Warped Dimension is an Online-Only festival presented Live on the Zoom platform. The next edition will screen May 19th, 2024. It is presented by members of the team at Another Hole in the Head--San Francisco’s longest-running genre film festival (www.ahith.com). Not to be confused with our 20th Annual primary fest, which is coming later in 2023 (www.filmfreeway.com/SanFranciscoAnotherHoleintheHead), this is an entirely separate event. And as the name suggests, this festival is dedicated to the Odd, the Eerie, and yes—the Warped!

The films will be streamed privately to a registered audience via the Zoom platform (www.zoom.us) at scheduled intervals (no VOD). Filmmakers are expected to join us on Zoom for their shows and participate in live post-screening Q&A sessions. These sessions will be moderated by our staff, who will ask some preliminary questions, and then pass along the questions submitted by the audience.

We’re looking for Short Films that fit one or more of the following categories:

• Science Fiction – Narratives involving speculative elements of technology and science (this includes chemistry, biology, etc.).
• Fantasy - Narratives of magic, myth, or wonder, in real or imaginary settings.
• Action/Adventure - Narratives of quest and discovery with possible elements of combat, violence, and/or pursuit.
• Horror - Frightening, shocking, or suspenseful narratives with supernatural or other fantastic elements.
• Western - In addition to stories of America's "Old West," narratives with similar themes set in other times and locations are included.
• Crime - Includes "Heist" or "Caper" films along with Police Procedurals, with an emphasis on professional/for-profit crime as opposed to crimes of passion (which fall into several of our other categories).
• Fan Films - Narratives or Supercuts/FanEdits which function as tributes to specific titles or franchises from Film/TV/Literature (including Comics).
• Slasher/Splatter - Narratives that involve multiple incidents of extreme violence and gore. Usually involves one or more perpetrators stalking multiple victims.
• Thriller/Suspense - Suspenseful narratives without any Fantasy or Science Fiction elements.
• Mystery/Noir - Detective stories and other narratives involving investigations into matters that are usually concealed from the audience as well as the characters.
• Animation - Includes cartoons, stop-motion, CGI, etc.
• Documentary – Non-fictional depictions of subject matter which must be closely related to the other festival categories.
• Art/Experimental - Narrative and non-narrative films with surreal, symbolic, or abstract elements, and/or films employing unconventional production techniques.
• Music Video - Short films showcasing a piece of music in the soundtrack, with narrative or non-narrative visual content which must be closely related to the other festival categories.
• Warped Musical - Films of any length which employ elements of singing and/or dancing to advance the narrative, the content of which must be closely related to the other festival categories, .
• Warped Comedy - Dark or Off-the-Wall humor, including Horror/Sci-Fi Comedies, spoofs of Action/Adventure films, or any comedic films that have dark, surreal, or oddball elements, especially as they relate to the other listed categories.

Our audience will use Zoom’s polling function to rate each film they view. The most highly-rated films will receive Audience Awards: one Top Film, as well as Best Foreign and US Films, plus one film in each applicable Genre category, and Best Student Film.*

In addition, two Staff Awards will be given: Favorite Film, and Best Trailer (competition limited to trailers for officially selected films).

*If there aren't enough submissions to make for competition within a category, then that category will be suspended.

2023 Awards:

Audience Awards

Top Film
The Accomplice

Best Foreign Film
Red Rabbit

Best US Film
Dark Odyssey 2 – Ice Nexus

Best Action/Adventure Film
The Barmaid and the Serpent

Best Animated Film
Lobster Spouse | Pilot Episode: “Butter Bills”

Best Art/Experimental Film
retire.ai

Best Comedy Film
Just One Bite

Best Crime Film
Men in Cars

Best Drama Film
Closure

Best Fantasy Film
Alchemy

Best Horror Film
The Harrowing

Best Music Video
Joists

Best Mystery/Noir Film
The Split

Best Science Fiction Film
Distance

Best Student Film
Smoothie Heist

Best Thriller/Suspense Film
BOND

STAFF AWARDS

Staff Favorite Film
Old Photograph

Best Trailer
Elvis Presley – Unchained Melody (Official Music Video)

Upon notification of Official Selection, you will be required to respond via email to Filmmaker Info (filmmakers@ahith.com)--please add the address to your contacts. This address will be your sole point of contact with the festival. We will be sending bulletins to you from that address, so please do not unsubscribe from the list, or your film will be at risk of disqualification.

We require certain files and info in order to promote your film; please make sure that all of the following are either included on your FilmFreeway page or ready to be made available privately before April 8th, 2024:

• a "portrait mode" (vertical) poster, preferrably 2:3 ratio.
• A few "landscape mode" (horizontal) HD stills showing eye-catching scenes from the film. No studio headshots, no production shots with visible crew/equipment, no added text/logo/etc.; nothing so dark that people seeing it on their phones can’t make it out
• A trailer, or at least a teaser. A brief clip (25 to 60 seconds) with a title card at the beginning or end will do. We’ll need a downloadable link from FilmFreeway, Dropbox, Vimeo, or Google Drive, but an additional streamable link from Vimeo or YouTube would be appreciated.
• The following credits (whenever applicable): Director; Writers; Key Cast; Cinematographer/DP; Animator; Music/Composer
• An .MP4 (preferred) or .MOV file of your film in HD or Full HD (no ProRes/DCP, no 2K/4K) coded at 10mbps, with stereo or mono sound. We prefer to download from Vimeo, Dropbox, FilmFreeway, or Google Drive, as they are faster than other transfer services. We cannot download from YouTube.

Failure to respond to requests for additional files and info may also result in disqualification.

Films from any year of release are eligible for submission.

Films that have been in competition in other SF IndieFest events (including Another Hole in the Head) are eligible for submission. Official Selections from previous editions of Warped Dimension are not eligible.

Films that have been made available online are eligible for submission. However, once a film becomes an Official Selection we will expect its availability for public viewing to be suspended on all platforms from the day before we announce the schedule until shortly after its screening with us has concluded. This will be a period of approximately four to six weeks. Filmmakers will be notified in advance regarding specific dates and times.

Legal Matters:

The Festival will take every reasonable precaution to store all works securely and preclude any unauthorized recording; the Zoom app itself offers many security features to prevent the public from recording exhibition content. However, with new technologies becoming available at all times, we cannot be held liable for any acts of piracy that may occur.

Submitters understand that submission of their work authorizes the Festival to use the work and any info/materials supplied via FilmFreeway for exhibition, education, or publicity purposes related to the festival. In addition to screening(s) during the festival, this includes sharing trailers & clips on social media and elsewhere, as well as allowing select individuals to view entire works for the purpose of publishing advance reviews.

The Festival is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work.

Submitters may receive future correspondence from info@ahith.com; an "unsubscribe" option is available in all email bulletins.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Thank you for winning “Staff Favorite Film”! I am thrilled that I was able to participate from Japan and receive an award!

    September 2023
  • Awesome online live screening via zoom with Q&A! Great selection of films. I highly recommend Warped Dimension!

    June 2023
  • Thank you for selecting our film, Imaginary Friends, to be shown at Warped Dimension. We feel very honored and really enjoyed the Q&A online session. Thank you for keeping us posted and for the great communications during the challenges that happened. You will see us again.

    June 2023
  • I really enjoyed ALL the films screened and the Q&A's where a blast! Way to go Warped Dimension for a well curated festival and all around good time! MEN IN CARS thanks you (especially Agnes the Chicken aka Mrs. Doubtfire).

    June 2023
  • Matt & Jeff Beals

    Great festival! The image quality of the screening was top notch. The Q&A was a blast and captured the WARPED spirit of the festival and our film!

    May 2022