The Overlook Film Festival is a 4-day celebration of horror held in iconic locations that evoke the spirit of the Overlook hotel, horror’s most infamous haunted fictional location.

Past honorees include Roger Corman and Jason Blum, as well as the world premiere ofd A24's IT COMES AT NIGHT. Advisors of the festival include Elijah Wood, filmmakers Joe Dante (GREMLINS, THE HOWLING), Stuart Gordon (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND), Leigh Whannell (SAW, INSIDIOUS), Karyn Kusama (THE INVITATION, GIRLFIGHT) and industry luminaries from organizations such as LucasFilm, Sundance and Blumhouse.

The 2018 festival will take place in America’s most haunted city, New Orleans. Genre fans and cinephiles from the world over will convene in the heart of the French Quarter, home to countless apparition sightings, voodoo legends, and vampire curses. Festival headquarters will be located at the infamously haunted Bourbon Orleans Hotel. Revisit the roots of terror at the very hotel whose 4th floor ghost child is said to have been the inspiration for the Grady Twins immortalized in THE SHINING.

Presenting superior film programming with an expanded focus on experiential events, the festival showcases exciting new work in new and classic independent horror cinema alongside the latest in interactive and live shows for a fully immersive weekend. As a summer camp for genre fans, The Overlook is a community event bringing the best of horror in all its forms to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience within an intimate and inspirational environment.

Awards & Prizes

The festival offers the following prizes:

Feature Film Audience Award
Short Film Audience Award
Feature Film Jury Award
Short Film Jury Award
Scariest Film Award

Rules & Terms

All films must have been completed after January 2017.

Feature films must not have screened on U.S. television, in commercial release or on the Internet prior to the dates of the festival

All films not in English must be subtitled in English for presentation.

Entry materials will not be returned.

The Overlook Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt or stills from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival and in perpetuity thereafter 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 The Overlook Film Festival and The Philadelphia Film Society 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.

Only Secure Online Screeners will be accepted as a submission format. Please do not send DVDs.