The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival returned for its sixth season in 2023, bigger, better, well attended & scarier than ever!
VHS was back at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Vancouver for a weekend of feature and short horror films including 2 Canadian Feature Premieres – Faceless After Dark, and Anacoreta, and two blocks of shorts showcasing 50% Canadian-made films and filmmakers.
With the support of the Burnaby Halloween Festival, VHS expanded its programming to include VHS: The Burnaby Edition held at Cineplex Cinemas Metropolis at Metrotown.
The full VHS 2023 lineup included 6 feature film Premieres (five Canadian Premieres and one BC Premiere) and 46 short films (including 13 Canadian Premieres, four BC Premieres, and three Vancouver Premiers) along with filmmaker meet & greets, red carpet soirees, filmmaker Q&A sessions, an industry
In just six years, Vancouver Horror Show has become an internationally recognized festival, known for incredibly curated programs, a particularly strong and competitive screenwriting competition and boasting the subsequently unique Table Read Series. The VHS is known for celebrating independent films in the horror and horror-adjacent genres -- highlighting excellence in storytelling that spans the full breadth and depth of the genre. From side-splitting hilarity, to dark and psychological to sci-fi and fantasy films and everything in between -- if there's a hint of horror, It's eligible for the Vancouver Horror Show.
The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival is unmatched in its hands-on management and promotion. The festival works hard to get press, not only for the festival itself, but for the films and filmmakers that are selected to be a part of their lineup. The festivals ethos is one of supporting and bolstering the filmmakers who work so hard to make great films. VHS wants the world to know just how great these films are, and just how phenomenal the folks who work on them are. Additionally, the festival runs a social media campaign called 'Submission Spotlight' that highlights films submitted regardless of their ultimate success in the festival lineup -- VHS believes in supporting filmmakers at every step along the way.
What you can expect from being part of VHS:
1) Excellent communication and promotion of your work. Successful filmmakers in 2022 received press coverage on CBC Radio, Global News, the Vancouver Guardian, and the Vancouver Sun.
2) See your film screened in a Cineplex Entertainment theatre!
3) Opportunity for industry meet and greets - Vancouver is Hollywood North after all!
4) A festival team that truly exists to celebrate your work
5) Our social media game is ON POINT - we reach around 30,000 accounts during festival season, and our web traffic saw 70,000 unique visitors in October 2022 alone!
Submissions for 2024 are currently open and we can't wait to see what you've created!
Awards:
Best Film
Best BC (British Columbia) Film
Best Comedy
Best Director
Best Performance in a Leading Role
Best Performance in a Supporting Role
Best Ensemble Cast
Best Cinematography
Best Writing
Best Editing
Best Scare
Best Monster
Best Sound
Best Visual Effects
Best Practical Effects
Best Twist
VHS Emerging Filmmaker Award
VHS Blair Witch Award
Best Screenplay Feature & Short
*Awarded to the winner of the VHS Screenplay Competition
*Official selections and award nominations are determined by the official VHS programming team using a graded criteria assessment, and specialized adjudication rubric. Nominated films will then be screened by a panel of judges and winners are determined by the final overall grade.