Festival Director, Kazy Tauginas, of the Newark Independent Film Festival presents Fright Nights! On the evenings of Oct 17th and 18th, we'll be showcasing the scariest (or funniest) short indie horror films we can find! The Newark (pronounced NEW-ARK not to be confused with the city in Northern Jersey) Independent Film Festival: Fright Nights is being held at the brand new beautiful & modern Chapel Street Players located in the heart of Newark, Delaware, near Main Street and the University of Delaware campus.

The City of Newark is a unique walkable and bike-friendly community in the northernmost County of Delaware. Within walking distance or a quick Lyft/Uber ride, there are numerous restaurants, bars, coffee shops and hotels. The area is surrounded by the stunning University of Delaware campus. Newark is accessible to interstate 95, Amtrak and is a 40 minute ride to Philadelphia International Airport. Newark sits approximately 2 hours drive south of Manhattan and 90 minutes north of Washington DC. This lively community serves a perfect escape for creatives to relax and share their work. Delaware is the home of tax-free shopping, so we suggest planning to splurge while here.

Festival Director, Kazy Tauginas is a local resident and also an actor and filmmaker. Being a horror junkie, he wanted to hold a separate, non-competitive event during spooky season and just give indie horror filmmakers their own time to shine. Kazy has been active in the entertainment world since 2009 and has been seen in Hollywood productions like "Equalizer 2" and "Dolemite is My Name". His critically acclaimed feature film "Mirror Life Modern Zombies" is currently available on VOD and DVD.

This is not a competitive event. Although there will be a costume contest!

Festival Rules

 Short films must be under thirty (30) minutes in length.

 Filmmakers will be required to make their screeners 1080P .mov with a Stereo Sound Mix in order to play in the theatre.

 Short films must be fully completed prior submission. No projects that are still in post-production will be accepted into the festival.

 Foreign language short films must be subtitled properly in English.

Terms and Conditions

 By submitting your film, you certify that you are the sole owner and producer of the work, that you are authorized to submit this work, and that all clearances and licenses necessary for public display of the work have been granted. Filmmaker represents and warrants that its film(s) submitted to the Newark Independent Film Festival: Fright Nights “NIFF: Fright Nights” does not infringe in any way, directly or contributorily, upon any third party's intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, music, still images, moving images, copyright, trademark, and right of publicity.

 Filmmaker, at his/her own expense, shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless NIFF: Fright Nights from and against all lawsuits and causes of actions, claims, losses, demands, and expenses, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees (both in house and outside counsel) and cost of litigation, damages or liability of any nature arising out of infringement, actual or alleged, direct or contributory, of any intellectual property rights, including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, and right of publicity. The rights and remedies of NIFF: Fright Nights provided in this section shall not be exclusive and are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law or under these Terms and Conditions.

 The filmmaker grants NIFF: Fright Nights a royalty-free, non-exclusive, right to show, display, and market all film entries, in their entirety, in part (film clips) and still shots, to live audiences, online (recorded and live stream), and in written materials for the current festival season and future promotional use. Exceptions and requests to opt out will be granted only by written request and must be made prior to acceptance into the NIFF: Fright Nights.

 By entering the NIFF: Fright Nights, filmmakers indemnify and hold harmless NIFF: Fright Nights; from and against any and all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, at any time in connection with the submitted work. NIFF: Fright Nights cannot be held liable for any damage or loss during shipping, previewing, or screening. Filmmakers are responsible for their own insurance. The rights and remedies of NIFF: Fright Nights provided in this section shall not be exclusive and are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law or under these Terms and Conditions.

 These Terms and Conditions shall be governed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware. All disputes under this agreement shall be resolved by the courts of the State of Delaware, and the parties all consent to the jurisdiction of such courts, agree to accept service of process by mail and hereby waive any jurisdictional or venue defenses otherwise available to it.

Overall Rating
Quality
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Networking
  • Kazy & his team put together an amazing spooky season event! I had a great time. The care & effort they put into their festival is truly appreciated. I’m very grateful my horror film, Cupid got to be apart of their debut horror festival.

    October 2025
  • Jack Foley

    Kazy and his team host great events and Fright Night was no exception. The theater is awesome and it was such a treat to view fun horror flicks along with other costumed revelers.

    October 2025
  • Dave Musolf

    A Great time! Some wonderful scary films. Kazy & his Team go the extra mile in welcoming filmmakers & Film lovers to the Festival. Super nice theatre to watch films in.

    October 2025
  • We had an incredible time at the Newark Film Festival Fright Nights! The festival was beautifully run, with a fantastic lineup of horror shorts and features that made for a memorable weekend. Huge thanks to Festival Director Kazy Tauginas for curating such a great event and for selecting our short film The Sequence to be part of this year’s program. It was an honor to screen alongside so many talented filmmakers. Highly recommend this festival to anyone passionate about horror and independent cinema!

    October 2025
  • Brian Smith

    A great two nights of horror films hosted by some incredibly humble individuals. Can’t wait for the next one!

    October 2025