It’s Alive! Horror Film Festival is the very first truly dedicated, undoubtedly horrifying and artistically chilling genre film festival in Bulgaria. We are passionate about cinema and in love with horror. We welcome filmmakers who share the same sentiments. We embrace works palpitating with intensity and fright.

It’s Alive! will start on Halloween night 2023. We shall have a taste of the old: a retrospective program of marvellous German horror films from the 1920s. But we will also need some fresh blood.

Our Open Call for Short Horror and Feature Fright is now here and very much alive. We are thirsty for your macabre works. The selected ones will be screened in the city of Sofia at the first edition of It’s Alive! Horror Film Festival.

Awards & Prizes

Best Short Horror
Best Feature Fright

Rules & Terms

Non English-language films must be subtitled in English.

All submissions must be made through the FilmFreeway platform. This ensures that your film will receive the right time and attention by the Selection Committee.

The applicant(s) must have full authority to submit their film to It’s Alive! Horror Film Festival and to own the copyright of the work, including all rights to the music used. It’s Alive! Horror Film Festival is not responsible for any claims made by a third party regarding copyright and related rights.

Running times for the films of the festival are:
- Feature Films: minimum running time, 60 minutes;
- Short Films: maximum running time, 30 minutes.

Submission fees are not refundable.

After a film is selected to be part of the official festival programme, the organiser will contact each author in order to determine the exact technical requirements regarding the screening of their film.

The authors of films selected in the competition programme must send video and photo material (such as trailer, poster, film stills, other appropriate material, photos of the creators - director, cast, others if applicable), short bio(s) of the filmmaker(s) and a full list of the production team (credits). The festival is allowed to use this information for publicity and advertising purposes.