Hellifax Horror Fest takes place in the seaside city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Therein lives a contingent of die-hard horror fans with a taste for blood (in film, that is). This festival is for the fans, and for the filmmakers who deliver innovative and compelling stories.
Hellifax is a non-profit society in its 5th year. Our main focus is horror films while we also screen sci-fi, action and thriller. We are proud of our great reviews, our awesome advisory board and our strong programming.
We're filmmakers ourselves, and we're doing this for the love of genre films. We aim to showcase the next generation of filmmakers and celebrate the established stars.
The festival has three components:
Feature film competition:
-Horror, sci-fi, action and thriller feature films 45 minutes or longer can be submitted. A cash prize and trophy for the jury winner.
Short film competition:
-Horror, sci-fi, action and thriller short films 25 minutes or less can be submitted. A cash prize and trophy for the jury winner.
Script competition:
We're ready for your horror, sci-fi, action and thriller genre scripts (maximum length of 25 pages).
-Each script will receive brief reader notes (if requested).
-The Hellifax jury will select the top 15 semi-finalists from the submissions, followed by the top five finalists. The top five and the grand prize winner will be announced at the awards ceremony and be available on the Hellifax website (if the screenwriter agrees). Laurels will be provided to the semi-finalists and finalists.
-The grand prize winner will receive $100 (CDN) cash award and their script will be sent to two prominent genre companies who will read it and we present a recorded live script read by professional actors.
In 2022 we screened seven features and thirty-five short films over three days along with a live table read of the winning script.
I n 2021, we made the festival bigger and better by including horror features and adding small cash prizes for Best Feature, Best Short and Best Script and overall 24 awards were given out. We screened four features and 48 shorts in front of live audiences during an October weekend. We also presented a collection of short films online for Christmas.
In 2020 we screened 52 short films in five programs online, selected from submissions received from over 30 countries. The festival was free and we had audience attendance from around the world.
Hellifax Horror Fest is committed to recognizing filmmakers in a number of categories, including:
Juried Awards for both feature and shorts categories:
Best Film
Best Director
Best Performer
Best Performer
Best Ensemble
Best Script
Best Cinematography
Best Score
Best Editing
Best Effects
Scariest Film
Best Monster/Villain
Audience Favourite Feature Film (audience vote)
Audience Favorite Short Film (audience vote)
Every winner will receive an award laurel graphic.
Best Feature Film and Best Short Film will each receive a $200 (CAD) cash prize and a trophy.
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Screenplay category:
All scripts will be read by industry professionals, and the top 2 will be announced at Fest.
The Winner gets a $100 (CAD) cash prize, and their script will be sent to two prominent genre companies who will read it. The winning script will also have a recorded live script read on Sunday morning during the Festival!
The First Runner-Up gets $50 (CAD) and a recorded live script read on Sunday, also!
