Blog: Film festivals

The Los Angeles Crime & Horror Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating independent crime and horror films, along with the many subgenres of crime fiction, true crime, mystery, psychological horror, and more.

With screenings in Hollywood giving recognition to independent films and filmmakers, LA Crime & Horror Film Festival places a spotlight on films and documentaries in crime and horror from around the world.

We provide independent filmmakers with awards, exposure to Hollywood professionals, a platform to connect with audiences, and a venue to network with other filmmakers who share your passion for crime and horror storytelling.

"Essential Horror Film Festival" - Raindance.org

"20 Coolest Film Festivals" - MovieMaker Magazine

"13 Horror Film Festivals to Die For" - MovieMaker Magazine

"Coolest Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival" - MovieMaker Magazine

"Best Horror Film Festival" - Production Hub.com

2019 and 2024 - "Best Film Festival" - Orlando Weekly

"Love this Festival"! - Robert Englund aka Freddy Krueger

The FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival is the Largest and Longest Running Horror Genre Film Festival in the State of Florida. Located in an actual movie theater, not a convention hall!

FREAKO the Clown welcomes you to GET FREAKY with us! We are the home of the coveted "FREAKY AWARD".

Celebrate and Support the Art of Independent Horror! This international horror genre film festival is the brainchild of FEAR FILM Studios Owner Robert J. Massetti. As a veteran independent horror filmmaker, Robert wanted to make a film festival that celebrates the independent horror filmmaker by giving the artist a forum to show his or her work.

The festival is a showcase of some of the most talented, up and coming horror filmmakers in the world and tries hard to help filmmakers reach their goals with their films. This is a festival not to be missed for fun and exposure.

The Festival screens films at the EPIC THEATERS at Lee Vista in Orlando, Florida! The theater features electric reclining seats, state of the art projection, Dolby Sound, reserve seating, as well as a beer and wine bar in the lobby! Located only minutes from Orlando International Airport with Hotels, Restaurants, and Bars all within walking distance. Making FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival one of the best festivals to attend in the world!

“Cortacci” is a film contest aimed at discovering and promoting filmmakers who tell stories about reality through tales “beyond the real.” The competition is open to Italian and international short films in various genres: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, thriller, western… and anything that, by showcasing worlds “beyond everyday reality,” offers a fresh perspective on reality itself (which is exactly what great genre cinema does, at least in our opinion).

Bullies and Heroes which is characterized by the phrase: Ubuntu I am because we are (Nelson Mandela), was born after 50 years of experiences, studies and research, both in the cinematographic and artistic fields and in the pedagogical and psychological ones. It is located on the border between health and culture with the certainty that "the soul needs beauty and that beauty is nourishment for the soul" and allows us to best express all the creative potential of the human being. It is therefore important, as argued by Peppino Impastato, who has always rejected the idea of ​​becoming accustomed to "ugliness", to educate children to "beauty": "...It is for this reason that people should be educated to beauty: because in men and women, let habit and resignation no longer creep in but curiosity and amazement always remain alive." The Festival that subsequently became laid its foundations on these important foundations with the Competition: Places of the Soul and Geographical Places. Draw, Photograph, Film beauty in just a few minutes with your smartphone (for the little ones and with more sophisticated means for the older ones). Every year the term beauty has been declined in a different meaning (beauty of fragility, beauty of uniqueness, beauty of diversity, beauty of creativity...) The beauty of places has always been a bridge to access one's interiority and stimulate curiosity, amazement and wonder. The Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has demonstrated how the basis of creativity, in children but also in adults, is precisely "emotional wonder", a fundamental emotion that must never be lost in order to always feel ready to explore previously unexplored paths, solutions never taken and original paths. In our society we risk having good technicians but an ever smaller number of creatives, which is why our aim, right from the start, has always been to use artistic tools, in particular cinema, to refine the most important and powerful ability of the human being: that of thinking in images or imagination, gathering stimuli from what surrounds us to grow, acquire awareness and learn about the audiovisual medium. Created with the active participation of children for children and with children, the Festival intends to enhance the potential and talent of children by offering them the opportunity to acquire both critical and creative skills with two different methods of participation. There are two sections: The first features feature films which are judged by a jury of young people from all over the world who, in this way, have the opportunity to become critics. The second of short films, video clips, videoboards, storyboards, screenplays, video art, theatre.dance, where the children have the opportunity to become directors, actors, screenwriters, to also experience all the professionalisms linked to the world of cinema. For the second section, the festival also offers spaces to young directors and international directors who deal with issues related to: family relationships, diversity, respect for the environment and others, relationships between peers, memories and identities of places with particular reference to the stories of territories. The festival does not limit itself to presenting and rewarding videos made by schools or directors, but organizes round tables with experts, workshops, conferences, in order to encourage children to have an interactive exchange of experiences and ideas with directors and actors and with even. The conferences dedicated to the ecology of the mind, ecology of the environment and ecology of and in cinema saw the participation of international universities with professors recognized in Italy and around the world. The Festival deserves special attention because it represents a unique multi-sensory experience that allows you to learn about habits, customs, foods, stories, peoples and tell them through artistic means, in particular the audiovisual medium.
Alongside directors, actors, musicians, screenwriters and photographers, there are sports testimonials through which the concepts of respect, rigor and passion are strengthened. They have been our testimonials over the years: Daniele Masala Olympic Champion, Klaus Dibiasi Olympic Champion, Alessandro Peterlini National Azzurri Champion, Luciana Foianesi World Arm Wrestling Champion, native of Val di Chiana, Chiara Bazzoni Champion Gold Medal at the Mediterranean Games. Among the Paralympic athletes we have had great International Champions, Matteo Betti, Giada Canino, If you help me, I'll dance too. We also collaborate with ODV Associations and NGOs that support children in war and create The Day of Wonder. For the 2025 Competition we are collaborating with the Collodi Foundation so that all the themes of the Competition can be facilitated and understood in a more exhaustive and innovative way through the story of the most famous puppet in the world: Pinocchio. A classic that international directors have revisited with innovative languages ​​and which also offers children, schools and young directors the possibility of tackling universal themes in an increasingly creative and innovative way. Jury presidents over the years have been: Mariano Rigillo Anna Teresa Rossini, Donatella Baglivo who for 2025 is joined by Pierfrancesco Bernacchi President of the Collodi Foundation. Our great collaborators are Maestro Vince Tempera and Maestro Giancarlo Amorelli, who support all of the film music.

A synergy has been created with the Municipality of Benevento starting from the Dante tradition which cites Sannio in the song dedicated to Manfredi.

Tradition and innovation are always our cornerstones. Other cities and other regions have joined us: Caserta, the San Leucio Art School, Veneto, Tuscany, Campania, etc.

It takes place in Málaga for two days in December, in Madrid for two days in April, and in Barcelona for two days in June.

Dear Animators!

The Selection Committee will start the selection process and review of your films! To anyone who hasn't provided a download link, we would kindly ask you to provide us with a link or permission in Festhome no later than March 25th !

Dear animators, please send us your film in format:

1. Container: MP4 or MOV
2. Resolution: FullHD 1080p
3. Datarate (compression): up to 8000 kbps (kilo bits per second)
(not less than 60-70 МВ and not more than 400-500 MB for films up to 20 minutes! And not more than 1.5-2 GB for a feature film)
Kind regards,
Nadezhda Slavova

Good luck to everybody ! :)

The International Animation Film Festival (IAFF) Golden Kuker- Sofia run for the first time in October 2010 in Sofia. Named after Proyko Proykov (legendary Bulgarian animator) it is the first animation festival from the new century. One of the most attractive events in the arts calendar of Bulgaria takes place every spring in May. It is organised by the Bulgarian Association of The Independent Artists and Cartoon Animators an NGO chaired by Mrs. Nadezhda Slavova (cartoon artist, director, filmmaker and author of numerous animation films). The Association aims to connect animators, support their networking and create long lasting relationships within the cartoon industry.

The mission of the IAFF Golden Kuker-Sofia is to contribute to the development of Bulgarian art, to help Bulgarian and foreign animators get in touch and to support young professionals and students. The animation festival attracts not only children but large audience from different generations. IAFF Golden Kuker-Sofia has achieved high-level of professional performance, large number of international appearances, and variety of great animation works. Throughout the whole year people have the opportunity to attend master classes led by world known directors and animators, visit contemporary art seminars and exhibitions, and join interactive lectures. Environmental contest, Sofia’s children day and travelling festival are other festival’s post- events. After the festival international guests have the possibility to travel around Bulgaria, to discover wonderful spots and explore historical places with the tourist packages offered by IAFF Golden Kuker-Sofia.

IAFF Golden Kuker has been supported by the Ministry of Environment and Waters (Operational Programme Environment 2007-2013), Sofia Municipal Council, Sofia Municipality, National Culture Fund, National Film Center, Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, American Embassy, Czech Cultural Centre, Hungarian Cultural Centre, Polish Institute – Sofia, French Cultural Institute and many others who became our partners.

The 7th to the 9th of May 2027 will see the second Working Class Film Festival take place at The Showroom, Sheffield. Submissions for film and moving image of all types and lengths are invited from producers, directors and writers that hail from a working class background.

This year sees the addition of two submission categories aimed at elevating local talent and those from the North of England through a subsidised entry fee- Locals rule and the North Prevails.

The festival aims to highlight the talent of a wide and underrepresented demographic within the film industry; with only 8% of people working within the creative sector being born into a working class family. A key remit of the inaugural weekend is to highlight the many intersections of the working class paradigm, including gender, race and sexuality. The concluding aim of the first year is a will to recognise and journey beyond the kitchen sink into realms of the fantastic, horrifying and wonderful, with a strong encouragement for genre cinema to be submitted.

We welcome submissions in any and all languages.

We are keen to platform those in financial difficulties and waiver codes are available via email.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

The "Toronto Arts & Entertainment Film Festival" (TAEFF) mission is to celebrate the independent motion picture and literary arts by providing a platform for filmmakers and writers to have their work awarded and screened.

Toronto Arts & Entertainment Film Festival is a two day festival that kicks off with a networking hour, followed by quality films. We follow the films with a Q&A from the filmmakers and actors in attendance. Then follow the screenings with additional networking opportunities.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Welcome to our Toronto Arts & Entertainment Film Festival (TAEFF) in the true spirit of the city of Toronto, Ontario, champions independent cinema that isn't afraid to push boundaries. The festival showcases emerging and established filmmaking talent from Canada and around the world.

TAEFF is established by a team of filmmakers and film critics. The members of the jury are film scholars, filmmakers and critics from Canada & around the world.

The festival is located in Toronto, Canada.

Showcase your film at the Toronto Arts & Entertainment Film Festival, Network with filmmakers and industry members from across the globe! Plus, your chance to win awards and potentially lock down a distribution deal with our partnered film distributors.

With that, we just partnered with an filmmakers network, and this year all of our winners will be automatically invited to join and connect with film industry personnel in this exciting new way!

What better place to screen your work than in Toronto, Ontario, Canada? Submit now to be featured as part of the 2025 Toronto Arts & Entertainment Film Festival!

The annual Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) is an international film festival in the coastal megacity of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria.

It was founded and established by Hope Obioma Opara in 2009 and Hope Obioma Opara is the also the CEO of Supple Communications Limited under which the festival is Holden. He is also the publisher of publishers of Supple magazine a film festivals and culture magazine in Africa showing previews and reviews of movies and interviews on www.supplemagazine.org.

The mission of Eko International Film Festival is to promote the appreciation of Arts and Culture through the motion picture arts and sciences and increase tourism in Nigeria.

Eko International Film festival is owned (Trade Mark and Copy Right) and organized by Supple Communications Limited.

The inaugural edition was held in the megacity of Lagos in summer, July 7-12, 2010, at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas of The Palms in Lekki, Lagos, with filmmakers from Nigeria and around the globe
The subsequent editions were held at the Silverbird Cinemas of the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos. till date

Our film festival is on her 15th edition slated to take place in April 21-26,2025

The festival will take place in Alicante from December 13 to 19, 2026.

Only short films produced exclusively with a smartphone will be accepted.

Both national and international short films are eligible to participate.

The theme is open to all genres and subjects.

Lunigiana Cinema Festival is a festival dedicate to short and feature films that takes place in the "Città Nobile of Fivizzano" , an ancient village in Tuscany on the Via Francigena.

The festival is divided in short and feature films (Fiction, Documentary, Animation)and videoclip

Short films are divided in:
- Free theme (tema libero) - Environmental theme (ambiente) - Human rights (diritti umani)

- Animation short films
The category dedicated to animated short films is free-themed

- FEATURE FILM (over 40')

- Video Clip

GAIMVA — Global AI Music Video Awards

The World Stage for AI Music Videos

GAIMVA — Global AI Music Video Awards is an international awards festival dedicated exclusively to AI-generated and AI-assisted music videos.

Created as a global stage for the next generation of audiovisual creators, GAIMVA celebrates the intersection of human imagination, artificial intelligence, music, cinematic storytelling, visual innovation, and global culture.

GAIMVA honors artists, musicians, directors, filmmakers, editors, students, AI creators, designers, creative technologists, producers, and creative teams who are using AI tools to expand what a music video can be.

This is not just a technology showcase.

This is not only an awards competition.
GAIMVA is a cultural platform for the future of music video.

Our mission is to recognize bold, original, emotionally powerful, and visually innovative works that explore new creative possibilities through human-machine collaboration. Whether a project uses AI for generative visuals, animation, world-building, editing, fashion concepts, performance design, sound, or experimental storytelling, GAIMVA exists to give that vision a world stage.

Each edition of GAIMVA is designed to take place in a different country, reflecting the festival’s international spirit and commitment to diversity, cultural exchange, and borderless creativity.

## What We Celebrate

GAIMVA celebrates music videos that combine artistic intention with AI-powered innovation. We welcome works that are fully AI-generated, AI-assisted, hybrid, experimental, narrative, performance-based, animated, vertical, student-made, or created through human + AI collaboration.

We are especially interested in music videos that demonstrate:

* Strong creative vision
* Innovative use of AI tools
* Emotional connection
* Cinematic storytelling
* Musical rhythm and editing
* Visual originality
* Cultural diversity
* Responsible AI creation
* Bold experimentation
* Human artistic intention

## Ethics & Transparency

GAIMVA celebrates AI as a powerful creative tool while recognizing the importance of transparency, authorship, consent, cultural respect, and creative responsibility.

Submitting creators must disclose the major AI tools used in their projects and confirm that they hold the necessary rights or permissions for the music, visuals, voice, likeness, and AI-generated materials included in their work.

We believe AI should expand imagination, not erase artists.

## Who Should Submit

GAIMVA is open to:

* Musicians
* Music video directors
* Filmmakers
* AI artists
* Editors
* Animators
* Students
* Producers
* Designers
* Fashion creatives
* Creative technologists
* Studios
* Agencies
* Independent artists
* Global creative teams

If your work lives at the intersection of music, video, AI, and imagination, GAIMVA was created for you.

## Festival Vision

GAIMVA believes the future of music video is not only technological.

It is human.
It is emotional.
It is diverse.
It is cinematic.
It is global.

**Human Soul. Artificial Vision. Global Stage.**

Fashion and audiovisual come together in the 1st MOARÉ 2026 Fashion Film Competition, an initiative aimed at fostering creativity, emerging talent, and new forms of visual expression linked to the world of fashion.

The competition invites creators, students, professionals, and audiovisual enthusiasts to submit short audiovisual pieces that explore fashion from an artistic, innovative, and contemporary perspective. Participating fashion films may address concepts related to design, identity, sustainability, trends, textile heritage, or any other theme connected to the universe of fashion.

The selected works will be part of the MOARÉ 2026 Fashion Film Competition, which will take place in Terrassa during the festival on October 17, 2026, offering participants a platform for visibility and exposure to audiences, industry professionals, and creative sector agents. On this day, an awards ceremony will be held at Vapor de Prodis, one of the venues of the MOARÉ Festival.

With this competition, MOARÉ reinforces its commitment to connecting fashion, visual culture, and innovation, turning Terrassa into a meeting point for new talent and creative projects.

Membrana is the Latin word for film, and we are incredibly excited to bring the Membrana Film Festival to you, and to dig deep into the roots of the magic that is filmmaking

The 3rd edition will be held at the start of August 2027 at the CULTPLEX Cinema in Manchester, England - a cinema that is at the forefront of the independent cinema scene in the UK

The festival's organiser is a filmmaker, and understands the love, care, passion, dedication, and hard work that it takes to create your film, and to bring it to the big screen

The festival promotes and celebrates the filmmaking process, and is looking for films that push boundaries, including experimental films, and that teach us about the world we live in

We are looking for global arthouse, independent films, we want to be surprised by your submissions, and we appreciate that we cannot build our festival without your films, and that we will set ourselves apart by the quality of films we receive and exhibit

We accept all genres, in any language, and enjoy to watch subtitled films that open us to new worlds, and take us to a land far far away

We welcome shorts and features, across live-action narrative, animation, and documentary, and we look forward to receiving and watching your films

Our 2026 selections were very eclectic, and included biopic, comedy, drama, experimental / abstract, factual, fantasy, horror, thriller, and more

For our 3rd Edition, we have a newly created Award - the Membrana Award for the Best Manchester-Made Film

The festival also includes a Script Competition, with separate categories for short film scripts, and feature length scripts - all genres are welcome, and we also have the option for you to receive written coverage (feedback) on your script - the winner of this year's Feature Script Competition will receive a very exciting prize which is a professional review of your treatment and financing plan by a Media Lawyer in Manchester

And finally, we have launched a new service to review and perfect the English Subtitles for your short films and feature films

An inclusive international film festival championing absolute freedom of expression, accepting short films, features, and project proposals of any genre, theme, or production year. Filmmakers worldwide are invited to submit their most innovative works, with no restrictions on premiere status, AI usage, or content.

SHORT FILM COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS
10th Pilar de la Horadada International Film Festival – CORTOPILAR 2026
10th Edition of the Pilar de la Comunidad Valenciana Short Film Awards

The Terrícola Audiovisual Festival arises with the purpose of promoting audiovisual production from the country and neighboring countries, from Patagonia, and from the Andean Comarca in particular, creating a meeting space for filmmakers, the general public, locals, and tourists. Faced with the scarce film infrastructure in the region, the festival seeks to guarantee equitable access to quality productions, promote the local audiovisual industry, and strengthen the regional cultural identity.

In addition to screenings, the festival offers open talks and workshops on agroecology, ancestral knowledge, fire prevention, pollution, and regional economy, with the objective of integrating local and territorial knowledge.

The PuntodiVistaFilmFestival 2026 is an International Prize Competition for unpublished (or published, but in any case free from transfer of copyright) shorts produced from 2024 onwards, in any language ( provided that, for those not in Italian, there are subtitles in Italian, unless they are music videos).

The Festival has two sections:

Short films with a maximum duration of 20'
Social Cortospot with a maximum duration of 3'.

Italian subtitles are mandatory.

The Department of Culture of the Municipality of Mentana, organizes the seventh edition of the historical audiovisual Festival "STORY IN SHORT".

The idea was born because our territory is rich in testimonies, from the pre-Roman era up to the Risorgimento: the enhancement of this heritage therefore also passes through a film festival that collects the works of authors who have ventured into an area that is not very 'frequented' such as reconstruction and historical analysis through short films, documentaries and audio-documentaries.

There are no content limits set for participation in the festival: all of History will be the subject of the works presented.

The jury will reserve the right to select the works to be screened in the event that the number of works presented exceeds the times and possibilities of programming.

All the selected works will be presented and the author will be able to tell his work to the audience in the room.

Submit short format films and scene scripts for free to our monthly "Immersive Cinema Program" at STUDIOdB https://www.instagram.com/studio.db.berlin/ in Berlin.

We are creating an episodic program with themes which includes screenings, scene staging, improv sessions, talks on cinema, as well as musical and dance performances.

Email submissionsdbfilm@gmail.com with Title, Director’s Bio, Statement, Link to the film and PDF file for texts.