The Dark Fest is a film and script award festival.

We accept feature films, short films, short film scripts and digital media projects in the following genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery, film noir, and Thriller. Including any cross-genre films that strongly incorporate at least one of these genres. Feature films are in award competition only and will not be screened.

Films are in competition for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards.

Fan films are also accepted.

Additional winning categories will receive laurels and digital certificates.

All winning projects will be featured in our awards ceremony video.

In addition to the live screening we will also hold a virtual event that accompanies the live event. All selected film will also screen in the virtual event.

*****OUR PROMISE TO YOU*****
1. Our judges will watch every single submitted film in full. We owe that to you.

2. Our festival does provide FREE plaques and certificates as well as prizes, you will never have to pay for an award plaque or certificate. We owe that to you.

3. Our directors will make sure to update the status of your submission in a timely manner so that you are fully aware of your submission process. We owe that to you.

4. We will listen to your critical feedback and we will do our best to continue to make The Dark Fest one of the best festivals for filmmakers. We owe that to you.

Awards & Prizes

The Dark Fest will award a total of 51 awards.

The following prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

Best Short Film:
1st Place Winner Plaque

2nd Place Winner certificate

3rd Place Winner certificate

Best Short Script:
1st Place Best Short Script Plaque

2nd Place Winner certificate

3rd Place Winner certificate

Best Category Award:
Sci-Fi, Noir, Thriller, Horror, Dark Humanity, Dark Comedy

1st Place Best Short Script Plaque

2nd Place Winner certificate

3rd Place Winner certificate

Best Feature Film:
1st Place Winner Plaque

2nd Place Winner certificate

3rd Place Winner certificate

With the following additional special award certificates:

Jury Award (Judges overall favorite project)

Creativity Award (the project that shows the best signs of creativity)

Merit Award (the project that shows exceptional talent no matter the budget)

*Additional 1st, 2nd, and 3rd awards are presented via a digital certificate:
Best: Director, Editor, Cinematographer, Writer, Actor, Score, Concept

*No plaques, prizes or certificates will be provided for these categories, digital certificates only.

Rules & Terms

Films must be submitted via an online screener and must be downloadable. If you fail to supply us with a screener before the event, the film will be disqualified.

You will give The Dark Fest rights to screen and promote your film during the run of the festival year in which you submitted your film or script.

At The Dark Fest, we value story over anything else, we do not judge projects based on their budget, every filmmaker has an equal opportunity to shine no matter what their film cost.
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Piero Cannata

    Wonderful festival and excellent selection of shorts. I’m really glad you enjoyed SCRIPT so much and thank you very much for the awards. See you soon!

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Piero Cannata it was wonderful to have your film screen at our event, looking forward to what you do next!

  • Stephen Schlager

    Had a really great time being included in this festival. I appreciate the festival catering to the more niche market of darker films that often get ignored by other festivals because they are possibly taboo.
    The Dark Fest gave out a bunch of awards and it really helped to make me and my film feel appreciated.

    Unfortunately I couldn't attend the live event, but it looked like a fun theater. So I'm very happy they posted the films online and gave all the filmmakers free passes to see the films!

    Overall I think this is a great festival to submit to if your film has a darker tone and you're looking for a group of like minded cinephiles.

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the review! Excited to see what you do next! We would love to know how we can improve the festival for next year, drop us a line!

  • Natasha Pascetta

    Wow--I had an amazing experience with The Dark Fest. Everything was super professionally done. I would have loved to experience the in-person event--it looked so awesome! Really cool that they offered a virtual screening as well. Communication was great and the promotion leading up to the event was stellar. The awards video they put together was also top notch and personally made me feel extra special to be included in the winners. I can't wait to see this fest grow--they are definitely on the right track to becoming a sought after festival. 10/10 would recommend!

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Natasha Pascetta thank you so much! such a fun film, thank you for participating in The Dark Fest and we are very excited to see what you do next!

  • Devin Hylton

    it was an honor to have The Repairman win at the festival.

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Great film Devin! Sci-Fi is a hard one to do well, fantastic feature! Thanks for the review and we hope to see what you do next!

  • Peter Anthony

    What an impressive event. I am looking forward to supporting it again next year. Thank you all for such a professional expedition.

    September 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Peter! Thanks for the review so happy to have had your participation! If there anything we can do to improve the event please drop us a line! Looking forward to what you do next!