The Los Angeles Crime & Horror Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating independent crime and horror films, along with the many subgenres of crime fiction, true crime, mystery, psychological horror, and more.

With screenings in Hollywood giving recognition to independent films and filmmakers, LA Crime & Horror Film Festival places a spotlight on films and documentaries in crime and horror from around the world.

We provide independent filmmakers with awards, exposure to Hollywood professionals, a platform to connect with audiences, and a venue to network with other filmmakers who share your passion for crime and horror storytelling.

BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARDS
Films screened at the festival are eligible for the following awards:
Best Picture
Best Short Film
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Original Score
Best Sound Design
Best Special Effects
Best Editing

JURY OF PEERS AWARD (Audience Choice)
Voted on by screening audiences

CONSIDERED BY INDUSTRY PROS
The best of every category will be considered by established Hollywood professionals at production and management companies including:

ZERO GRAVITY MANAGEMENT
THINK TANK MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTION
THE BLOOD LIST / BRILLSTEIN ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS
TXL FILMS
... and more.

Also, the top three films and top three screenplays will each receive four months of free listings at InkTip to further promote your award-winning project to producers and reps to industry professionals vetted by references including:

ABC
Anonymous Content
APA
CBS Films
HBO Films
ICM
Paradigm
Paramount Pictures
Hallmark Channel
FX
Universal
WME
Echo Lake
Bad Robot
20th Century Fox
... and many more.

By submitting your film, documentary, short film, screenplay or any other material to the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival (the "Festival"), you certify that you fully understand and unconditionally agree to all of the following terms:

1) All submissions of films, short films, web series, and documentaries must be provided in the form of an online screener using one of the submissions platforms available. If the online screener is hosted on a service that requires a shared password, it is the submitter's responsibility to ensure that the shared password given to the Festival to view the screener is accurate and up to date. Additionally, if your film has been selected to be screened at the festival, you must be ready to provide a theatrical version of your film in a digital format such as MP4 or MOV (H.264 compression) or any other format that may be requested by the Festival. If you are unable to provide the film in a format requested by the Festival, your film may be disqualified from screening. All submissions of screenplays must be provided in one of the following electronic formats: PDF, Word DOC or DOCX, Plain Text, or Fountain. If a script is provided in any other format, the Festival may accommodate you on a case by case basis but shall not be obliged to do so and your script may be disqualified from the competition.

2) The Festival shall be under no obligation to disclose any information related to: the personal information, identities, or direct contact information of the judges, jury members, or readers; any notes or internal ratings related to the judgement of submitted materials; and/or, any details related to the submission review process. By submitting material to the Festival, you hereby consent to the Festival to share your name and contact information with producers, distributors, agents, managers, and other industry professionals who may show interest in your submitted material.

3) All notifications and communications will be performed via email on a best efforts basis. Please check your SPAM or JUNK folders in case your email provider has misidentified our notification as unsolicited advertising.

4) The Festival does not have any premiere requirements. If your film premiered at another film festival or was exhibited privately or online, it remains eligible. Films with distribution are also eligible. (If your film is accepted to screen at our festival and our screening will be the world premiere, American premiere, California state premiere, or Los Angeles premiere of your film, feel free to let us know as your premiere status may be mentioned on advertising materials.)

5) Submitted films may be invited to screen at live events and/or to participate in online exhibitions affiliated with the Festival, either publicly or in a private protected site. If the submitter has received such an invitation, acceptance is optional. Additionally, the Festival reserves the right to withdraw any such invitation.

6) If your film was previously submitted to the Festival, your film remains eligible for future seasons provided that it remains eligible according to all of our rules.

7) All submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee. Submission fees are paid for the time and work performed by judges and readers. The Festival shall not be obliged to provide any refunds after a work has been submitted. If a dispute arises for any reason, the submitter will be responsible for any transaction fees or costs incurred by the Festival in connection with the dispute. In addition, the submitter shall be solely responsible for any applicable local, state, and/or federal taxes in connection with submissions.

8) All films must be an original work. If the film is based on an existing property or other underlying work, the submitter must have secured the rights to the material. The Festival shall not be expected to verify or investigate the rights secured by the submitter. By submitting your work, you hereby represent that all necessary rights related to the work (including but not limited to story, content, music, logos, performer likenesses and images) have been secured and you accept all responsibility and liability for any copyright violations related to your submission. The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission on the basis of legal reasons including but not limited to copyright violations or any content that violates the laws of California.

9) Works in progress are accepted. However, please clearly indicate on your submission forms if your film is a work in progress. It is your responsibility to ensure that the final completed film will be available if your project is selected for screening by the Festival or your submission may be disqualified.

10) The Festival shall not be held liable nor responsible for any statements or opinions expressed by any individual administrator, board member, director, judge, staff member, affiliate, or volunteer. Any such statements or opinions may not necessarily reflect those of the Festival.

11) The Festival may accept revisions of submitted material on a case by case basis but is under no obligation to do so. The submitter acknowledges that any material submitted to the Festival may already have been processed and/or judged prior to the request to submit a revised version of the material.

12) If a dispute arises in connection with your submission to the Festival, you agree to contact the Festival and allow the administrators of the Festival at least one week to resolve the problem prior to involving any third party.

The above rules and terms are subject to change with or without notice.

By submitting any material to the Festival, you hereby agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the Festival, its employees, directors, representatives, volunteers, sponsors, and affiliates from all liability, claims, and damages in connection with the submission and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, that any of those parties may incur in connection therewith.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • What a wonderful experience with submitting my screenplay, "The Forbidden Pendant". It achieved "Semi Finalist" status and overall it was wonderful! I will submit other projects in the near future!

    January 2024
  • thank you I will be back!

    December 2023
  • Frank Vespe

    I'm overwhelmed to have my TV pilot, MOBSERVATIONAL, awarded Best TV Crime Script in this wonderful, North Hollywood, festival. I am so overwhelmed, I only wish we can do it again next weekend?

    December 2023
  • Awesome festival, great crew running the program.

    December 2023
  • I'm happy to have had two of my crime thriller scripts (NOCTURNAL and THE WOMAN CALLED THURSDAY) named as Semi-Finalists by this Festival! I wasn't able to attend so I can't comment more than that.

    December 2023