When you make an indie film, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it. Not to mention, your bank account. No one understands this better than us. We're independent filmmakers just like you, and we're here to honor your passion, commitment, and vision.

So many people give up on their dreams, never daring to try to make them come true. You're one of the brave few to take a huge step and actually do that. No film is perfect but you had the guts to reach for the stars and we want to applaud your success. Production date, world premiere status, etc. None of that junk matters to us. We just want to see your pride and joy.

Every indie film has something good about it that should be rewarded. As filmmakers ourselves, we've gotten the rejections so many festivals recklessly love to hand out, which is why we're taking a different approach. Again, you're not going to get honors you don't deserve. We have to be honest, but we will focus on the positives. We know how much festival submissions cost (a lot), and we don't want you to waste another dime on another worthless fest so congrats for finding us. We've had to change now to turn down more films unfortunately but every selected film will screen in Tokyo and we've made sure our submission fees are extremely low.

As you can probably tell from the name of our festival, we love sci-fi, horror, and action, but all films are encouraged to submit. We have a screenplay category too.

We used to cooperate with another international film festival but now we're on our own. Our festival started in Shanghai before relocating to Tokyo. Please read our Rules & Terms before submitting. Thank you.

*Best Horror Feature *Best Horror Short
*Best Sci-Fi Feature *Best Sci-Fi Short
*Best Action Feature *Best Action Short
*Best Drama Feature *Best Drama Short
*Best Actor *Best Actress
*Best Director *Best SFX
*Best Music *Best Sound
*Best Feature Script *Best Short Script
*Scariest Scene *Coolest Scene

You hereby give us the right to screen your film for our festival. All the official rights and clearances must be obtained by you prior to submitting your film for screening. Basically, you need to be the owner, have all your talent releases, etc. Don't submit a film if you're not certain of this. We won't pay screening fees.

Your film or script should be in English or have English subtitles. You don't need to provide Japanese subtitles.

The screening venue and the time of the showing may be changed due to factors outside of our control (weather, disaster, overbooked, etc.). Regardless, there will be a screening with a live audience at a physical venue (we can't guarantee Tokyo if a war breaks out or something unforeseen like that so we may switch it to a location in America in such a case but otherwise, it will be in Tokyo... in the case of the 2020 coronavirus, we were forced to have an online screening and if something awful like that happens once more, we may have to do that again).

The companies or individual(s) submitting a film and/or script shall indemnify and hold harmless the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival and its agents and associates 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 any projects and/or materials submitted to the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival. The individual(s) or company submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

Neither party shall owe any liability to the other party arising under this agreement for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages, including, without limitation, loss of profit or business opportunities, except as expressly set forth herein. Neither party makes (and each party hereby specifically disclaims) any, representations or warrantees, express or implied, regarding the services contemplated by this agreement, including any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, implied warranties arising from a course of dealing or course of performance or any warranties relating to title or non-infringement of intellectual property. Neither party makes any representation, warranty or assurance concerning any minimum or maximum number of viewers or attendees or screenings or celebrities or special guests or events or seminars. Except for payments due collected by the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival as stated herein or on our website(s), the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival's liability for any damages caused to you as a result of performance or non-performance or damage under, or not under, this agreement shall be limited in all circumstances to an amount no greater than one U.S. dollar ($1.00) without exception.

We reserve the right to add, modify, or discard rules and terms, if needed, as needed, at any time, at its sole discretion, with or without notification. We further reserve the right to make decisions to address anomalies and/or unforeseen circumstances, including, but not limited to removing an entry from consideration, at our sole discretion, without providing an explanation.

Only online entries via FilmFreeway.com will be accepted. You must pay the appropriate submission fee to have your work considered, and submission fees will not be refunded.

You must own the rights for whatever you submit or have specific written signed permission to enter the work. Only the original screenwriter may submit their own original work.

All judging decisions are final. Entrants will not get comments on their submission. No physical awards will be handed out. Only images of laurels will be emailed.

By entering this festival, you agree to all of these terms and conditions without any changes.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • James Ferda

    I was honored that S** won best short. I hope to attend this festival in the future. Excited to see this festival in person.

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks a lot, James!

  • Was very impressed by the level of professionalism and responsiveness from the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival team. Upon being accepted, we felt very in touch with this festival despite it being halfway across the world. We were unable to attend in person so the organizers sent us photos of our film on screen during our time slot which I thought was a really nice touch. Very happy with this festival and encourage others to submit to this little gem.

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Norm! We appreciate it so much!

  • Honor to be apart of this festival! Thank you Bloodstained for making my script, “Carnevil” a an Official Selection and nominee for Best Feature Screenplay!

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much!

  • Grégory Bollack

    Proud to be part of your festival with our film Welcome to Candy's? Thanks for all the great job you've done and made possible to screen our movie in Japan. Unfortunately we couldn't be with you during the festival but you kindly always updated us by emails. Thanks for that. All the best to you for the future and Happy 2024.

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Grégory! Honored to show your film!

  • Jeff Agosta

    Was honored to win an award and the great communication, feedback, and photos provided. Thank you!

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much, Jeff!