🩸 GOREWAVE FEST 2025 – WINNERS & SPECIAL MENTIONS 🩸
🏆 Main Awards

Shiver Me Timbers
Director: Paul Stephen Mann
Category: Feature
Country: United Kingdom
Award: Best Feature

Worm
Director: Callum Anthony Thomas
Category: Short Film
Country: Australia
Award: Best Short & Best Director

Firecrow
Director: Markham Samuels
Category: Short Film
Country: Canada
Award: Best FX

🎖️ Honorable Mentions

I Had A Dream Where You Were Killing Me
Director: Gabriele Mencaroni
Category: Trailer
Country: Italy
Mention: Honorable Mention

The Harvest
Directors: David Barrera, Manuel Carballo
Category: Short Film
Country: Spain
Mention: Honorable Mention
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Welcome to Gorewave Film Festival, the event that celebrates the raw, unfiltered, and most extreme visions in horror cinema. If you crave blood-soaked narratives, transgressive storytelling, and boundary-pushing special effects, this is the arena for the boldest filmmakers in the genre.

We proudly accept all forms of horror (that must be HORROR, we are anyway "GOREWAVE"... no? If your movie is a GIALLO or THRILLER, be sure you have some BLOOD on it!), but we have a particular focus on gore, extreme, and underground cinema... films that defy conventions and leave a lasting mark on the audience; SCI-FI movies and shorts are welcome.

About the Festival
Gorewave Film Festival is a biannual event taking place over two days at Materia Prima, the first and coolest cultural Hub in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The festival offers an intense, immersive experience where horror enthusiasts and creators come together to celebrate the darker side of cinema.

The festival is a partner of GOREGALAXI and collaborates with various horror-related websites to amplify the reach and impact of selected films.

Submissions are now open: Join us in celebrating the most fearless horror filmmakers.

Awards & Prizes

We award four categories:

- Best Director
- Best Feature Film
- Best Short Film
- Best Special Effects

We recognize also Various Honorable Mentions.

Trailer submissions are free.
Selected trailers will be screened during the festival but will not compete in the main contest.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Semi-Finalist:
The film has received positive feedback and has been selected for the next round of judging, but is not yet among the finalists.
Finalist:
The film has progressed through the judging process and is now being considered for an award or screening at the festival.

Winners receive:
A high-quality digital certificate (printable)
Free Official Selection to the "Horror Island Film fest", an exclusive/partner horror event!

Rules & Terms

By submitting a film to Gorewave Film Festival, the submitter agrees to the following terms and conditions:

- Rights & Ownership

The submitter guarantees that they own all rights to the submitted work, including but not limited to intellectual property, music, and footage used in the film.
The submitter assumes full legal responsibility in case of any copyright infringement claims.

- Screening & Promotion

By submitting, the filmmaker grants Gorewave Film Festival the non-exclusive right to screen the selected work during the festival.
The festival is allowed to use images, stills, and short clips (under 30 seconds) from the submitted films for promotional purposes, including online and social media marketing.

Submission fees are non-refundable under any circumstances.
The festival does not provide feedback, explanations, or justifications for non-selection.

Selected films must be made downloadable within one week of the official selection notification.
Films without a separate ENGLISH subtitle file (SRT or similar format) will not be screened.

By submitting, the filmmaker acknowledges and agrees to these terms.

WARNING: the fest does NOT COVER hospitality/accomodation/travel costs
2 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gabriele Mencaroni

    Amazing experience and great hospitality!!

    September 2025
    Helpful
  • Paul Mann

    We were thrilled to be selected for the inaugural Gorewave Film Festival and even more honored to win Best Feature! While we couldn’t attend in person, the communication with the festival was exceptional, and the networking opportunities have been fantastic so far. I highly recommend it to any horror filmmaker!

    August 2025
    Helpful