"I would highly recommend submitting your film."
- Bloody Flicks

The Halloween International Film Festival is a destination horror event, held in historic Kill Devil Hills, on North Carolina's Outer Banks island, presented by Halloween Daily News.

The festival features three days of independent horror and Halloween-themed films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure.

Previous Official Selections include 'The Barn' (2016 Best Halloween Film and Best Feature Film Award Winner), '3 Dead Trick or Treaters', '10/31', 'The Haunt' (2017 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), 'Haunters: The Art of the Scare' (2018 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), and 'Epic Home Haunts' (2019 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Winner).

Special invitational Showcase Selections from previous years include 'Honeyspider', 'The Houses October Built 2' (which is set partly here on the Outer Banks), 'Candy Corn', and the world premieres of '10/31 Part II' and 'Sharp Candy'.

Previously participating studios include Epic Pictures and RLJ Entertainment.

Festival film screenings are shown at the R/C Theatres cineplex in Kill Devil Hills, including Q&A sessions with attending filmmakers, nightly meet and greets, photo ops on our Orange Carpet, and more. Our state-of-the-art host venue features a massive 36-foot tall movie screen, stadium seating, full digital projection capabilities, and a complete lineup of refreshments and snacks available.

All Official Selections will receive publicity on HalloweenDailyNews.com and all festival Q&As and panels will be broadcast to more than 72,000 subscribers on the Halloween Daily News YouTube channel, and will be exposed to a reach of more than a million genre fans through the expanded Halloween Daily News network and social media.

The mission of the Halloween International Film Festival is to promote the artistry of independent films made in the spirit of creativity, support the future of cinema by providing exposure for talented visionary filmmakers, and celebrate a collective passion for Halloween. It is our goal to build the film industry on the Outer Banks, inspiring the attending filmmakers to bring future productions to the area while giving locally-based talents exposure to a wider, like-minded audience. It is a networking event for industry professionals, and a fan experience unlike any other in the region.

Known as the “land of beginnings”, the Outer Banks of North Carolina is the site of America’s first urban legend, The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, the true story of the first English colonists to land in the new world only to mysteriously vanish without explanation in 1587.

The Outer Banks is also where the Wright Brothers launched mankind toward the stars with the first powered flight in 1903, in what is now the town of Kill Devil Hills.

Awards & Prizes

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Best Short Film
Best Feature Film
Best Halloween Film
Best International Film
Best North Carolina Film
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Breakthrough Filmmaker
Scariest Film

Rules & Terms

Film Submission Details:

This Festival is for original films only (no "fan films"), and by submitting you agree that you are the owner or have the permission of the owner of the film submitted and all contents within.

There is no guarantee that your film submission will be selected for Festival screening.

All film submissions will be pre-screened, a limited amount of which will be selected for in-competition Festival screenings, and notification will made by the Festival to the filmmaker that submitted through FilmFreeway via email provided by FilmFreeway.

Requests for specific day and/or times for screenings will not be considered.

Selected submissions may be screened more than once during the Festival.

Premiere status is not required but will be considered in the selection process.

The final screening schedule will be published at HalloweenInternationalFilmFestival.com.

Additional promotional materials (posters, lobby cards, etc.) must be provided by the submitting filmmaker (not required).

RULES:

Submitting filmmaker must include the title of the submission and name of all contacts on all media, materials, and containers.

Filmmakers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be submitted, packaged, and shipped individually.

Submitted films are considered the final finished versions of those films by the Festival (no “in progress” projects).

The preferred method to deliver the films that are selected for the Festival is on a DCP (digital cinema package); which must be mailed to Festival organizers by the deadline stated in the notification email (approximately two weeks after notification of official selection).

Testing of all media should be completed by the submitting filmmaker prior to submission. Faulty or unusable media will disqualify that film from the Festival if a suitable replacement cannot be obtained in a timely manner.

DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL/SOLE COPIES.

Media and press materials will not be returned under any circumstances.

The Halloween International Film Festival will not be responsible for media and/or press materials lost or damaged while in transit or possession of the Festival.

All film submission fees are non-refundable.

Submissions must be English language or English subtitled.

All terms and conditions of official rules must be met and certification provided by completing the Film Submission Form.

Submissions which are ineligible for consideration:

- U.S. distribution obtained prior to being submitted for the festival.

- Produced, financed, or initiated by a major film studio or television network.

- Previously screened on a U.S. television network or cable system.

- Distributed theatrically prior to festival screenings.

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The Halloween International Film Festival reserves the right to update the Festival submission rules, screening schedule, and events, subject to change.
31 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Paul Downey

    I would highly recommend submitting your film to the Halloween International Film Festival. They were thorough with communication at all stages of the process when I submitted our 40th anniversary documentary on the Halloween series in 2018. Recommended!

    February 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks, Paul! We were honored to host the U.S. Premiere of your excellent documentary!

  • Romén Rivero

    A highly professional, well organized and communicative festival!

    Even though I couldn't attend the event it was such an honour to have been awarded Best International Film for my short Noctámbulos (Night Owls) at this amazing festival! What a lineup, so many awesome shorts screened at Halloween International Film Festival. A big 5 star rating!

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much for the kind words Romen! We love your film and it was our honor to share it with our audience.

  • Matt Sullivan

    The Halloween International Film Festival's communication team is one of the best I have dealt with. Not only was the communication clear throughout the entire festival process, they also made a tremendous effort to promote films on social media and online. I have not seen another festival do so much before the festival as the great team at the Halloween International Film Festival. They are respectful of the work that has been put in and an absolute to pleasure to work with! Kudos to the team and this great and really FUN festival!

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much for the kind words, Matt!! We all absolutely love your film, and we can't wait to see your next project.

  • Richard Clabaugh

    A fun little festival put together with love for the genre. Matt and Sue Artz are passionate about this and make filmmakers feel welcome. A wonderful experience all around. Small, but very enjoyable and great for networking with other filmmakers.

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you again for attending and participating in our festival, Richard!! Your film is amazing, and it was a pleasure and honor to meet you. We hope to see you again soon!

  • Jason Zink

    We've toured all around the country from festival to festival and Halloween International is one of our best experiences in terms of communication, value and quality overall. Sadly, we couldn't make it to the fest... and that's a huge regret for us. Matt and Sue stayed in constant communication and their presence online was truly invaluable for both ourselves as well as the rest of the films selected for the 2019 fest. This is one that we'll gladly be submitting to in the future and won't ever miss again. If you're like us and have other plans set... change 'em and go to Kill Devil Hills! Keep killin' it Halloween International!!!

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks so much for participating in our festival and for all the kind words, Jason!! Your film is outstanding, and you are absolutely a filmmaker whose career we look forward to following with great interest. We can't wait to see your next project, and look forward to meeting you soon!