The 26th Annual Chicago Horror Film Festival

🎬🔥 OCTOBER SUBMISSIONS ARE OFFICIALLY OPEN! 🔥🎬
Think your horror film has what it takes?
Prove it. Submit now to the HOTTEST, BLOOD-PUMPING, SCREAM-WORTHY FILM FESTIVAL out there!

💀 Spots go fast. Bragging rights last forever.

🎬 IMDb Qualifier
🏆 Top-3 Best Reviewed Horror Festival – Read the Reviews!
🎁 Coverage Ink (sponsor) Prize Packages
📸 Red Carpet & Filmmaker Events All Weekend

📍 LIVE EVENT: OCT 3-5th, 2025 @ The Logan Theatre, Chicago IL

For 26 years, the Chicago Horror Film Festival has evolved from a small afternoon showcase of local short horror films into a prestigious three-day event. Now featuring a diverse lineup of feature-length and short horror films from around the world, CHFF has become a launchpad for indie horror filmmakers, with many past selections securing distribution deals.

Mission & Objective
The Chicago Horror Film Festival is committed to celebrating the best in indie horror filmmaking. Created by filmmakers for filmmakers, our focus is on exceptional storytelling, cinematography, editing, and sound design—all the elements that make a horror film unforgettable.

But we don’t stop there. CHFF actively promotes selected films, showcasing them across our social media platforms and ensuring that filmmakers get the recognition they deserve. This is more than just a festival—it’s a platform to elevate your work and connect with the industry.

Festival Growth & Expansion – Under New Leadership
Since 2023, the Chicago Horror Film Festival has experienced explosive growth, with ticket sales skyrocketing by 13,000% in October 2023 and an unbelievable 39,000% increase by May 2024. With this momentum, CHFF is expanding to two major events in 2025—May & October!

Networking & VIP Experience
🎭 Exclusive Networking Events – Connect with fellow filmmakers, industry insiders, and horror enthusiasts. Even if your film isn’t in the festival, this is a must-attend event for indie horror creators.

🔑 Introducing the ‘NETWORKING FAST PASS’ – A digital badge system for seamless contact sharing—no more business cards, just instant connections!

🍸 VIP Lounge (Saturday/Sunday Only) – Exclusive to filmmakers, crew, producers, distributors, and sponsors for next-level networking.

Let Us Help Promote Your Film!
📢 Social Media Spotlight – CHFF features 'New Submission' ads for films with proper posters. Get your film seen!

🎙️ Podcast Features – Randomly selected filmmakers will be interviewed on our official podcast.

Live Screenings & Online Streaming
🎥 Top-rated shorts will be screened LIVE at The Logan Theatre in Oct 2025.
🎞️ Nominated features (6) will be screened live during the event.
🎟️ Ticket holders will be able to stream the films a week after online.
💻 Selected films will stream exclusively online based on judge scoring.

NEW FOR 2025: VIP Ticket holders to the live event will receive FREE online access to re-watch or catch any films they missed for 7 days.

Filmmaker Choice: Films selected for the virtual festival can OPT-OUT of online streaming. CHFF has no control over this decision, and there will be no alternative showing options for those that choose not to participate.

Follow Us for Updates!
📲 Stay connected with us on social media for daily updates, special announcements, and filmmaker spotlights.

🚀 SUBMIT YOUR FILM & JOIN THE MOVEMENT!

#CHFF2025 #IndieHorror #HorrorFilmFestival #HorrorNetworking #CHFF #ChicagoHorrorFilmFestival

TROPHY AWARDS "The Bloody Skull"
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 Foreign Language Horror (Short & Feature)
Best Student Horror Film - USA
Best Student Horror Film - Chicago/IL
Best Horror Cinematography
Best Horror Comedy
Best Horror Animation / Stop Motion
Best LGBTQ+ Horror
Best Horror Fan-Film
Best Villain
Best Kill
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Horror*
Best Midnight/Grindhouse/WTF
Best Screenplay (1st,2nd & 3rd place) < Prizes Sponsored by Coverage-Ink

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.ChicagoHorrorFilmFest.com

***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...

**All non-English films must have English subtitles permanently embedded in the video**

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.

No films with Watermarks.

Posters will be showcased on our website randomly and not guaranteed.

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.

We reserves the right to disqualify, cut, remove or not select any film at our sole discretion, for any reason, without obligation to provide an explanation or refund.

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, including but not limited to social media, YouTube platforms, live events, and the festival’s website. Any obstruction or interference with the festival's operations, promotions, or screenings may result in disqualification at our sole discretion

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.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Where to begin? From top to bottom, communication is phenomenal. This incredible group of folks running this festival are so gifted, inclusive and kind. The entire festival was a huge celebration of all of the people and beautifully curated films. Each person I met there was professional, funny, cool and kind. I highly recommend submitting to this festival. It was an honor to be surrounded by such talented and wonderful people.

    May 2025
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Seeing your smiling face every day at the fest is why we do it!

  • Natalie Cordoba

    I HIGHLY recommend this festival!! We had an absolute blast attending it. The festival organizers and staff were so friendly and personable. Every detail about the event was clearly communicated through email, and any questions were answered promptly and thoroughly. They gave each filmmaker the opportunity to answer questions and talk about their film to the audience in between film blocks. They had a nice filmmakers lounge for networking and just getting to know the other filmmakers. They also had a little celebration with a champagne toast for the award winners.

    Huge thank you to CHFF for creating a platform for indie horror filmmakers’ work to be seen and appreciated! It was such an honor to be a part of it.

    June 2025
  • I was fortunate enough to have my short film The Quiet Hike selected for this exceptional event. Although I was only able to attend one day, it was one of the best experiences in my career. The overall vibe was welcoming and supportive from both the staff and the other fillmmakers. There was a strong sense of community. The venue, The Logan Theatre, was wonderful and the film selections were diverse in creativity, culture and variety. CHFF inspired and revitalized me.

    June 2025
  • Two thumbs up! Had a great time.

    June 2025
  • Lorenzo Manetti

    We were unfortunately not able to attend in person, but had an incredible experience with the festival’s team! Their communication and enthusiasm leading up to the event was excellent. We're honored to have had our short film, ESCAPE, be a part of The Chicago Horror Film Festival! As we embark on our next project, I hope we are able to participate again and experience the fest in person! Thank you again for including us!

    June 2025