One of MovieMaker magazine's "Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World."
Previously participating studios: Neon, Gunpowder & Sky, Magnolia, IFC, American Genre Film Archive.
"The Cannes of horror"
- iHorror
"Highly recommend submitting ... maybe more than any other festival"
- HorrorHound Magazine
"One of the best fests in the world ... a wonderful, welcoming home for fans of independent horror and genre cinema"
- Dread Central
"One of the most highly regarded horror film fests in the United States"
-Gruesome Magazine
"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 Screenwriter of the Year. Support for screenwriters includes the FinaLIST: 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.
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).
When qualifying submissions are screened, 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 lead performance feature/short
Best supporting performance feature/short
Best Recurring Nightmare
Screenwriting: best screenplay feature/short
Esprit de Gore