Delirium, Dreams & Nightmares

Delirium, Dreams & Nightmares

A festival of ghastly short films, spoken word, music and theatre that tells tales of gothic horror and supernatural terror.

The theme for the 2020 edition of Delirium, Dreams & Nightmares is THE UNCANNY and we will be inviting artists, filmmakers, poets and musicians to collaborate on creating an extraordinary night of immersive film and theatre.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the original plan for a live audience facing event has been cancelled and this will now be a livestream event on Saturday 31st of October, a mix of spoken word, live audiovisual performance. We will also screen the three shortlisted films from the short film competition and the online audience will be invited to award a prize for the Darkest Most Eldritch Tale.

The winning film will receive an original and unique artwork produced by artist Kate MacNally valued at £160 which will be delivered by post (unless the filmmaker chooses to accept it in person).

We are especially seeking films inspired by the horror fiction of Edgar Alan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft or by other authors writing between 1840 & 1937. Your film could be inspired by, adapted from, emulate or in some other way be connected to this period of gothic literature. We need weird, sinister or ghostly stories that evoke the mysterious and macabre. In particular, we are seeking the cinematic, the poetic, the psychological and sonic as well as the mundanely horrific.

Films should be up to 10 minutes, delivered as hi-resolution .mov or .mp4 files along with a press kit and full contact details. Submissions will also need to include a short statement explaining how the film connects to the theme. Ideally, we would also like a short trailer to help market the event.