Sin City Horror Fest was founded in 2016 by friends and fellow filmmakers Darren Flores, Mike Lenzini, Justin Bergonzoni, Drew Marvick and Clay Lake. The quintet have a passion for film and the horror genre and wanted to create an outlet for independent horror filmmakers to showcase and celebrate their work.

Awards & Prizes

2020 Award Winners!

Feature Films

Best Feature - Sister Tempest
Best Director - Joe Badon, Sister Tempest
Best Screenplay - Jeff Wedding, Tennessee Gothic
Best Cinematography - Eric Stanze, Tennessee Gothic
Best Editing - Joseph Estrade, Sister Tempest
Best Actor - Simon Phillips, The Nights Before Christmas
Best Actress - Cordula Zielonka, Marlene
Best Special FX - The Curse of Valburga
Best Score - Greg Bennett, Tennessee Gothic
Best Sound Design -Jeff Wedding, Tennessee Gothic
Best Kill - Table Scene, The Curse of Valburga
Best Killer - Artik

Short Films

Best Short - Malakout
Best Director - Presley Paras, Buffalo & Trout
Best Screenplay - Samuel Gonzalez Jr., The Springfield Three
Best Cinematography - Tom Meredith, The History of Monsters
Best Editing - Ryan Buckley, Possessions
Best Actor - John Ennis, This Is Not Acting, This Is Hell
Best Actress - Christine Woods, Possessions
Best Special FX - Rachel Wagner, $trip
Best Score - Tonya Ballman, Night of the Witch
Best Sound Design - Soroush Abedi, Malakout
Best Kill - Face Peel, Sonrisas
Best Killer - Eyeball Monster, Backward Creep

Rules & Terms

- SIN CITY HORROR FEST is open to all short and feature films that fall under the horror genre.
- All entries must be submitted via Private Link through FilmFreeway for review purposes.
- Must own all rights to the work that you're submitting or have permission which you must show proof of.
- The main contact submitting must be authorized to do so and must have permission from any sales agents or distributors involved.
- When completing the submission process you agree to have the necessary rights for screening the film at SIN CITY HORROR FEST.
- Submissions fees are non-refundable and final.
- 
Foreign language films are welcomed however, we must insist that non-English dialogue movies be subtitled in English. We prefer not to have them dubbed.
- Only one film per entry however, you may submit as many films and shorts as you want.
- There are NO Specified Dates required for Production.
- Entrants will permit Sin City Horror Fest to use the title of the work submitted, log-line, names, contact information and/ or likeness & publicity stills in pre & post publicity & promotional efforts.
- Please let us know if the screening will be a Premiere of any kind. World/ US/ Nevada/ etc.
-Dates for the festival are subject to change
46 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jesse James Hennessy

    My first time with Sin City Horror Fest and it was rad! They did a killer job going virtual this year with a great amount of social media promotions. Cool and friendly people running this fest. I'll definitely submit future films!

    December 2020
    Helpful
  • Zachary Eglinton

    With a tough spot to be put in as most of the film festivals this year, these guys pulled together a really great online experience. I had a blast chatting with viewers while watching the short blocks!

    December 2020
    Helpful
  • Trevor Hagen

    Thank you for selecting our short, "Night Shift"! Being a part of the festival this year was fantastic! Any questions I had were answered, a Facebook group was created for Networking with other filmmakers, and the Live Chat feature kept both the creators and the audience engaged and interacting with each other. The team behind this worked hard to bring this festival to life this year and it showed! I definitely plan on resubmitting again in the future!

    November 2020
    Helpful
  • Max Solomon

    I have only positive things to say about SIN CITY HORROR FEST and the team behind it. They were easy to communicate with, put together a fun filled weekend of horror goodness, with virtual mixers and more. They were fun to talk to and clearly love love love horror movies (and everything that goes with it). I recommend the fest highly and look forward to it being in person next year! (Written by Craig Ouellette, director of $TRIP)

    November 2020
    Helpful
  • Presley Paras

    This is such a perfect festival in Vegas and it has the personnel to back it up. This really is a great group of individuals running this festival and they have the best interest in their filmmakers. Even though this year was digital (bummer) they had done a successful job of connecting/promoting filmmakers to the digital world. This is easily worth your submission and then some.

    November 2020
    Helpful