The Halloween International Film Festival returns to Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina October 3-5, 2019, presented by Halloween Daily News.

Held on the historic Outer Banks, this destination event features three days of independent horror films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure.

Festival film screenings will once again be shown at R/C Theatres Movies 10 in Kill Devil Hills, including Q&A sessions, 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 65,000 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 Actress
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.
21 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mark Allison

    An awesome festival I got to attend with my wife as a weekend getaway to the Outer Banks! Matt and Sue are great hosts, both accommodating and thoughtful, as they welcomed us to screen my short horror film. The theater is excellent, as the festival takes place in the local multiplex cinema with terrific sound and projection, and it comes with an enthusiastic crowd made up of locals and the filmmakers that traveled with their films. We had a great Q & A after my film screened and they even recorded it and shared it online so I got to go back and watch myself afterward. It's a growing festival in a great location that you don't want to miss! I still have the hand-painted Frankenstein shell they gave me for making the trip down sitting on my desk!

    April 2019
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  • Brent Duncan

    Fantastic fest with some of the greatest hosts you can find in the business! Great networking opportunities and excellent presentations in an actual theater. Highly recommended.

    December 2018
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  • Manny & Lindsay Serrano

    I unfortunately was unable to attend, but Matt and Sue were both some of the nicest and easiest organizers I've ever been in communication with! Their professionalism and genuine excitement about the festival made me feel horrible that I could not attend (not a fault of theirs, at all!)
    I'm hoping to be able to make it to next years festival and experience it first hand.
    Oh, and BTW, the actual awards look AWESOME!!

    December 2018
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  • anthony risen

    So disappointed I couldn’t attend this one - I love Halloween so it was a honor to be a part of this festival!!

    November 2018
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  • Mark Cornell

    Great festival. Sue and Matt are terrific hosts. Loved seeing my movie on the big screen!

    November 2018
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