WHERE:
Englewood Cinema in Englewood, Ohio

ABOUT:
Englewood Cinema is an independent single screen neighborhood cinema in Englewood, Ohio. We are located in Montgomery County not far from Dayton, Ohio. The cinema has been here since 1976. Me and my wife took it over in October 2021. Our cinema seats 260 so it can potentially be a large crowd for this event.

THIS EVENT:
Homegrown Horror as an idea came about as we had local filmmakers wanting to showcase their work and presented us with hopes of showing it here. I have a background in documentary and independent filmmaking so I have a passion and a love for film and understand to some level the difficulty of getting your work out there and being seen by an audience. We hope with our Homegrown Horror event to create a hub for independent filmmakers and the local filmmaking community. We had incredible success in year three and can't wait to keep growing with year four! The event will be free again this year in hopes to attract as many people as possible to see your work!

We will have a panel of judges in the local filmmaking community and will award a best in show so that you can put that as a part of your work when getting it out there. The trophy from last year is in the photo gallery!

We have no rules. Send us your films!

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Had a great time at 2025's Gem City Horror Film Festival and it was such an honor to take home Best Picture/Short for my film "Hazelbeth" at the Homegrown Horror shorts slot. Cory and the team were incredibly friendly and I absolutely adored the theater. For the midwesterners out there, I would highly recommend submitting to the festival!

    October 2025
  • Brandon Hardy

    Had a great time at this event. A charming theater with friendly staff and the best popcorn I’ve ever had anywhere. Film curation was diverse, and there are small opportunities to network with other filmmakers. I look forward to the next one!

    October 2025
  • John Sylva

    Gem City 2024 was wonderful! A great venue with people very passionate about movies and excited about celebrating filmmakers. Hoping for this to become a longstanding Dayton tradition for Englewood Cinema!

    October 2024
  • Bradley Birch

    Had a great time. Festival was a blast!

    October 2024