Thank you for your interest in submitting your film to the 2020 SCREAMFEST Horror Film Festival. The 2020 film competition is open for all new features and short films from around the world. We will accept submissions until August 15, 2020.
Films must have been completed after January 1, 2019.
-Premiere status will be one of the factors considered when determining a film’s (shorts & features) inclusion in the Festival. Feature-length films including international features should have a World, North American, US, West Coast or LA premiere. Short films must be an LA premiere.
-Feature films must not have had any public or festival screenings in the Southern California regional area.
-Feature films and short films must not have had any commercial theatrical, television, or internet play in the US.
-Feature films and short films in a language other than English must be subtitled in English for festival presentation.
The following are the film length that should determine your film submission type:
Feature-length fiction and documentary films — 60 minutes or more
Super Short films — Less than 10 minutes
Short films — between 10-25 minutes
Extended-length short films — between 26 and 35 minutes
Films that have been submitted for consideration in previous years are eligible for re-submission only if significant changes have been made to the film. A detailed list of the changes must be included in the submission packet.
Please do not email us links to new versions of your film after you have completed your submission. We are only able to judge ONE version of each film.
For submission purposes, online screeners may be works-in-progress, films with temporary soundtracks or digital outputs. Rough cuts and works-in-progress can only be submitted in the FINAL deadline and if the completed film will be available by September 15th, 2020.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION:
We will accept films completed after January 2019. If your film has been released it is not eligible for this competition.
You will be notified of acceptance via phone or email.
Complete press kits for films will be requested only after acceptance.
Acceptable screening formats are: DCP.
All entries selected into Screamfest grant Screamfest the right to use any footage from the preview screener and all submitted publicity photos and any other materials sent to us pertaining to this entry for Screamfest's promotional purposes, without limitations.
All prints must be picked up after the screening and signed for by the filmmaker.
SCREENPLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: (Submit on festival website)
Early deadline 1/15/20
Regular deadline 3/15/20
Final deadline 6/2/20
Extended deadline 6/15/20
**Due to the varying deadline date differences compared to the film deadline dates, screenplay submissions are only accepted on the festival website. FilmFreeway is unable host different final deadlines on their site.**
Screenplay file names should be saved in this format: Title_Lastname.pdf
Feature film screenplay length should be at least 75 pages and not over 130.
Short screenplays are not accepted.
Writers who submit screenplays to Screamfest will have the option to receive feedback from our readers. The feedback is very brief, generally three to five sentences outlining the strengths and weaknesses of your screenplay.
Please include a title/cover page with your screenplay title, author name, WGA registration number and/or copyright information. The title page will not count towards the overall script page count.
Screenplays can be submitted online by clicking the link above.
We will notify screenplay finalists in October. The winning screenplay will be announced at the festival closing night awards ceremony.
The screenplay finalists will be announced in an email sent to you from Screamfest and posted on the front page of the Screamfest website in October.
Please add our email address to your email safe senders list, address book or contact list so that any correspondence with Screamfest will not be blocked or filtered into your bulk folder.