Amazing Fantasy Fest

NEW HORRORS AND FANTASTIC VISIONS.

Amazing Fantasy Fest is Buffalo, New York's Festival of Imaginative Cinema. 2026 marks the 16th year that filmmaker Gregory Lamberson (Slime City, Johnny Gruesome) has run this multi-genre event; the previous iterations were Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival and Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival.

AFF runs for seven days every September and focuses on Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action, Animation, Underground and Experimental cinema. Action includes westerns, crime dramas and martial arts; Fantasy has a broader spectrum, including musicals. We will consider films of all types produced in Western New York.

Amazing Fantasy Fest seeks bold films that trample genre conventions. Official Selections over the last two years include Scooter McCrae's BLACK EYED SUSAN, Austin Snell's THEY CALL HER DEATH, Mel House's INBETWEENING, Mike Caravella's ASTRAL PLANE DRIFTER, Mike Davis's DEAD, WHITE & BLUE, and Brett Glassberg's CAIN CAME HOME. We'll consider comedies and documentaries as long as they fall within our preferred genres. Our only Student Film category is for films produced in Western New York; other student films should be submitted in our regular categories.

We don’t require your World Premiere. We _do_ require the Buffalo Premiere for features.

Local Films
Our seven-day format provides us with room to screen an eclectic mix of US/Canada, International, and locally produced films. AFF has shown more Western New York films than any other festival in our area. We will not show a local short that screens in a commercial venue in Buffalo or its suburbs within 30 days before our festival or seven days after it; we do require the local premiere of local features.

Theatrical Experience
We believe in providing independent filmmakers with a true theatrical experience, on a large screen with dynamic sound. We don't screen films online, which is antithetical to our philosophy of cinematic experience. We present films on one screen, with no counterprogramming.

Animation
We are always looking to expand our animation programming. Beginning this year, we have three categories for animation: traditional hand drawn animation; stop motion animation, and 3D/CGI animation. We charge the same fees for animation of all lengths. To save money, filmmakers may submit their animated films under our Flash Films and Micro Shorts category when running times warrant.

What We Don't Want
We will not screen any film that is already available to the public, either commercially or on free platforms such as YouTube. We are an inclusive festival and will not accept any films that traffic in hate, racism, or homophobia.

No A.I. Films
We do not screen any films that utilize A.I. for key creative purposes (writing, directing, animation, visual effects, music).

We Do Not Pay Screening Fees
If you're a sales agent or distributor hoping to charge us a fee to show a film you've acquired please don't waste our time by submitting.

Filmmaker Q&As
Every attending selected filmmaker will receive a Q&A as long as we know in advance they're attending.

Venue
Our home is the Dipson Amherst Theatre in Buffalo, New York. The main auditorium has 132 reclining seats and a large screen. The theatre is located in a plaza 10 minutes from hotels and the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport in the opposite direction.

Completion Window
All films eligible for the 2026 edition of AFF must have been completed no earlier than January 2025; features must not have screened previously in Buffalo; and all films must be unavailable online. If you submit a short film, then post it on YouTube, your film is ineligible. We use the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' usage of 40 minutes to separate feature films from shorts:

Running Times:
Flash Film: 60 seconds or less
Micro Short: Eight minutes or less (perfect for 48 Hr Films)
Short Film: Over eight minutes, up to 39 minutes
Feature Film: 40 minutes and over

Sister Festival
AFF has a sister festival: Valkyrie International Film Festival, showcasing films of all types directed by women of all backgrounds, programmed by Tamar Lamberson and Kaelin Lamberson. VIFF is the only other festival in WNY with which AFF has a relationship. Submissions for VIFF are exclusively through FilmFreeway. Submissions to each festival must be made separately. Any female director submitting to AFF 2025 may submit that same film to VIFF 2026 with a 50% discount - simply email VIFF for that discount code.

NEW YORK STATE FILMMAKERS: We have teamed up with Valkyrie International Film Festival to launch EMPIRE STATE FILM FESTIVAL at the Cinemapolis in Ithaca, New York. Our first event will be Nov. 6th - 8th, 2026. Only films produced in New York State are eligible. Submissions via FIlmFreeway.

ACCEPTABLE SCREENING FORMATS
The Amherst is DCP equipped. If you wish us to screen your DCP, you must send it to us on an external drive: we will not download DCP files. We will only download MP4 h264 files, nothing larger than 1080p. No exceptions. No Quicktime files and no .MOV files. Films that are not DCP are screened off a hard drive connected to a laptop connected to the theater's projection system, using a "mirror" system.