We hope that you and your loved ones are staying well and safe in this challenging time.
For reasons that are obvious, and after serious consideration, we have decided to postpone the SLEEPY HOLLOW FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SHIFF) to OCT 2021.
Beyond vital safety and health concerns which are most important, we also want to make sure it's possible put on the best fest we can. Postponing SHIFF to OCT 14-17, 2021 will allow us to do just that. We've already confirmed our historic main venue, the Tarrytown Music Hall for these new dates, along with the Warner Library and more!
We will continue to accept film and script submissions now for SHIFF 2021 via FilmFreeway. If you have already submitted a feature film, a short, or screenplay, for this year's postponed fest, know that your entry remains completely valid, and that it remains in official consideration for the OCT 2021 fest. More information on this will be available on our official fest website (www.sleepyhollowfilmfest.com) and this FilmFreeway posting.
For those who have entered our free NYFA Workshop contest, your entries are still valid and we are still accepting entries through 5/1/20. The winner will be announced after 5/1/20. You can find more info on this at the official fest website: www.sleepyhollowfilmfest.com
In the meantime, remain well and safe! Let's get through this together and we'll see you for an amazing 2nd year of SHIFF in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY OCT 14-17, 2021!
The SHIFF Team
“2019 has been a banner year, from a ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ stage musical to the inaugural SLEEPY HOLLOW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES"
"A line up worthy of the Sleepy Hollow name!" -- YAHOO ENTERTAINMENT
The Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival (SHIFF) continues its celebration of outstanding genre cinema in the very cradle of the American Supernatural. The program takes place in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY, on October 14-17, 2021, and is now accepting film and script submissions! Be a part of this wondrous exploration of creative cinema, right in the heart of the historic Hudson Valley region, during its celebrated Halloween season!
SHIFF debuted in October 2019 and was an official partner in the Bicentennial celebration of Washington Irving’s immortal story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” SHIFF '19 unveiled four days of memorable programming at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall and Warner Library, thrilling attendees with feature film premieres, live stage events, special guest panels and film and screenplay competitions. Entertainment giants Disney and Universal Pictures participated in the launch, presenting special events and screenings, and will be participating with other noteworthies in 2021 as well!
Films selected for competition will join a fabulous roster of premiere features and thrilling retrospectives, live events and panels. The intimate scale of the event brings Hollywood legends and up-and-coming talents together for a memorable weekend of macabre magic.
“Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in continual reverie." —WASHINGTON IRVING, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
And the reverie continues: This special place, this remarkable hollow of the indescribable, bewitched not only Irving, but also artists of every creative pursuit for the next two centuries—including masters of the cinematic arts. Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival celebrates this legacy of artistic inspiration and achievement.
The festival's 2021 advisory board, selection committees and jury includes film and literary professionals with industry experience who will program and award new films of quality, in all genres that touch upon, relate to or simply explore the otherworldly or unknown. SHIFF 2019's offerings included U.S. and regional premieres of THE WRETCHED, PHANTOM OF WINNIPEG and MAKING APES as well as a special advance screening of Peter Strickland’s IN FABRIC and more! Our program also included stunning live events, such as Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Allan Poe in NEVERMORE, or Dana Gould and an all-star comedy cast in a live stage reading of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE! We can't wait to unleash what is in store for 2021—and we're excited to make your selected film and script submissions the backbone of the experience!
We will also bestow special lifetime awards upon artists whose influential work recalls the spirit of Irving's creativity. SHIFF '19 honored legendary actor/songwriter/performer Paul Williams (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) with its first Washington Irving Legend Award and iconic producer Edward R. Pressman (THE CROW, AMERICAN PSYCHO, WALL STREET) with a Horseman Award for lifetime achievement in producing. Additionally, our "Unproduced Original Screenplay" winners received mention in renowned trade publication, Variety.
There is no more perfect place to celebrate the uncanny than in historic Sleepy Hollow. Filmmakers and fans alike are welcome to participate October 14-17, 2021, to foster a new legend, where the breathtaking whirl of unthinkable sounds and visions witnessed will inspire us all for centuries to come!
Visit www.sleepyhollowfilmfest.com for more info
And check out the amazing sights and events in Sleepy Hollow, NY at www.visitsleepyhollow.com
FILMS:
SHIFF will announce winners, and award SHIFF official trophy statuettes, on closing night of the fest in the following categories:
BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST SCORE
BEST DOCUMENTARY
BEST SHORT
BEST LOCAL FILM STUDENT SHORT
Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Short awards also receive an InkTip script listing to promote themselves and their work to InkTip's large network of producers and reps.
SCREENPLAYS:
SHIFF will announce Unproduced Screenplay winners on closing night of the fest in the following categories:
BEST UNPRODUCED ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (Gold Prize)
Includes $500 cash, InkTip prize package and SHIFF original trophy statuette.
BEST UNPRODUCED ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (Silver Prize)
Includes $250 cash and InkTip prize package.
BEST UNPRODUCED ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (Bronze Prize)
Includes $250 cash and InkTip prize package.
Winners in ALL categories will be posted on SHIFF’s website, announced on SHIFF’s social media sites, and official “winners” press release blast to media outlets, as well as published in SHIFF’s local media partner, River Journal.
All Unproduced Screenplay winners receive an InkTip price package that includes an InkTip script and magazine listing, so writer(s) can promote themselves and their script to InkTip's large network of producers and reps.
Every InkTip producer has been vetted via resume and references and demonstrated the ability to get movies made. Companies who are InkTip members include ABC, Anonymous Content, CBS Films, HBO Films, ICM, Paradigm, Paramount Pictures, Hallmark Channel, FX, Universal, WME, Bad Robot, and 20th Century Fox.