The Poconos Horror Fest is an domestic and international festival that focuses on short horror films (under 30 minutes runtime) and feature length horror films with an annual live screening held in East Stroudsburg, PA in the historic Pocono Cinema (opened in 1887).
Our goal is to recognize, reward and champion the efforts & hard work required to make horror films that often times goes unappreciated by mainstream cinema. Pushing further with this goal to celebrate uniquely made horror shorts, we aim to keep submission fees low and affordable while giving back more for those selected as festival winners.
We understand the frustration of putting resources, time and people power to get your films completed & then being limited in the festival circuit due to exorbitantly high submission fees. This is counterintuitive because as a festival community, we should embrace filmmakers & not place obstacles (like high entry fees) in their path toward showcasing their work.

THE ANNUAL EVENT
The Annual event will take place in a single day in the FALL 2025. The event location is at the historic theatre known as the Pocono Cinema (built in 1887). 2-3 finalist from each award category (Best Feature, Best Short Domestic, Best Short International, Best Student Short and Best Local Talent) will be screened at the event. Five winners will emerge on that day (per category) and receive an array of prizes. Finalists will be notified a month prior to the event.
In addition to the winners, selected by a panel of judges, we will also include 'audience favorite' winners for each category. These winners will receive trophy status on film freeway, a certificate award and an online movie review.

The Poconos Horror Fest is beyond just a one day event, it is the opportunity to uncover the talents of the next generation of filmmakers with stories (on screen) that frighten, engage, entertain and provoke us to think, reflect on our society.
Please check out our website: https://poconoshorrorfest.weebly.com
Click on Event Photos to see the finalists and winners of our April 2025 Event.

Awards & Prizes

The Poconos Horror Fest provides awards in the following five categories:

Best Domestic Horror Short - produced in the USA and its territories
Best International Horror Short - any country not the USA
Best Student Horror Short - must be under 21 years of age to qualify
Best Local Talent Horror Short - must be resident of Pennsylvania
Best Feature Horror Film - any country
Audience Favorite (all categories) - does not include cash prize and physical trophy

The festival winners will also receive:
- A cash prize
- An online review of their film on our website
- A review of their film on the local newspaper (The Pocono Record)
- A beautifully designed physical trophy
- Award certificate certificate

Rules & Terms

By submitting your film, take note that:

- You agree to let us use parts of your film, the trailer, teaser, film poster, and/or stills for promotion.
- The entrants submitting the film must hold all legal rights for the film submission, including the music and all intellectual properties contained in the film.
- Entry fees cannot be refunded unless the festival disqualifies your submission (for example: A romantic comedy is submitted for this horror festival)
- Only the finalists selected in the 5 categories (a total of 10-15 films) will be screened at the festival.screening event.
- Filmmakers can submit multiple entries, and each entry can be in the 5 different categories, only as long as they satisfy the prerequisite conditions of those categories (for example: Student Horror Short and Local Talent Horror Short)
- Non-English language produced films must have English subtitles or be dubbed in English.
- Only submissions via FilmFreeway are accepted.

We do not accept:
- Extremist or propaganda content disseminated by religious or political organizations
- Pornographic material (nudity is acceptable as the cutoff)
- Films centered on politics or endorsing a specific political agenda
- Films with hate messages.
- Animation films and AI created films
5 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Tracy Lynn Rohach

    We had a great time at the Poconos Horror Fest! We could tell the people organizing it loved the genre and really want all the filmmakers to succeed. We genuinely had a great time and will be resubmitting any future work we make! Thank you guys!

    May 2025
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  • Jason Taylor

    From the people running the festival, to the other filmmakers, to the members of the general public who made up much of the audience, the Poconos Horror Fest was full of people who were clearly there to have a good time and recognize and connect local filmmakers to each other, as well as showcase great horror from around the world! Can't wait for next year!

    April 2025
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  • Marc Morales

    I'm very happy and honored to have been part of the Poconos Horror Fest. The film selection, venue and presentation were all top notch. I look forward to seeing what they have planned for next year.

    April 2025
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  • Esabella Strickland

    great event excited to submit my next project

    April 2025
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  • Brian Pollock

    For a first-year festival, The Poconos Horror Fest was extremely polished. Very informative and well ran. Theater was perfect for a screening and a great selection of films. Festival Directors were very welcoming and professional. Networking after the screenings was available.

    April 2025
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