The International Horror Hotel Film Festival and Convention is held every June in Northeast Ohio (near Cleveland). We have open competitions for films, scripts and music videos in the following genres: documentary (film only), experimental (film only), fantasy, horror, horror-comedy, slasher, sci-fi and suspense-thriller. Competitions also open for our horror film scoring competition (submissions through our website). At the event, we also have scream king/scream queen and FX makeup competitions.

The event features four days of film screenings, two days of panel discussions and lectures, a convention, special guests, networking parties, live competitions and more. The 2019 festival will tentatively be held June 6th-9th - location TBA.

Awards & Prizes

Genre awards in each category - 1st through 4th place, plus honorable mention awards, for qualifying projects.

For attending winners, awards include trophies, plaques and certificates. Non-attending winners receive e-certificates.

Grand champion belts to: Best Overall Film, Best Overall Script, and Viewer's Choice Award.

Additional film awards and nominations such as acting, cinematography, directing, editing, and Ohio film awards.

Additional sponsored awards TBA.

Rules & Terms

***PLEASE READ ALL RULES/TERMS BEFORE SUBMITTING***

When submitting your project, be sure to e-mail us at kristina@worldeonline.com with your selected genre: documentary (film only); experimental (film only); fantasy; horror; horror-comedy; sci-fi; slasher; suspense-thriller. Filmmakers, please also note if your film is a student project and/or a foreign (non-English) film. Please include your project name and tracking number in the e-mail.

There are NO restrictions as to when your film or script was completed or where it has been released. Anyone may enter the competition. All entries must receive an average score of 85 or above in the judging process to qualify for award placement.

Filmmakers - Please check BOTH copies of your DVD or Blu-Ray before mailing to make sure they play. Each DVD or Blu-Ray should have your film title, total run time and FF tracking number. It is recommended that you check your DVDs or Blu-Rays on more than one DVD/Blu-Ray player (computers don't count) to ensure they play, as this is a common issue with submissions. We do NOT accept files, file discs, or any other format - NO EXCEPTIONS.

Hard copies are NOT returned, unless you clear this with the festival administration from the beginning. In order to have your disc(s) or script(s) returned to you (after the festival) you MUST send an SASE along with your disc(s) OR script(s) - not separately or after.

IF YOU SUBMIT VIA SECURE ONLINE SCREENER AND YOUR FILM IS SELECTED TO SCREEN, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SEND A HARD COPY (DVD / BLU-RAY) OF YOUR FILM FOR SCREENING. ANY SELECTED FILM NOT RECEIVED BY A GIVEN DEADLINE WILL BE REPLACED IN THE LINEUP - NO EXCEPTIONS.

We do not grant submission fee waivers under any circumstance. We do not pay screening fees.

Please note, if your project qualifies for an award, you or a direct representative from your project must be in attendance at the festival in order to receive any physical awards. Non-attending winners will be e-mailed award certificates after the event.

All submissions - whether accepted or not - come with ONE complimentary 4-day event pass to the festival. No additional passes will be comped. Any additional passes must be purchased in advance or at the door.

If you have a film in competition which can no longer be considered for screening, you may withdraw it from screening consideration but still leave it in competition for award placement. Please e-mail kristina@worldeonline.com if you need to withdraw from consideration for screening.

You may withdraw your submission at any time, but there are no refunds on submissions.
35 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Vance Walker

    Awesome! Thank you so much!

    August 2018
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  • Max Groah

    A fun little fest with a lot of content. Screening rooms were set up nicely and the audio was good which isn't always the case for hotel screenings.
    Awards ceremony was a blast.

    July 2018
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  • JoAnn Hess

    This was my 3rd years attending Horror Hotel. I've been a huge fan of Kristina and Ray and they never disappoint. They are proactive in the festival and it's not uncommon to see Kristina dashing about to solve a sudden issue or organize an interview, etc. The communication with both are outstanding and their hands-on attention to detail is impressive.

    The films this year were some of the best I've seen. The script reading session was lots of fun and the screenwriting seminar was one of the best I've ever attended. As a smaller group, we formed more of a "round-table" session and the discussion was very in-depth on process, structure, working with producers and more. It was amazing to get to know other attendees, some all the way from Germany!

    The venue (new because the old venue was sold) didn't provide ample food or opportunity to network. Not to mention a power outage... but Ray and Kristina, always on top of things, and already have an eye out for another venue for next year.

    The awards ceremony is the most fast-paced, organized and FUN event I've ever attended. I will continue to come to this festival whether I have a project in it or not. Kudos to Ray and Kristina!!!

    June 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for the great review and for your continued support of the festival, JoAnn!! We are always happy to have you there!

  • Aaron Barrocas

    This was a fantastic festival from start to finish.

    I was wondering if I was crazy to take off work and fly out to to Horror Hotel, but when I got there I immediately met filmmakers, composers, writers, and actors from all over the country, and the world.

    The organizers, Kristina and Ray, focus on introducing everybody so that artists can connect and build relationships. It's clear that both Kristina and Ray put tons of time and heart into making a great festival. As a result, many of the people there return year after year. Several people I spoke with were at their third or fourth Horror Hotel event.

    Each day, those of us staying in the hotel had breakfast together, and the festival would begin at 11am. From that point on, we had our choice of attending lectures, panel discussions, the convention area, or films in two separate screening rooms. The films shown ranged from microbudget shorts through features with highly recognizable casts.

    The day's events wrapped by midnight, and everybody would gather at the bar to continue the party.

    Had tremendous fun, learned quite a bit, saw great movies, and met some terrific and talented people.

    On the contest side, they are extremely organized, and Kristina regularly communicates with all entrants, keeping everybody informed of their status. I've entered for two years, and found it professional and well-run both times.

    I recommend submitting to the contest, but even more so the experience of attending the festival itself.

    June 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Aaron! We are so glad you made it to this year's festival and hope to see you (and your work!) back in the future.

  • Carlos Keyes

    Unfortunately, I could not attend but the communication and attention from The International Horror Hotel was wonderful. Kristina Michelle is a great communicator and I thank her for selection of our feature film BLACK WAKE at the festival. I highly recommend and hope to make it there next year.

    June 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for sending Black Wake to the festival!