Terror on Tyne is the North East’s only dedicated horror short film festival. It’s run by horror filmmakers and fans, and puts the genre filmmakers and fans at the forefront of the experience.

Films will be screened at a comfortable venue, where your film will be shown on the big screen to genre fans. The festival has a relaxed, fun atmosphere, where we’ll all get to watch and talk about horror films.

Before the films begin there will be a networking event, so that filmmakers and fans can make connections in order to collaborate on future projects. There will be filmmaker Q&As, so that we can discuss the films we’re watching.

We also have three exciting guests who will be judging the Proppa Belta award for best North East horror film, as well as taking part in a Q&A before the films start.

The night will close with an awards ceremony, ensuring that your film gets the recognition it deserves.

All films entered into the festival will be promoted on our social media before and after the festival.

As well as being passionate about horror and about having a festival in the North East that champions the area, we’re also passionate about hearing the voices of women, LGBTQ+ and minority groups who are often overlooked in the horror genre, so will be very grateful to receive entries from people who aren’t just old white blokes.

Awards & Prizes

Best horror short
Best horror comedy short
Best micro short (5 minutes or under)
Best first time, emerging or student film
Best smartphone film
The Canny Scary award for best scare
The Haddaway and Fright audience award
The Proppa Belta award for best North East horror film

Rules & Terms

- Submissions must be categorized as horror, a horror sub-genre or horror-adjacent.

- Micro short films must be no longer than 3minutes in runtime. Short films must be 3 minutes or more in runtime.

- Submissions must be entirely original works with all media being owned or created by
the submitter or their team.

- Submissions must not be submitted more than once, although submitters are
encouraged to submit multiple projects.

- All film submissions must include a submission fee and a completed online FilmFreeway entry form. Submission waivers are NOT provided.

- All non-English films must include English subtitles burned in.

- When final films are selected, filmmakers may be contacted for alternative film formats for programming purposes.

-Films that have screened and or have received awards at other festivals can be submitted provided they adhere to all rules and regulations.

- Only films that have been completed after January 2023 will be accepted as part of the competition.

- Terror on Tyne reserves the right to accept, reject, or disqualify any submission at its discretion without a refund. That said, it should be noted that we will watch every film received in its entirety.

- Terror on Tyne does not maintain ownership of any film submitted but does have the legal right to use images and as much as 30 seconds of footage for current and future festival promotional materials.

- Film submission entry fees must be paid through the FilmFreeway portal as instructed.

- Award winners will be revealed at the HorrorFest International at the awards ceremony at the end of the festival this October.

- Submission does not guarantee entry into the festival. Filmmakers will be notified whether or not their film has been accepted to HorrorFest International no later than 1 October 2024.