Horror descends on the South Coast, heading to the iconic No 6 Cinema in Portsmouth.

Following a brilliant event in 2019, Pastel Wasteland Film Festival is back, ready to celebrate horror, sci-fi and genre films in all of their glory. Are you ready for a terrifying, weird, bloody and eclectic day packed full of the best horror the world has to offer? Be part of the action by submitting now.

Located in the Grade II listed Boathouse 6, built in 1846, the 275-seat auditorium boasts one of the biggest screens on the South Coast. At Pastel Wasteland we are all about supporting genre filmmakers and we're incredibly passionate - maybe even a little obsessed - with horror, science fiction and anything that makes our skin crawl.

Whilst we prefer newer work, we are very aware that the pandemic has blocked many filmmakers from creating, so we are flexible on the year your film was made.

For the first time, we are also accepting horror scripts, from first drafts through to final projects. These will only be read by our three core judges and strictly won't be shared with anyone else without your express permission, so submit in the knowledge your work is safe with us.

Awards & Prizes

Selected winners will receive a stunning, custom design trophy, which will be the pride of their ever-growing awards cabinet (categories with a * by them below). Each of the other category winners will receive a printed certificate. If a winner lives outside of the UK, we reserve the right to replace the trophy with a certificate.

Each winning film will be given a write-up posted to our official blog at pastelwaste.land and shared with our network to ensure you keep getting new fans long after the festival has ended.

** AWARD CATEGORIES **

Best Overall Film *
Best Micro Short *
Best Short Film *
Best Music Video
Best Short Screenplay
Best Feature Screenplay
Best Performer *
Best Script *
Best Director *
Wasteland Wanderer - (the "wild card" of the festival)
Best Local Film (for filmmakers based within the Hampshire region)

Rules & Terms

(Please read these in full!)

SUBMISSION CRITERIA:

- Films must be in the Horror or Sci-Fi genre or be heavily influenced by these genres. We accept hybrid genre films as long as they incorporate the aforementioned niches in a big way. If you're unsure, please get in touch before submitting.

- Films must be available in DCP. If picked, any costs associated with getting a DCP made are the responsibility of the filmmaker. If not available, please get in touch and we might be able to offer an alternative.

- Please check duration on each of the categories. Shorter films will often stand a better chance of screening, so be ruthless with your cuts!

- One entry per submission fee.

- No waivers and no screening fees will be paid. All fees are non-refundable under any circumstance, so PLEASE check all details before submitting! (Please note this doesn't apply in the case that the festival is cancelled / we go into lockdown).

- Please note that we aren't bound to include submissions from each category if the quality isn't suitable for the festival, and that we are free to change up the schedule and structure dependent on the strongest work.

- One free screening ticket will be provided to officially selected films within the feature film, short film and music video categories. Any additional crew/ cast/ persons wanting to attend will have to buy a ticket through the No. 6 Cinema website (URL coming soon).

- It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to clear all rights before your film screens at the festival. By submitting you agree that you shall indemnify and hold harmless Pastel Wasteland Film Festival and the No.6 Cinema 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.

- By submitting, if accepted, you agree to grant the festival the right to use film images for promotional purposes.

- Notification: Filmmakers of selected films will be notified by email or phone.

- The Pastel Wasteland Film Festival jury is composed of film production, exhibition and press members. Their decisions on official selections, award nominees and award winners are final.

- Selected films must be provided at least two weeks prior to the festival with a 5.1 mix, on either DCP or high quality digital file. If this isn't available, we can accept a stereo alternative in most circumstances.

- We watch all films in full. Streaming services provide watching figures but these are notoriously glitchy, and it can appear that your view count/ watchtime might not have gone up, although we have watched the film. As film enthusiasts, our main mission is to find the best films, and to do this, we need to see the films in full. Whilst we aren't bound to watch the entire project if it isn't the correct genre or good enough quality to screen, 9 times out of 10 we will still finish watching the project anyway.

- Films not in the English language must be subtitled with English captions.

- At our discretion, we can award filmmakers outside of the UK with a digital / alternative award.

And finally:

- We don't speak with all this legal jargon in real life! We are a group of passionate filmmakers who want to put on an awesome evening to make new friends and watch some killer films - and we really hope you'll join us.
6 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Amir Kiani

    Sadly I wasn't able to attend the festival due the pandemic and travel restrictions however I'm happy that my film was screened at the festival and became available for UK audience. The communication and support from the festival was great and I will submit my next genre film to Pastel Wasteland again.

    February 2022
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  • Mike Houlihan

    We had no idea when we submitted our screenplay, all we knew was it was a horror festival and the submission fee was cheap, so we took a shot. So glad we did because we WON best feature length screenplay. We didn't know anybody connected to the festival, which made it that much sweeter, and real. God bless Pastel Wasteland Horror Film Festival. We don't even know what "Pastel Wasteland" means, but from now it's something very cool.

    February 2022
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  • Purple Parasol Animation

    Rob and the Pastel Wasteland team have been fantastic throughout the submission process and following communications.

    Our film was accepted into the 2022 official selection (yay!). Even though we were unable to visit in person, we were still made to feel very much a part of the festival through regular email communications and social media channels.

    Thank you again for a lovely, long-distance experience. We hope to see Pastel Wasteland again in the future.

    - Cheryl @ Purple Parasol Animation

    February 2022
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  • James Webber

    I had a great time at Paste Wasteland where my short film 'The Prey' was lucky enough to be screened. The selection of films across the board was incredibly strong and well-curated, and, best of all, the atmosphere was fantastic. The organisers put together a really great event that definitely needs to be checked out. Highly recommended

    February 2022
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  • Daniel E. Hall

    I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this event, and even more fortunate to receive an award, a magnificently crafted trophy which I am very grateful for. The festival was a superb event, which I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. The organisers were very friendly and approachable, I was made to feel very welcome, and it was great to meet new people. And, perhaps most importantly, the films themselves were a fantastic ensemble, and I was very impressed with the consistent quality of all the submissions, which pretty much covered the whole spectrum of the horror genre. To sum up, I can't recommend this festival strongly enough, and I look forward to returning to Portsmouth for future festivals.

    February 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your review Daniel, and congratulations again on the award! It was really great to meet you and look forward to seeing you again in the future.