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Nightmares Film Festival ()

Deadlines

23 Dec 2019
Call for entries

13 Jan 2020
Early deadline

13 May 2020
Standard deadline

07 Sep 2020
Late deadline

13 Sep 2020
Festival closed

06 Oct 2020
Notification date

22 Oct 2020
25 Oct 2020

Address

1550 N. High. St., 43201, Columbus, Ohio, United States

Festival description

Short film festival 59'<

Feature film festival >60' 120'<

Festival requirements

Film festival

Fiction

Documentary

Animation

Fantastic

Terror

Experimental

Music Video

Other

Genres

Any Theme

Has submission fees

International Festival

Physical Location

January 2014

Production countries: Any

Shooting countries: Any

Director nationalities: Any

Debut Films

School projects

Short Films 59'<

Feature Films >60' 120'<

Any language

Subtitles
English

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English

Festival description (Edition: )

Festival start: 22 October 2020 Festival end: 25 October 2020

One of MovieMaker magazine's "Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World."

"The Cannes of horror"
- iHorror

"One of the best-curated shorts programs on the planet"
- The Film Coterie

"Mindblowing"
- We Are Indie Horror

"Immediately in the class of the best genre festivals anywhere"
- Bloody Disgusting

"Quite possibly the best four days of film programming ever put together, EVER"
- Days of the Dead

"Among the premier horror film festivals in the country, if not the world."
- Horror Hound

"A must for genre filmmakers and fans"
- From Dusk Till Con

Cheer! Shudder! Never sleep again! Audiences and filmmakers discover their new favorite genre films at the world’s premier program of horrific, dreadful and weird movies – Nightmares Film Festival.

Nightmares Film Festival is a destination horror and genre fest conveniently held in the heart of the Midwest: easily reached, easily navigated and inclusive Columbus, Ohio. NFF sets itself apart from other genre fests by its deep year-round connection to the horror filmmaking community, which gives it the first line on the rarest, scariest, most daring and most unsettling films being created around the world.

Festival screenings are held at the world-renowned Gateway Film Center, named one of the 20 best art houses on the continent by Sundance. The film center’s dedicated team of expert projectionists – maybe the last such team in the country – oversees all presentation, to ensure every film looks and sounds its very best.

Nightmares Film Festival celebrates writers with a screenplay contest for horror feature and short scripts, overseen by a Script Pipeline grand champion and 2017 Screenwriter of the Year. Support for screenwriters includes an opt-in internal listing service before the festival, which allows all selected filmmakers the option to read finalist screenplays and meet with the writers at NFF.

NFF also rewards fandom with surprise gifts and giveaways for its most faithful screening attendees, lovingly known as The Sleepless. So don’t skip that midnight block!

World-class screening facilities. Top-notch films. Filmmakers and fans being shocked and celebrated together. Nightmare Film Festival is a prestige festival and part of advancing horror filmmaking around the world.

Prizes and qualifications

Short and feature filmmakers and screenwriters selected for NFF compete for the coveted Night Mare, the festival’s beautiful hand-sculpted award honoring the dark horses of horror and genre filmmaking. The Nightmares Film Festival Night Mare is designed and sculpted by toy and figure artist Tony Simione (Star Wars, Walking Dead, Aliens, Marvel Superheroes, Nightmare Before Christmas).

Awards and Night Mare statuettes are given for:

The Film from Hell – best of the festival
Best overall feature/short
Best horror feature/short
Best thriller feature/short
Best midnight feature/short
Best horror-comedy feature/short
Best director feature/short
Best cinematography feature/short
Best writing feature/short
Best actor feature/short
Best actress feature/short
Best Ohio film

Screenwriting: best screen play feature/short

Rules

Submission Eligibility:
The 2020 festival welcomes for consideration short films of 59 minutes or less and feature films of 60 minutes or longer in the categories of Horror, Thriller and Midnight as described below, produced after January 2014. Premieres are prioritized in programming.

Horror: Tales of terror and death.
Thriller: Tales of dark suspense.
Midnight: Tales of the weird and bizarre.
True Crime/Documentary: True stories of the horrific, especially of real crime

All submissions not originally in English must be subtitled in English, and screenplays must be in English.

Submission Materials:
1) Entry fee paid by credit card or PayPal. Entry fees are non-refundable.

2) Private online/Festhome screener link (preferred) or 2 preview DVDs (NTSC only) postmarked by the listed deadline and mailed to the festival's attention at 1550 N. High St., Columbus, OH, 43201. Please test DVDs on several makes and models of players. DVD+RW and DVD-RW are not acceptable formats. DVDs will not be returned.

Jury:
The Nightmares Film Festival jury is composed of film production, exhibition, press and audience community members. Their decisions on official selections, award nominees and award winners are final.

Notification:
Filmmakers of selected films will be notified by email or phone.

Exhibition Prints:
Nightmares Film Festival accepts for exhibition HD digital files, Blu-Rays (features) and DCPs. Materials must be received by the cutoff communicated to selected filmmakers; films not received by the cutoff will be replaced in the program. The festival does not pay shipping costs for delivery or return of materials.

The Fine Print:
NFF reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund of submission fees.

While premieres are not requirements for NFF, premiere status is considered in final programming decisions.

All accepted films are scheduled at the discretion of the Nightmares Film Festival staff.

Films produced or financed by a major motion picture studio are eligible for festival screenings but are not eligible for competitive awards. Films that have acquired distribution are eligible for festival screenings but are not eligible for competitive awards.

Nightmares Film Festival is hereby granted the right to use an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the festival for promotional purposes. The festival is hereby also granted the right to use image(s) and/or biographical information of the filmmakers for promotional purposes. The festival reserves the right to fill in any information not supplied by the filmmaker from whatever source available and will not be responsible if incorrect information is entered.

It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to secure authorization for any copyrighted material that may be used in the film. I shall indemnify and hold harmless Nightmares Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

NFF does not pay screening fees.

By submitting your film, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of this agreement.

Horror Features

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 33$ 30.36$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 42$ 38.64$ 13 May 20

Late 51$ 46.92$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
3.36$

Submit

Tales of terror and death at least 60 minutes long.

Horror Shorts

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Tales of terror and death no more than 59 minutes long.

Thriller Features

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 33$ 30.36$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 42$ 38.64$ 13 May 20

Late 51$ 46.92$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
3.36$

Submit

Tales of dark suspense at least 60 minutes long.

Thriller Shorts

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Tales of dark suspense no more than 59 minutes long.

Midnight Features

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 33$ 30.36$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 42$ 38.64$ 13 May 20

Late 51$ 46.92$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
3.36$

Submit

Tales of the weird and bizarre at least 60 minutes long.

Midnight Shorts

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Stories of the absurd and bizarre 59 minutes or shorter

Documentary

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 33$ 30.36$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 42$ 38.64$ 13 May 20

Late 51$ 46.92$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
3.36$

Submit

True stories 60 minutes or longer that are stranger than fiction -- especially about the depravity, darkness or dementedness in the real world.

Documentary

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

True stories of 59 minutes or fewer that are stranger than fiction -- especially about the depravity, darkness or dementedness in the real world

Ohio Feature

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Horror, thriller or midnight features (60 minutes or longer) produced in Ohio by an Ohio-based filmmaker.

Ohio Short

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Horror, thriller or midnight short films (59 minutes or shorter) produced in Ohio by an Ohio-based filmmaker.

Horror Comedy Short

Short Films 59'<

Fee

-8%

Early 24$ 22.08$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 33$ 30.36$ 13 May 20

Late 42$ 38.64$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 50$ 46$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
2.64$

Submit

Films 59 minutes or shorter that deliver laughs in a horror scenario.

Horror Comedy Feature

Feature Films >60'

Fee

-8%

Early 33$ 30.36$ 13 Jan 20

Standard 42$ 38.64$ 13 May 20

Late 51$ 46.92$ 07 Sep 20

Extended 60$ 55.2$ 13 Sep 20

Submissions deadline
13 Sep 20

Save up
3.36$

Submit

Films of 60 minutes or longer that deliver laughs in a horror scenario.

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