Warped Dimension is an Online-Only festival which will run May 7th - 9th, 2021. It is presented by the producers of Another Hole in the Head--San Francisco’s longest-running genre film festival (www.ahith.com). Not to be confused with our 18th Annual primary fest coming later in the year (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 to a registered audience via the Zoom platform (www.zoom.us) at scheduled intervals (no VOD). Filmmakers are encouraged 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 and Features 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.
• Slasher/Splatter - Narratives that involve multiple incidents of extreme violence and gore. Usually involves one or more killer(s) 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 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 closely related to the other festival categories.
• Warped Musical - Films of any length with content closely related to the other festival categories, which employ elements of singing and/or dancing to advance the narrative.
• Warped Comedy - Dark or Off-the-Wall humor, including Horror/Sci-Fi Comedies, spoofs of Action/Adventure films, or any that have dark, surreal, or oddball elements, especially as they relate to the other listed categories.

Awards & Prizes

Our audience will use Zoom’s polling function to rate each film they view. The most highly-rated films will receive Audience Awards: one Feature, one Featurette, and one Short Film in each of the listed categories.

In addition, four Staff Awards will be given: Favorite Feature, Favorite Featurette, Favorite Short, and Best Trailer (only the trailers for our Official Selections will be considered).

In the event that there are insufficient submissions to make for competition within a category, either a single Audience Award will be given, or the category will be suspended.

Rules & Terms

Upon notification of Official Selection, a subscription to our spam-free Filmmaker email list will become mandatory for the duration of the fest [Filmmaker Info (filmmakers@ahith.com) - signup here: https://mailchi.mp/353a759981b6/filmmaker-info]. This will be your point of contact with the festival. Failure to respond to requests for additional files and info may 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 online availability 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 three-to-four 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.
21 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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Networking
  • Steven Lapcevic

    A fantastic festival! The virtual experience was excellently curated with a selection of fantastic films. It was especially great to see the work of all involved.

    October 2020
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  • Pete Jacelone

    This was a cool festival. The organizers did their best to turn it into a nice virtual experience. It was an honor having my short film involved. Thank you!

    October 2020
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  • Madhu R

    Our film "Death Offers Life - last moments of Vincent Van Gogh" got official selection which is a great encouragement for us. Moreover Mr. Benji of the festival team interviewed me twice, once during the preview and later during the festival after our film was showed. The festival is truly encouraging underdogs who would otherwise have gone unobserved. I express my heartfelt thanks to all in the festival team especially Benji, Romany and George.

    October 2020
    Helpful
  • Gigi Burgdorf

    Weird and wonderful festival. Online in 2020, but the screenings were live (instead of on demand), with filmmaker Q&As and audience interaction, so it felt close to an in-person event.

    October 2020
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  • François Zaïdi

    This year was a specila edition because it was online but the films were carefully curated and presented with a Q&A session that was really interesting. That was very pleasant.

    October 2020
    Helpful