Hastings Rocks International Film Festival

HASTINGS ROCKS celebrates films that challenges the conversation about horror and independent cinema - works that are unafraid to push the parameters of risk-taking and that reflect on the ever-changing world in which we live. Alongside horror, we embrace drama, comedy and genre films steeped in dystopian, esoteric and noir visions. The festival also screens films made in and around Hastings, with a particular focus on young and emerging filmmakers.

The next edition of the festival will take place 30 October - 1 November 2026 at the gothic art deco The Electric Palace and The Printworks, located in the town’s cyberpunk-esque Gotham Alley. Hastings Rocks has screened films to thousands of attendees since its creation in 2021. Our jury has been presided over by an array of award-winning artists including Madeline Smith (Live and Let Die, Hammer Horror films), Jo Brand, cult experimental filmmaker Andrew Kotting and writer-directors David Caffrey and Bindu De Stoppani.

The UK seaside town of Hastings is the perfect backdrop to share your film with fellow artists. Famous for the battle of 1066, the town’s ghostly identity has been forged over millenia. Gangs of smugglers have plied their trade in ancient cliffside caves since the middle ages. The Victorians build splendid – now decaying – Gothic buildings, while sadly allowing poverty and disease to run riot, and the occultist Aleister Crowley spent his final year here, allegedly casting a spell on the town on his death bed. Today, Hastings is famed for its bustling May Day festivities, Jack in the Green, Fat Tuesday and Bonfire Night. FYI, the town is a coven of creatives, filmmakers and musicians from all walks of life and Hastings is fast becoming one of the premier sites in the UK for film and television production.