MISSION & OBJECTIVE
The MOTOR CITY NIGHTMARES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (MCNFF) was created to showcase and celebrate the latest and greatest contributions of independent Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Thriller films and screenplays from around the world!
We help filmmakers and screenwriters get the exposure and recognition they deserve!

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
MCNFF is focused on bridging the gaps between filmmakers, fans, and financing. Since our film festival is part of our horror convention, we offer filmmakers the unique chance to hang with the horror icons, party with the fans, and network with distribution representatives and financiers.

At our April 2018 festival we featured 13 World Premiers, 2 North American Premiers and 32 Convention Premiers. We accept a wide variety of films and you may enter your film in multiple categories. We are expanding the number screenings this year to accommodate more films.

Awards & Prizes

1st Place
Winner will Trophy, Certificate & distribution offer.
Sponsor: Skull House Pictures
*Other Prizes may be provided by MCNFF Sponsors for other categories.

Rules & Terms

Motor City Nightmares Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Motor City Nightmares Film Festival 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.

39 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • David Axe

    We had a good experience with our movie SHED. The fanbase at MCN is great. These people love horror movies. There was some confusion during the festival's selection process, but to their credit the organizers worked it out. One weird thing: the festival required filmmakers to buy weekend passes in order to attend.

    May 2019
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  • Jordin Goff

    We had a great time at Motor City Nightmares 2019! We saw some great shorts and features, our film Dinosaurs in a Mining Facility screened for an enthusiastic audience, and we went home with some rad and reasonably priced merch. I hope to attend again in the future!

    May 2019
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  • Michael Tuthill

    I would say that we had a great time at the Convention, and the people running it, especially Nancy were very warm and helpful. But I think the film festival felt like an afterthought compared to the vendor convention. It was rough getting there and having to pay for a pass when almost every film festival offers film makers at least one, sometimes two passes to filmmakers...this being part of the entry fee that they paid for their film. Also - very hard to launch the Con and begin the film screenings at the same time, when the main point is to get people into the theater to see your project. If only 3 hours of poster time is all you get before before your screening slot on opening night, then you really suffer because no one has really arrived at the Con yet to see your poster and decide if they can make the movie. We did get to see some great films and met some good people, but over all the film festival felt like a minor side show attraction. The con was a lot of fun and we got to get some sweet loot, but if I had to make a suggestion, I would say this:

    Give filmmakers at least one pass for free reign of the Con and festival with a very large high contrast badge that says, "FILM MAKER" on it.

    Start the festival 6-12 hours after the Con opens to give patrons enough time to decide what films to see and let filmmakers try and cross pollinate and get them to each others films. Would help the networking aspect and let everyone do a "quality check" on their film before it screens. The projector in our room was very dark and all the contrast was cranked up way too dark.

    Change the award status from "finalist" to "official selection" on film freeway -- this was confusing to some people I heard from as they thought it meant they didn't make the final selection or they thought it meant they were a finalist for an award in a sub category.

    If those things were changed slightly the event would be five stars. Thanks again for selecting us and we look forward to next year.

    May 2019
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  • James Wilkinson

    I had an incredible weekend at Motor City Nightmares! The team running the event was well-organized and gracious and supporting, and there were tons of opportunities to get to know other filmmakers. My only real complaint is the lack of sleep because there was so much to do and take-in!

    May 2019
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  • Erik Karl

    Thank you to MCN for selecting Dr Liebenstein Special Edition to this year's festival! I was unable to attend this year, but I attended as a filmmaker in 2014 and the overall experience was an improvement this year with Nancy Boyd as festival coordinator. She created an MCN Facebook group where she posted updates about filmmaker activities and events, and made everyone feel included in the fest. If we had any questions leading up to the fest weekend, we could ask Nancy in our group. Back in 2014, we didn't have an actual festival coordinator who was focused directly on the film fest aspect of the event and it was nearly impossible to ask questions prior to visiting the event. MCN continues to grow their staff and expand more events aimed for visiting filmmakers.

    May 2019
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