Sleepy Hollow Cinema presents our First Annual Student Film Festival on October 10, 2026: Sleepy Hollow FrightFest!

Every great horror filmmaker started somewhere. We want that somewhere to be Sleepy Hollow.

As SHC works to bring an art house cinema back to the most famously haunted village in America, we're throwing open our doors to the next generation of horror talent. We're calling on student filmmakers — in our community and across the country — to submit their short horror films to the inaugural FrightFest and screen their work where the genre was practically born.

Got a story that keeps people up at night? Sleepy Hollow is waiting.

Awards & Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the best high school and college films. (These two groups are judged separately; high school projects will not compete against college projects.)

Rules & Terms

- Participants must live in the US.
- One entry per person.
- Entries must have been completed when the creator was a high school or undergraduate college student.
- Entries must have a total runtime of 10 minutes or less (including credits).
- Entries must fall under the horror umbrella or its sub-genres (e.g., psychological thriller, sci-fi horror, slasher, comedy-horror, monster, gothic, or experimental).
- Films in any language are welcome; however, non-English language films must include English subtitles.
- Filmmakers must clear any and all applicable music, performance, and archival rights before submission. Sleepy Hollow Cinema is not liable for any copyright infringement.