Welcome to the sixth year of The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival!

The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival is an international film festival based in Toronto Canada. We are dedicated to showcasing the works of horror filmmakers from around the world. We accept short films. Our festival offers cash prizes based on a live audience vote.

We plan to feature 70+ films this year. We watch and review every film we receive.

The festival will be taking place from October 1st-3rd, 2026. Our selected films will be shown at The Revue Cinema.

We will be accepting film submissions from now until August 31st. We will reveal the final selections on September 3rd.

We also produce a Comedy Film Festival. Please follow the link if interested.

Comedy:
https://filmfreeway.com/TheGreatCanadianComedyFilmFestival

Awards & Prizes

The festival gives out the following awards:

Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Writer
Best International Film
Best Canadian Film

Ticket holders for the festival will have the opportunity to vote for best film of the film block they viewed. The film with the most votes will receive an American cash prize.

Best Short Film - $300 USD prize

Note: Our festival features multiple film blocks made from short films. We expect to give away three prizes this year. One for best short film per block.

This may be subject to change based on how many film submissions we receive.

Rules & Terms

Entries must be related to horror. This includes puppets, animation, web content, performance theatre and music videos.

Entries do not need to be premiers to be submitted

Short Film entries must be under 20 minutes in length

If selected to screen at the festival, entries must be provided in a high resolution (24 fps) ProRes QuickTime format. It is okay to submit films in a lower resolution to review for selection.

Only three entries per filmmaker

No refunds will be given

Foreign films are accepted but English subtitles must be added

The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival confirms that the festival has the permission to exhibit your film(s) during the festival and/or at any other festival event. Submission of work implies that the festival can employ moving image excerpts and reproduce stills of exhibition promotion. Credit will be given to any filmmaker or screenwriter if such material is used in festival promotion. The original copyright holder retains all rights to their work.
30 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gauvain Neme

    The Great Canadian Horror Film Festival was a fantastic experience.
    The team is welcoming, passionate, and truly committed to showcasing bold genre films.
    I was honored to receive the Best Writing Award for Puzzle, especially among such a strong selection.
    A festival I highly recommend to any filmmaker looking for a supportive and enthusiastic horror community.

    December 2025
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  • Edmond Clark

    I was very honoured to have my short film showcased at the 2025 Great Canadian Horror Film Festival and I hope to make it the premiere home for my future short films. Big thank you to the organizers and a big congratulations to the other selections and winners!

    December 2025
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  • Alex Darling

    I had a stellar night at the Great Canadian Horror Film Festival. The venue is unmatched, the shorts were a lot of fun, and I met a lot of really nice folks with a lot of passion about horror cinema. Tyler runs a great event!

    October 2025
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  • Burgundy Dragon

    Awesome experience to see our film included with the other awesome entries at the Great Canadian Horror Film Festival. It really earned its name! So many fun people, and scary ideas in one festival, it really was a blast.

    October 2025
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  • Mandy Magnan

    This festival was amazing to be a part of!! The films play at the ICONIC Royal Cinema in Toronto. Amazing, full audience and a wide range of great indie horror films. The organizers are incredible and I just loved being part of this festival!! thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

    October 2025
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