The Dark Hedges International Film Festival is an annual Horror and Sci-Fi festival based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Our festival will return in October 2024!

We aim to screen an exciting mix of new features and short films made by filmmakers from across the globe alongside iconic cult classics.

Best Feature Competition

Within the 'New Cinema' strand of our programme, we will be awarding a ‘Best Feature' Award’ based on the features (60 minutes plus) that have been submitted to our programme.

This will consist of no more than five finalists with the winner being announced on the festival's closing night

finalists will be marked as Nominees during the notification process

This category will be judged by our festival’s Jury panel.

Short Film Competition (Horror/Sci-Fi Shorts)

Best Irish Short Film
Best International Short Film
First Blood Award (First Time filmmakers within our Irish and International finalists)
Our Bloody Woman Horror Award (Female filmmakers within our Irish and International finalists)

Our Irish and International finalists will be screened physically in Belfast during the week of our festival and will also be available to watch online through our festival's digital player ( Geo-restrictions will apply).

Finalists marked as Finalists during notification process

Official Selection (Online only)

In 2020 due to the Covid Pandemic, we created a Digital Player for our festival due to the enforced closure of cinemas across the UK and Ireland. Going forward we plan to use this digital player to showcase a maximum of 20 shorts (Irish & International completion combined) on our festival's digital player.

These 20 shorts will be selected as selected during the notification process

The Dark Hedges International Film Festival's New Cinema' strand is open to films made by filmmakers from around the world of all production techniques, forms and budgets that fall within the horror/sci-fi/ fantasy/thriller genres.

New Cinema Strand (Features)

We will be accepting 5 finalists to screen at this year's festival

Only films with a runtime in excess of 60 minutes will be considered for the 'New Cinema' strand of our festival.

We only accept online submission via FilmFreeway. BanterFlix guarantees that your film will never be used in any way other than that to which you agree.

The primary contact completing the submission process must be authorised to submit the film for consideration. This must include permission from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and the applicant must have obtained necessary permissions for the inclusion of any copyrighted music and/or images used in the film.

With this submission, the applicant confirms that they possess all rights necessary for the screening of the submitted film at our festival.

Only films completed after April 2023 will be accepted for consideration

Submission Fees

There is a submission fee (£25) to enter your feature. All submissions are final, and there are no refunds.

Submission Agreement

At the point of payment on your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the festival’s regulations. By agreeing to proceed with your submission, you agree to these regulations, and your application can then be processed.

The entry of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence.

Failure to comply with these regulations may result in the submission being disqualified. These regulations are subject to change without prior notice.

Foreign Language Films

If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled in English, unless this is at variance with the filmmaker’s intention.

Festival Selection Procedure

Submitted films are viewed by two or more members of the festival’s selection committee, all programming decisions within our festival's 'New Cinema' strand are made at the discretion of the festival and all decisions are final!

The festival team will not provide comments on films before submission, or reasons for rejection, however, we are happy to provide informal feedback on individual films after the festival has taken place.

Notification

BanterFlix will not confirm the receipt of submissions. All applicants will be notified via e-mail about the selection or rejection of their film (We aim to finalize our programme two months before our festival’s opening night).

Short Film Competition (Horror and Sci-Fi)
Our short film programme consists of two different categories; our Irish short-film competition (See Eligibility) and our International short-film competition (Open to non-Irish entries)

Submissions for both categories will be shortlisted down to a maximum of 10 finalists and given a physical screening within our festival’s programme.

Awards & Prizes

Best Irish Short Film (Voted for by Festival Jury)

Best International Short Film (Voted for by Festival Jury)

First Time Filmmaker Award * [International/Irish] (Voted for by Festival Jury)

Women Make Horror Award ** [International/Irish] (Voted for by Festival Jury)

* Any shorts made by a first-time filmmaker that enter into the final shortlists of both our international and Irish categories will automatically be considered for this award)

* Any shorts made by a female director that enter into the final shortlists of both our international and Irish categories will automatically be considered for this award)

In 2020 due to the Covid Pandemic, we created a Digital Player for our festival due to the enforced closure of cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

Eligibility Criteria

• Shorts runtime must be under 20 minutes in length (including credits)

• All entries (Irish/International) must have been completed within 18 months of our festival's date (April 2023) and not previously selected as a finalist in the previous festival.

• Shorts submitted within the Irish short film strand must be made in Ireland- or made by an Irish writer/director (i.e. shot in England, but writer or director or Lead actors are Irish/NI citizens)

• Submitted online (Via FilmFreeway)

• Available for competition screening in, DCP or HD QuickTime format

Submissions

We only accept online submissions via FilmFreeway. The Dark Hedges International Film Festival guarantees that your film will never be used in any way other than that to which you agree.

Submission Fees

There is a submission fee (£7) to enter your short. Due to our low submission fee, we do not offer a discount for student entries. All submissions are final, and there are no refunds.

Multiple Entries

You may enter as many films as you wish. Each entry requires a separate submission form, fee and upload.

Submission Agreement

At the point of payment on your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the festival’s regulations. By agreeing to proceed with your submission, you agree to these regulations, and your application can then be processed.

The entry of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence.

Short’s Selection Procedure

Submitted shorts will be viewed by two or more members of the festival’s selection committee, all programming decisions are made at the discretion of the festival and all decisions are final! Our finalists will then be judged by our festival jury and winners will not be announced until the night of our short film showcase.

The festival team will not provide comments on films before submission, or reasons for rejection, however, we are happy to provide informal feedback on individual films after the festival has taken place.

Contact
For all enquiries, please contact info@DHIFF.com

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Abe Smyth

    Super fun little festival and a great bunch of shorts on display. Definitley worth the submission

    February 2024
  • Chad Ferrin

    A true honor to have "H. P. Lovecraft's the Old Ones" make a splash in Ireland at this AMAZING festival. A big thanks to Jim and his team!

    November 2023
  • Sonderbar Pictures

    A terrific festival for genre fans, by genre fans. Had a wonderful experience being part of their lineup. Well worth submission!

    August 2023
  • Mervyn Marshall

    Thank you for taking such great care of Banshee during its maiden festival. This was a wonderful evening of horror, programmed by passionate fans and filmmakers. Really glad to have been a part of it.

    December 2022
  • The Creeping Film

    A wonderful festival. We were proud to have THE CREEPING screen at Dark Hedges.

    Unfortunately we couldn't attend the festival itself but the communication was excellent. We won Best Feature and we were honoured to be part of the lineup.

    November 2022