BRINGING FILMMAKERS AND FANS TOGETHER SINCE 1990

This unique celebration of horror, science fiction and fantasy cinema has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry since 1990.

*We have had a huge response this year - thank you - meaning submissions were paused at the Early Bird deadline until 1st June 2022 when we plan to resume*

Guests at the international festival have included Ray Harryhausen, John Landis, Roger Corman, Lamberto Bava, Jorge Grau, Brian Clemens, Gerry Anderson, Jimmy Sangster, Paul Naschy, Pete Walker, Val Guest, Roy Ward Baker, Tony Tenser, Bert I. Gordon, Britt Ekland, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Barbara Shelley, Ken Foree, Gunnar Hansen, Burt Kwouk, and many more.

Writers attending previous festivals include Ramsey Campbell (festival President), Stephen Volk, Stephen Laws, David McGillivray, Darrell Buxton, Mark Morris, and Wayne Kinsey.

Legendary British director Norman J. Warren was a fan of the festival and attended most years, as both guest and regular attendee, and was always keen to meet and encourage fledgling filmmakers and chat with fans. He is sadly missed. Our best-in-festival short film award has been named in Norman's memory.

The festival was founded by Tony Edwards, Gil Lane-Young, Harry Nadler and Dave Trengrove, and grew out of the Delta Film Group, a filmmaking society active in Manchester in the 1960s.

A friendly, intimate festival with a unique atmosphere and impeccable pedigree, it has long been considered a hidden gem on the festival circuit.

FFF Manchester relaunches in 2022 with a new look and a new programme. Please join us.

Awards & Prizes

The DELTA Awards incorporating THE NORMAN J WARREN TROPHY

Please note: submissions were paused at the Early Bird deadline until 1st June 2022 when we plan to resume.

We draw on a rich heritage: Delta Group filmmaking in Manchester, a forerunner of this festival, dates from the 1960s. With our awards programme dormant for a few years, we are relaunching the competition at our 32nd festival in 2022 and hope to attract submissions from genre filmmakers around the world.

Entry is free.

We are seeking short films in three categories: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy.

We will award a 'Delta' to the best Science Fiction short film, the best Horror short film, and the best Fantasy short film.

The best film overall will be presented with the Norman J Warren Trophy.

Chair of Judges in 2022 is legendary writer David McGillivray, a lifelong friend of Norman. They first met in 1967 when Warren was editing his first feature, Her Private Hell. Subsequently David wrote two screenplays for Norman, Satan’s Slave (1976) and Terror (1978). Part of Susu (2018), Norman's final film, which he produced for director Yixi Sun, was shot in David’s house in London’s King’s Cross.

Rules & Terms

FFF MANCHESTER SHORT FILM COMPETITION: the Delta Awards incorporating the Norman J Warren Trophy

Entry is FREE via FilmFreeway.

We will award the best Science Fiction short film, the best Horror short film, and the best Fantasy short film. The best film overall will be presented with the Norman J Warren Trophy aka "the Norman".

Submissions MUST be made through this site. Submissions must include an on-screen viewer for selection purposes.

Films must have a running time of no longer than 20 minutes. Any entries exceeding 20 minutes will be immediately rejected.

Films accepted are required to provide for screening .mov or MP4 digital files. Any delivery costs of screening media are borne by the submitter. Screening material will not be returned.

You can submit as many entries as you wish.

Press packs are not essential at this stage but can be sent as digital versions via email.

We are seeking films in three categories: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy. You should enter your film into one of these categories only.

Selected films will be screened at this year's Festival of Fantastic Films and will be judged by a panel of experts.

If selected, the screening copy should be with the festival organisers at least two weeks before the start of the festival.

N.B. any packages from outside Europe must bear the declaration “for temporary importation only and for cultural use at a film festival - of no commercial value”. Any documentation/proforma invoices for films from outside the EU must not state a value that exceeds £10 as this can attract importation taxes. Any film attracting freight charges/ importation taxes at our end will not be accepted, and will be returned at the sender’s own cost or may be retained by UK customs, where its retrieval will be the sender’s responsibility.

Selection procedure:
On receipt of a submission, the entrant will receive an email confirmation and reference number from FilmFreeway that should be quoted on all future correspondence. Selection notification to all applicants will be as early as possible but at the latest one month before the festival.

Applicants must confirm acceptance within seven days of receiving notification quoting their reference number and can supply any stills/images etc. to be used by the festival if not supplied previously. Screening material should be supplied at least 2 weeks prior to the festival, to allow time to check the technical quality.

FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS MANCHESTER RESERVES THE RIGHT AT ANY TIME TO WITHDRAW, POSTPONE, CANCEL OR MAKE ANY ALTERATION TO (OR PART OF) THE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OR FESTIVAL PROGRAMME WITHOUT PRIOR CONSULTATION.

Postal address for 2022 festival short film competition enquiries: 100 Oaktree Road, Southampton UK-SO18 1PH. Tel: +44 07968 196418

ALL ENTRANTS/SUBMITTERS AGREE TO THESE RULES & TERMS

Please note: we have had a huge response this year - thank you - meaning submissions were paused at the Early Bird deadline until 1st June 2022 when we plan to resume.