Born out of a love for horror and film festivals, but frustrated with the lack of diversity within them, GASP! is a brand new film festival dedicated entirely to new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and thriller films by filmmakers within marginalised communities.

GASP! is here to celebrate the diversity we all know is present within genre cinema, therefore we will be bringing you a range of the latest short and feature length films from people of colour, women, people with disabilities, people within the LGBTQ+ community, together with foreign language filmmakers.

Be sure to look out for mystery classics and anniversary screenings thrown in too!

Awards & Prizes

GASP! is not a competitive festival.

Rules & Terms

As this is a genre film festival focusing entirely on filmmakers within marginalised communities, all films submitted must be written, directed and/or produced by either a woman, a person with a disability, a person of colour, a foreign language filmmaker or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

If it isn’t clear from your profile how you fit into any of the above, please provide a cover letter informing us how you fit into our guidelines.

GASP! is a horror film festival first and foremost, however, we also accept and consider submissions within the fantasy, sci-fi and thriller genres too so that we are able to celebrate diversity within genre cinema on a wider spectrum.

We will NOT be accepting or screening any films featuring or made with any generative AI.
23 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • J.L. Cabrera

    I'm very grateful to GASP! for selecting and screening my short The Face. Festivals like this are so important because they give a voice to emerging independent filmmakers and unique projects, allowing new audiences to discover their work. The whole team made me feel genuinely welcome and it was a pleasure to meet fellow horror fans. Thank you for such a great experience!

    July 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your lovely words! We had a wonderful time with you at the festival and we hope to see you again in the future!

  • Shawna Edward

    It was such an honour screening MIMICS at this years Gasp! The festival made us feel so included even from across the pond, there was an a great level of social media involvement and networking, we can’t wait to be back again.

    July 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    It was an honour to have your fantastic film as part of our lineup! Thank you for the review! We cannot wait to see your future work :)

  • Hannah Saks

    I can’t thank Gary and the team enough for all the work they did in supporting my film You’re Just Tired. A fantastic festival that really champions filmmakers from marginalised communities!

    July 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    It was a pleasure to work with you! Thank you so much for the kind words!

  • Jordan Miller

    GASP is a wonderful and inclusive festival! They hosted our Northern UK premiere for The Only Ones and were communicative and awesome through the whole process!

    July 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much! We’re very proud to have hosted the Northern UK Premiere of your fantastic film!

  • Paper Horse Pictures

    So we had a film at GASP! ...and did we go?
    No.
    Because we were SCAREDY CATS, and we've been HAUNTED by that decision ever since.
    Don't make the same GRAVE mistake we did.
    If you ever get the chance to go to GASP!, take it.

    July 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    We LOVE this review! We hope to see you at a future GASP!