** The 26th Annual **

**IMDb Qualifier**

**Top-20 Best Reviewed Horror Festival in the USA - Please Read Them**

*LIVE EVENT: MAY 2025 @ The Logan Theatre Chicago*

The Chicago Horror Film Festival, a beloved local institution for 26 years, has transformed from an afternoon showcase of local short horror films into a prestigious three-day event. The festival, now featuring a diverse array of global feature-length and short horror movies. Many of these films have successfully secured distribution deals, solidifying the festival's reputation in the horror film industry.

Mission & Objective:
At the Chicago Horror Film Festival, we're all about celebrating amazing movies. Created by filmmakers, our goal is to highlight exceptional storytelling, great camera work, smooth editing, and awesome sound – all the things that make movies fantastic.

But that's not where it ends. We're here to help your movie get noticed. We'll shout about it on our social media pages, making sure more people see and love your work. Come join us for more than just a festival – it's a chance to give your movie the spotlight it deserves.

New Festival Director 2023/2024:
We're thrilled to welcome back CJ Vecchio, award-winning indie horror filmmaker from Chicago, as our festival director. In just one year, CJ brought a 13,000% ticket sales boost in October 2023, and by May 2024, sales skyrocketed by 39,000%!

With such momentum, we’re expanding to host two epic events this year—May and October 2025! CJ says, "As a filmmaker, my goal is to boost fellow filmmakers, create networking opportunities, and launch careers."

FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES 4 DAILY UPDATES 👍

Networking Events:
Join exclusive networking events with fellow filmmakers and industry insiders, a 'Must Attend' gathering even if your film isn't in the festival. Our private lounge facilitates networking, and this year, we introduce the 'NETWORKING FAST PASS'—your NFP Badge (with lanyard included). It's the most convenient way to share your information at CHFF 2025, replacing traditional business cards with rapid digital capabilities, enhancing your ability to exchange contact details seamlessly.

*The VIP Lounge: Open on Saturday/Sunday only to filmmakers, crew, producers, distributors, and sponsors.

Let Us Help Promote Your Film!
We feature 'New Submission' ads on our social media with filmmakers' posters. To be eligible, ensure your movie has a traditional poster with proper dimensions and layout. Plus, stay tuned for podcasts featuring randomly selected filmmakers.

The top-rated films will be featured and shown live on screen in May 2025 at The Logan Theatre in Chicago. The runner-ups will have the option to be included in our virtual festival.

Online Streaming: We are offering ticket holders to our live event FREE access to re-watch or watch the films they missed. Ticket holders will have access for 7 days to stream CHFF-selected films online. Films have the option to OPT-OUT of screening online, and CHFF has no control over this. If films (runner-ups) selected to be screened only online choose not to participate, it will be their decision and theirs alone. There will be no alternative showing options offered.

Awards & Prizes

TROPHY AWARDS "The Cleavers"
Best Horror Feature
Best Horror Short
Best Horror Chicago/IL
Best Horror 1st Time Director
Best Horror Director
Best Horror Director - Chicago/IL
Best Horror Actor & Actress
Best Horror Actor & Actress - Chicago/IL
Best Young Performer

CERTIFICATE AWARDS
Best Horror International (Short & Feature)
Best Horror Cinematography
Best Horror Comedy
Best Horror Cartoon/Animation/Puppet
Best LGBTQ Horror
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Horror*
Best Midnight/Grindhouse/WTF
Best Ai Horror
Best Horror Film Poster
Best Screenplay (1st,2nd & 3rd place)
Fest Directors Fav

More Information On The Chicago Horror Film Festival Awards:

*Trophy award winners NOT PRESENT will incur shipping & handling costs for the award to be shipped, certificate winners will be emailed PDFs at no cost to the winner 4 days after the live event.

** Our Selection / Awards Procedure: Festival Director / Producers make official selections for the festival by vote. Official Selections are then screened/graded by 5 different judges anonymously and given an overall grade on a 5 point scale for each of the qualifying award categories (with the exception of the “Fest Directors Choice Award”). All judges points are then added together to give it a grade. The top 5 films by grade in each category are then considered an award nominee and listed on this page. The film with the highest grade in each category is considered and announced that category’s award winner at the festival. In the event of a tie for highest grade, the festival director, festival producer and festival founder will each vote on the tied films giving the majority vote the award. In the event that one of the production staff are involved in one of the films involving a tie, a 3rd party will be selected to vote in place of the production staff member involved.

**** The Festival Directors Choice Award nominee’s are the Film Festival Directors top 5 choice films of the festival. The Directors Choice Award is presented at the festival to the Directors favorite film of the festival. (Any film that the festival director is personally involved in at any level is not eligible for this award.)

Award Winners will be announced LIVE at The Chicago Horror Film Festival! www.chicagohorrorfest.com

Rules & Terms

***PLEASE READ ALL RULES & TERMS PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR FILM***

The Festival is open to any film that might be considered a horror film, or anything of a disturbing nature, dark art and/or frightening. Horror Sci-Fi, Horror Thriller, Animated Horror, Found-Footage Horror, Fan-Film Horror...

We are only accepting submissions via online screener (here on filmfreeway.com) and exhibition films will need to be in .

If selected, acceptable screener formats are as follows: MP4, MOV, Apple Pro Res.
Digital is highly preferred H.264 Stereo format. Please confirm the file you submit is your final lock cut, we can not replace/swap files once ingested. We do not edit, adjust, fix your files.

We are not accepting DVD/BluRay/Hardcopy submissions.

There is NO 'Film Made By' date. We have shown horror films from as early as the 30's. Please feel free to submit your early work as well as your current work.

Rules for Submissions

The rules are basic but necessary. Please take a quick look at the info below before you submit.

I, the undersigned, acknowledge and agree:

I have read, understated and fully comply with all submission eligibility information, Submission Guidelines, Terms and Conditions of Entry and Entry Eligibility requirements.

To the best of my knowledge, all of the statements in this submission are true.

This film or video is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation.

I am duly authorized to submit this film to the festival.

I hold The Chicago Horror Film Festival harmless from any damage to the print(s) or media materials(s) en route or otherwise during the course of the festival’s possession of the film.

I hold The Chicago Horror Film Festival its owners, management, juries, subsidiaries, agents, sponsors, affiliates, and etc. harmless from any and all claims of liability resulting from my entry.

I certify that I have full rights to the use of the music in the entered work.

I give permission for The Chicago Horror Film Festival to use stills, trailers, titles, copy, and/or information for promotional purposes.

The submission fee does not guarantee that your film will be selected for screening, as all selections are based solely on the judges' scores. Films accepted for screening hold no cash value, and we make no guarantee that your film will be shown live, including but not limited to cases involving file errors, technical issues, or format incompatibilities of the files that you send. We are not responsible for, nor do we undertake, the fixing, editing, or adjusting of any submitted files.

Physical awards and paper certificates will only be distributed to winners who are present at the event, and their availability is limited. After the event, all winners will receive a downloadable PDF of the certificate via email. Additionally, participants will have the option to purchase a physical trophy for an additional cost, which includes shipping and handling.

I give permission for The Chicago Horror Film Festival to screen the film at the Festival live and online for which it was submitted.

I acknowledge and agree that, upon selection, I am prohibited from withdrawing my film from the festival for any reason whatsoever within 30 days prior to the event. I also grant the festival the right to screen my film during the event.

If selected I will provide The Chicago Horror Film Festival with a digital copy of my films movie poster (in vertical format) for use on the festival website.

Zero Tolerance Policy for Inappropriate Behavior:
We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding rude or disruptive behavior during our live events. Any filmmaker, cast member, crew member, or guest exhibiting such behavior will be subject to immediate removal from the event. Furthermore, any film associated with individuals exhibiting inappropriate conduct will be disqualified from the festival and cut.

By attending our events, you acknowledge and agree to adhere to this policy.
116 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mahée Merica

    Great festival, you can tell the festival team and everyone attending are truly passionate about horror films! I really enjoyed my experience there! Everyone was lovely and fun, and it was really nice getting to see so many different horror films

    September 2024
    Helpful
  • Alexey Kotolevskiy

    Wonderfull festival! everything went great. very friendly staff try their best to help young filmmakers. Great cinema with comfortable service, chairs, screens - everything was on top. Such festivals should be more popular to gather more people. Next time I will definitely take part again

    September 2024
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much! 🙏

  • South Turk

    One of the best festival experiences I’ve ever had. CJ and his team were excellent and the vibe of the festival in general was really cool. I’ll definitely be returning.

    September 2024
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much!

  • Bekim Vanbosche

    This festival was an absolute delight! I was honored to win Best Foreign Language, but even if I hadn't, it still would have been an incredible experience. There were plenty of opportunities for networking, a fantastic lineup of films, and, best of all, a welcoming atmosphere to make new friends.

    October 2024
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you! It was awesome to host Belgium in Chitown!

  • Rory Wood

    A great festival put on by great people. I was consistently impressed with the curation, dedication, communication and promotion of the festival. Would recommend to horror enthusiast.

    October 2024
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much Rory ;)