HorrOrigins Film Festival is an awesome genre film festival in it's fourth year. We're focused on making the event that is beneficial to screenwriters & filmmakers alike via networking, screenings and mentor opportunities.

Horror, Sci-fi & Thrillers are WELCOMED!

HorrOrigins Film Festival will hold an in-person and virtual festival. They will be held at separate times. There is a possibility that some films will be screened in-person and virtually and some will just be screened virtually.

HorrOrigins Film Festival screenings will be held Galaxy Theatres in Tucson, AZ.

About:

HorrOrigins is founded by Brandon Waites. Brandon is the co-founder of the Hollywood filmmaking & screenwriting platform The Film Empire. The Film Empire hosts contests that allow filmmakers & screenwriters the opportunity to meet industry mentors. You can check out more at: www.thefilmempire.com.

Social media hashtag: #WhereHorrorIsBorn #WhereHorrorBegins #HorrOrigins

More announcements on events will be coming soon!

Awards & Prizes

Winners of certain category will win our O'Scare awards (pictures above).

Certificates and/or Awards will be given for:

*Best Independent Horror Director (Feature & Short)
*Best Independent Horror Film (Feature & Short)
*Best Mainstream Horror Director
*Best Mainstream Horror Film
Best Horror Cinematographer
Best Horror Composer
Best Horror Screenplay
Best Horror Actor
Best Horror Actress

*These categories are up for the O'Scare awards.

HorrOrigins will assign certain winners a one-time meeting with a Hollywood mentor. Mentors will be assigned to the winners at a later time but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. More mentors could be added at a later time.

2022 Mentors will be assigned after the festival.

Our Past Mentors included:

Barbara Muschietti producer of "IT" and "IT: Chapter 2"

Patrik Andersson producer of "Midsommar"

James Kniest cinematographer of "Annabelle," Netflix’s "Hush" and the upcoming "The Haunting of Bly Manor"

Peter Schink screenwriter of “Legion”

Jennfer Trent co-producer of "Happy Death Day 2 U" and "Ma"

Xavier Neal-Burgin director of the horror documentary "Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror"

HorrOrigins will also give our prizes from our sponsors to select winners.

Rules & Terms

Please read all rules & conditions before submitting.

By submitting, you acknowledge that you give HorrOrigins Film Festival the authorization to utilize any excerpts, images or biographical information of the filmmakers from any film submitted for promotional purposes.

Premieres and attendance are not required but will for considered in the final programming decisions.

Acceptable screening formats for exhibition are:
DCP's (digital & hard-drive)

HorrOrigins does not pay screening fees.

HorrOrigins reserves the rights to disqualify any submission without refund or reason.

HorrOrigins does not allow any refunds.

Screenings & awards ceremony will be scheduled by the HorrOrigins staff.

Any films not in English must be subtitled.

Screenplays must be in English.

Please submit the version of your film or screenplay that you want to be judged, as we do not allow for these to be updated at a later time. If you require an updated screenplay or film to be viewed, submission fees will apply.

Films & Screenplays are only accepted via online submission platforms. Finalists will be announced the day prior to the event. Winning screenplay(s) will be announced at the event.

Filmmakers & Screenwriters will acquire one VIP pass & one VIP virtual pass.

Films that have been acquired, produced, financed or distributed by any major motion picture studios or production companies are not eligible for our competitive awards (with exception to our mainstream category) but are eligible for screenings. It is the sole responsibility of the submitting filmmaker to attain all permissions required from the major motion picture studios or production companies prior to submitting and screenings.

Submitting filmmaker/screenwriter has full legal rights to submit film and/or screenplays.

Notifications will be made by social media, email and/or phone.

HorrOrigins reserves the right to omit any awards should the festival not receive enough entries for specific categories or if no of the submissions meet the judging standards.

HorrOrigins reserves the rights to give out any additional specialty awards should the judging team feel any of the films/screenplays deserve it.

Certificates will be printed and handed out at the award ceremony. Should a winning filmmaker not attend, then the certificate will be emailed instead.

HorrOrigins holds the right to change screening venue or platform for any reason but will make notifications should this occur.

HorrOrigins holds the right to change selections at any time due to any reason.

HorrOrigins requests that you do not submit any YouTube or any other public videos.

It is the sole responsibility of the submitting filmmaker to secure any authorization and rights for copyrighted materials used within the film.

By submitting, you acknowledge and accept the rules & conditions of HorrOrigins Film Fest. The submitter also agrees to hold harmless HorrOrigins Film Fest from any and all claims resulting from my entry.
55 Reviews
Overall Rating
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  • Alexis Nelson

    It was an honor having our film screen with the HorrOrigins Film Festival. The team was excellent, it was organized, and fantastic communication. I think what I love the most is how much of a community they seem to have and social media presence. I recommend these guys and I can't wait to be apart of their festival again!

    January 2022
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  • Tonya Hawkins

    HorrOrigins Film Festival was an excellent experience. We really appreciated the virtual component to the festival to accommodate those who couldn't travel due to the pandemic. They had an excellent selection of films and they treat their filmmakers wonderfully. We will definitely submit to this festival in the future. Thanks HorrOrigins!

    November 2021
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  • Rafael Mayoral-Parracia

    Had a great time at HorrOrigins! Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming and it was awesome to meet fellow film makers attending the fest. Looking forward to submitting again next year.

    October 2021
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  • Joey Scoma

    HorrOrigins is awesome! It was my first time submitting and I was thrilled to have two of my short screenplays make it into the final six and I will absolutely be submitting again next year! Highly Reccommend

    October 2021
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  • Renetta Amador

    Everyone at HorrOrigins was friendly and helpful. Their virtual Q & A's were fun to not only watch but also be apart of. I met many friends I'll have for a lifetime. Very honored to be a part of their lineup this year!

    October 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much Renetta! Your team is beyond talented and I hope to see more of your work. Appreciative of you support of HorrOrigins and hopefully get to meet you in person next year.