the screams.

Seating is limited to 200.

Attendance is encouraged and celebrated, but it is never required to be judged, become an Official Selection, win, or receive applicable distribution.


COME DRESSED TO DIE FOR

The Earl does not simply host the night. For one night, it becomes part of it.

Expect horror props in the shadows, scream queens working the floor, costumed characters, and festival staff joining the atmosphere.

Attendees are encouraged to come in costume.
A silent costume contest runs throughout the night.
No stage interruption. No stopping the screenings.
Winners are selected during the evening and can walk out with:

Cash
Drink tickets
Sponsor prizes
Festival merchandise
Additional giveaways
WHO'S IN THE DARK WITH YOU?

Reaper is a real industry night wearing a horror party's clothes.

You will meet the filmmakers coming up beside you: future collaborators, producers, actors, writers, crew, and friends, alongside the people already working inside the industry.

Our founders, festival directors, jury, and distribution partners bring their circles out to watch, meet filmmakers, and spend the night with the community.

Depending on attendance, the room may include:

Studio and distribution executives
Producers
Executive producers
Development professionals
Acquisitions professionals
Investors and financiers
Streaming professionals
Established filmmakers
Actors and recognizable talent
Horror icons and scream queens
Writers and directors
Jury guests
Emerging filmmakers and creatives

One room. All night. Everybody in it.

You never know who you will end up talking to at The Earl.


THE VENUE
THE EARL

4408 W 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90004

The Earl is an adaptive arts and culture space in mid-city Los Angeles founded by Michael Earl. For two decades, the venue has brought intersecting communities together for creative cross-pollination across art, music, design, and performance. It offers an intimate stage, green room, multiple gathering spaces, and an outdoor patio.


FESTIVAL DIRECTORS

JUDAH RAY

Screenwriter / Director / Producer

Writer, director, and producer with more than 100 festival honors and experience participating in more than 200 festivals worldwide.

DAVID JOSHUA LAWRENCE

Distributor / Screenwriter / Actor

Distributor, screenwriter, actor, and Head of Acquisitions at Studio Dome, providing a direct connection between the festival and worldwide distribution.

CLAIRE MCLEOD HILL

Executive Producer / Producer

Executive producer and producer with multiple films distributed worldwide and an eye for genre stories worth backing.


GET DISTRIBUTED. GET SEEN. GET AHEAD.