The Blood & Ink Horror Screenplay Contest is a horror-focused program of the Colorado Film Institute, the nonprofit producer of the annual Vail Film Festival and the long-running Vail Screenplay Competition.
The Blood & Ink Contest is a dedicated platform for horror screenwriters to have their feature and short screenplays discovered and recommended to producers, managers, and executives actively developing genre film.
Focused exclusively on horror, Blood & Ink champions bold, original voices across psychological, supernatural, thriller-horror, elevated genre, and dark hybrid storytelling, while providing industry exposure, national recognition, and access to a curated network of genre-focused professionals.
Blood & Ink is supported by leading voices in contemporary horror, including Ashleigh Snead, a prolific genre producer with over 20 horror films produced, whose film The Artifice Girl was nominated for a 2024 Independent Spirit Award. Snead serves as Industry Advisor to the Blood & Ink Screenplay Contest, helping guide creative standards and champion standout finalist screenplays with strong creative vision and production potential.
The Blood & Ink Screenplay Contest recommends selected top screenplays to leading horror producers and production companies through the contest’s broad industry network, developed through the Colorado Film Institute and the Vail Film Festival.
Top placing screenplays are recommended directly to industry executives and producers, while Finalists have their work curated and shared within the broader filmmaker and producer network associated with the Vail Film Festival.
All Winners and Finalists are included in a national press release, with the full list of Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, Finalists, and Winners published on the Vail Film Festival website. All placing screenwriters will receive official festival placement laurels.
