The Darkside New Jersey Film Festival is looking for the strangest, weirdest, darkest, eerie, abnormal, surreal, most macabre, most experimental and odd films you have to offer.

DARKSIDE New Jersey is a brand new, annual celebration of the Weird, Odd, Curious and Macabre located at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center in Edison, NJ. It is brought to you by the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market which is largest and one of the longest running DIY shopping experiences/festivals in the country. The TPRFM has been credited with beginning the Punk Rock Flea Market movement across the country while successfully managing and developing more than 45 large scale festivals since 2013. In 2014, it was named on of the “Best Flea Markets in America” by the Huffington Post.

Featuring more than 50,000 square feet of vendors selling peculiar and curious items from across the globe, one can expect to procure everything from taxidermy, preserved wet specimens, original artwork, horror, occult & witchcraft inspired items and original clothing to unique handmade jewelry, macabre movie makers, funeral collectibles & curio, vintage medical tools and much more.

While you’re here, take in the sights such as Live Suspension & Tattooing, Live Performances and Sideshows, Live Music, Tarot Readings, Burlesque, Live Speakers, Workshops and more.

Awards & Prizes

AWARDS:

The Grand Grotesque (Best of Fest)
Macabe Masterpiece Award (Best Feature Film)
Bite-Sized Bizarre Award (Best Short Film)
Twisted Vision Award (Best Director)
Phantasmal Frame Award (Best Cinematographer)
Splice of Strange Award (Best Editing)

LAST EVENTS WINNERS:

The Grand Grotesque (Best of Fest)
The Pocket Film of Superstitions

Macabe Masterpiece Award (Best Feature Film)
The Pocket Film of Superstitions

Bite-Sized Bizarre Award (Best Short Film)
Howl if You Love Me

Twisted Vision Award (Best Director)
Tom Lee Rutter - The Pocket Film of Superstitions

Phantasmal Frame Award (Best Cinematographer)
The Pocket Film of Superstitions

Splice of Strange Award (Best Editing)
Driven Out

Rules & Terms

Eligibility Requirements:

Entries must be completed works

Submission Deadline Date: August 31st 2025

Submission Procedure if your film has been accepted.

One submission only.

- Within 5 days of your notification of acceptance we require a digital copy of your film for exhibition in one of the following file formats : mpeg / .avi / .mov / .mp4 / .m4v
either through an online service (DropBox, WeTransfer, Hightail, etc.)

Please read the following:

I, the undersigned, acknowledge and agree as follows: I have read, understood and complied with all eligibility requirements of the categories for which I would like this film to be considered; To the best of my knowledge, all of the statements in this document are true; This film is not subject to litigation nor is threatened by any litigation; I am duly authorized to submit this film to the Festival and it's Competition; I hold thet Darkside New Jersey Film Festival harmless from damage to or loss of the print to or from the Festival or otherwise during the course of the Festival's possession of the film. I certify that I hold all necessary rights for this submission and accept the regulations of the Darkside New Jersey Film Festival.

3 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Pete Jacelone

    This was a very cool festival. Being only a single day, it featured mostly short films that definitely bordered on the "unusual". The festival was featured as part of the Darkside "oddity" flee market, complete with live entertainment, product and food venders, and lots of very strange people. (in a good way). But the film festival was definitely the best part of the event. I would definitely submit again. (Plus the awards were awesome)!

    November 2024
    Helpful
  • JoeBert Entertainment

    Great festival! Very cool atmosphere and a lot of fun.

    November 2024
    Helpful
  • Dale J. None

    Great festival! Professional organization and communication.

    November 2024
    Helpful