San Francisco Another Hole in the Head Film Festival

One of the top-reviewed film festivals on FilmFreeway for 2026!

San Francisco’s 23-year-running Another Hole in the Head film festival is a month-long cinematic excursion into the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and beyond. Showcasing over 250 projects during our 2025 edition, the festival brings together bold, imaginative storytelling from filmmakers across the globe, spanning every style, format, and budget level.

The majority of our official selections are discovered through FilmFreeway, giving emerging filmmakers and independent artists a genuine opportunity to have their work seen alongside exciting new voices in genre cinema.

We embrace a broader vision of “genre film” than the traditional definition, celebrating not only Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction, but also Westerns, Art/Experimental, animation, and other boundary-pushing cinema. Whether it’s a professional production, a student short, or a micro-budget passion project, every submission receives serious consideration from our programming team.

All live screenings at the historic Balboa Theatre will offer filmmakers a great opportunity to present their work in a true cinema setting. Screenings attended by participating filmmakers include a moderated Q&A session, giving audiences the chance to engage directly with the creative voices behind the work. These discussions create a dynamic and engaging environment where filmmakers can share their process, answer questions, and receive immediate feedback. Our goal is to foster meaningful dialogue and celebrate film as a shared, communal experience.

The 2026 festival will take place from December 1st through the 31st; in San Francisco, CA at the historic Balboa Theatre (which just celebrated it's 100 year anniversary) as well as On-Demand via Eventive and during special live screenings on Zoom (with Filmmaker Q&A).

Please be advised that selection does not automatically guarantee a theatrical screening. Due to our limited schedule, some selected films will be presented exclusively on-demand via Eventive, which provides secure DRM protection. Filmmakers in this program have the opportunity to include a custom video introduction, allowing audiences who access the film to hear directly from the creative team before viewing. This adds a personal, engaging layer to the virtual screening experience and helps filmmakers connect with audiences beyond the theater.

Theatrical and online screenings compete equally in our festival, and we do our utmost to promote all selected films equally. The rise of Eventive and Zoom has allowed us to offer more films the chance to be seen and to compete for our Awards. In 2025 our festival screened over 250 films from December 1st-31st. 20 features and 140 shorts were screened live at the Balboa Theatre in San Francisco, while another 110 films were available On-Demand. 90% of the films selected for our festival are discovered through FilmFreeway

We've built a passionate following over the years, both in theaters and online. 2026 will mark our 23rd year among the most highly rated genre festivals in the world, and we're still growing!

San Francisco is one of the largest film market in the country, and a great promotional platform for Indie filmmakers who are trying to get their film out into the world. Many films that screen at our festival spark the attention of other film festivals and film distributors. In addition, the films and the festival are reviewed by some of the top players in the industry, such as Variety, the San Francisco Chronicle, Dread Central, and Fangoria.
__________________________________________________________________________________________