Hosted by America's foremost drive-in movie critic and horror host Joe Bob Briggs, Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In Festival will be the first of its kind this October: part drive-in film festival, and part live Halloween haunt!

Selected films will play in drive-ins and/or pop-up screenings in Southern California (and possibly beyond), commented on by Joe Bob featuring his signature passion for horror. As the night goes on, a zombie outbreak will be unleashed upon the audience in their cars. It will be up to Joe Bob, his co-host Darcy the Mail Girl, and Felissa Rose to help the audience survive the zombie attack and keep the film festival going!

** Submit fast! We're accepting submissions for ONLY ONE WEEK! The final deadline is September 28 at 11:59pm!

SUBMISSION FEE
100% Free!

SHOULD YOU SUBMIT?
Yes! If you have a complete short HORROR film from anywhere between 4-12ish minutes (minus credits) that is fun, scary, wild, and fast-paced, send it in! We're especially looking for a range of films with either great scares or humor...or both! We also need trailers for fake horror films to play in front of the main program. So send in your horror, horror-comedies, animation, monster movies, slashers, thrillers, sci-fi horrors, zombies, vampires, werewolves, haunted houses, and whatever else your twisted mind has created! We'll especially take notice of films which feature characters & creators from diverse walks of life.

WHAT WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR
Slow burns, experimental, fan films, music videos, 360/VR/Augmented reality films, documentaries, screenplays, works in-progress, films with all super dark cinematography (drive-ins need well-lit films), any film that wouldn't be normally considered a horror film, or films with ultra extreme subject matter (if you made a fan tribute to the ending of A Serbian Film, we won't be playing it!).

SUBMISSIONS PROCESS
Films will be screened by our team. The ones that best fit will be sent off to Joe Bob to record the commentary. Selected films will be notified by Sept 30, 2020. If selected, we will need 5 one-sentence factoids about your film (to give to Joe Bob to possible use in his commentary), along with a poster and a cast list.

We plan on programming around 8-12 shorts & at least 3 fake horror film trailers.

We are only accepting submissions through this FilmFreeway platform. All other methods will be immediately deleted. We are not accepting submissions by mail. If your online screener is password protected, please make sure you have included the correct password or your submission may be disqualified.

OUR INSPIRATION
During these troubling times, we saw many of our favorite Halloween season events being forced to close, so we wanted to provide a safe, exciting, and scary new way to celebrate our favorite season from the comfort of our cars. Combining haunt scares and a film fest seemed like the best way to do so!

ABOUT JOE BOB BRIGGS
Joe Bob Briggs is the world’s foremost drive-in movie critic. His wisecracking take on B-movies was featured on two long-running late-night television shows, first on The Movie Channel and then on TNT. That tradition continues with his latest series, The Last Drive-In, currently featured on AMC's Shudder streaming platform.

Briggs is also a successful investigative journalist, actor, and author. His nine books include Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In (1987) and Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies that Changed History (2003).
He has appeared in several movies, including Casino, Face/Off, and Great Balls of Fire, and continues to be a regular host and Master of Ceremonies at film festivals and conventions. Joe Bob is currently touring with his critically acclaimed "How Rednecks Saved Hollywood," a one-man comedy show that traces the entire history of the redneck, as told through movies, from 16th-century Scotland to the present.

Briggs hosted Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater for eleven years on The Movie Channel and MonsterVision for five years on TNT. During the course of his hosting career, he has executive-produced 20,000 hours of television and become the leading authority on exploitation and genre films. In 2018, The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs broke the Internet and is now in its 3rd season on Shudder.

The tradition continues with his latest series, The Last Drive-In, currently featured on AMC’s Shudder Network.

ABOUT BLACK VORTEX CINEMA
Founded in 2018 by veteran filmmaker Christian Ackerman, Black Vortex Cinema has released the revered book trilogy My Favorite Horror Movie and the award winning short film Our Next Caller, along with producing the events Blood Read Live: A Tribute to Larry Cohen and the My Favorite Horror Movie Mini Convention. A Black Vortex-produced feature film was slated to shoot this last May, but you all know what happened to the world.

Awards & Prizes

No awards.

Filmmakers shall receive $40 each time their film screens at one of our public screenings.

Rules & Terms

Desired Short Film Length: Around 4 to 12 minutes (minus credits)
Fake Film Trailers: 30 seconds to 5 minutes

We widened the submission boundaries to allow people with movies whose credits put them past 12 minutes. So even though it says 15 mins, we're still looking for that golden 4-12 minute or so range!

All films produced from 2010 until now are eligible. No works-in-progress will be considered.

**One separate entry per submission.

Films in other languages from around the world will be considered. Any dialogue not in English must have English subtitles embedded when necessary. We will not provide that service. Please read all of our terms and submission guidelines before submitting.

Since we are producing a pre-recorded storyline where our hosts discuss and present the films we screen, we will ask the owner of each film to sign a non-exclusive release to grant us the right to play the film in all future screenings. This release shall not extend beyond our film festival screenings, so we won't be distributing the project on Blu-Ray, DVD, streaming, TV, the internet, or otherwise.

Your film must not have any theatrical exhibition limitations held by any other company that would prevent us from exhibiting your film. It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to clear all rights before your film screens at the festival. By submitting you agree: I shall indemnify and hold harmless Black Vortex Cinema and its associates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

If selected, you permit us the right to use posters, images, and clips from your film or trailer in promotional materials for Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In.

If selected, all films must be sent to us in 16:9 1080HD ProRes 422, regardless of aspect ratio. If your film is anamorphic, you'll have bars on top and bottom. If it was shot 4:3, the black bars will be on the sides.

If accepted, you will be notified via email or by phone. We will not share programming feedback with entrants. The programmer’s decisions are final. Each film will be granted one full car entry to any of our screenings. We are unable to provide travel or accommodations to filmmakers.

Please note: Audience members may be distracted by haunt actors as your film screens. The credits of selected films will be edited out to allow for a swiftly moving program, but we will play them at the end of the entire program.

Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In is being produced solely by Black Vortex Cinema and is not directly associated with The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs series or Shudder. The selected short films will only appear as part of the Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In event and will not appear on Shudder. If you have any questions, please ask only us at at info@blackvortexcinema.com and not Joe Bob, Darcy, Felissa, or the good folks at The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs and Shudder.

These terms and conditions are subject to change.

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