{"id":1720,"date":"2025-08-12T21:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?p=1720"},"modified":"2025-08-12T21:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:20:10","slug":"festivals-built-for-horror-filmmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/festivals-built-for-horror-filmmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Nightmares Launch Careers: 4 Horror Festivals Every Filmmaker Needs to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sam Raimi took a tiny budget and dreams of demonic possession and made the \u201cEvil Dead\u201d mega-franchise. Jennifer Kent turned her festival darling, the short film \u201cMonster,\u201d into the crowdfunded cult classic \u201cThe Babadook.\u201d Jordan Peele parlayed his background in comedy into creating the Oscar-winning \u201cGet Out.\u201d Hollywood history is teeming with filmmakers who initially proved themselves in the horror genre, where ambitious creatives with shoestring budgets and wild imaginations can frighten audiences into taking notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It should come as no jump scare\u2013level surprise, then, that numerous film festivals across the globe cater to horror audiences, screening the scariest, goriest, most supernatural and experimental new films for their depraved enjoyment. If you\u2019re a horror filmmaker looking to terrify viewers with your work, here are four horror film festivals worth considering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/ChicagoHorrorFest\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Chicago Horror Film Festival<\/mark><\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final deadline: <\/strong>Aug. 24<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now entering its 26th year, this film festival has grown from being an afternoon\u2019s worth of local horror shorts to a three-day event that brings people from across the world to the Windy City. Its popularity only continues to grow, with more people attending its quarter-century anniversary than any previous incarnation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fest has garnered a reputation for helping horror films find distribution and for aiding the careers of filmmakers, particularly due to networking events that are specifically organized to connect filmmakers with the horror community. These include the Networking Fast Pass, a digital badge system designed to instantly share contact details, and a VIP lounge that\u2019s exclusive to filmmakers, crew, producers, and distributors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most importantly, though, this event is the perfect place for fans and filmmakers to devour and be inspired by over 220 indie horror films from all different corners of the planet. The malevolent magic all unfolds inside the historic Logan Theatre, which is over 110 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Chicago Horror Film Festival\u2019s next run will take place Oct. 3\u20135, 2025.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/horrorunderground\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Horror Underground Film & Screenplay Festival<\/mark><\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next deadline:<\/strong> Aug. 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final deadline: <\/strong>Sept. 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2025 marks the ninth year of this film festival. Since its debut, this multi-city event has dedicated itself to showcasing independent horror movies that don\u2019t just frighten, but also push the boundaries of the genre by exploring unconventional and subversive themes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Held several times a year, this is a hybrid festival that screens accepted films in front of a large audience. Afterwards, a professional industry moderator discusses the work with those in attendance, and this feedback is given to the filmmaker. There\u2019s also the option for virtual screenings so that the worldwide horror community can continue to grow. Even if a film isn\u2019t accepted, programmers still provide feedback. Horror Underground is designed to get these projects in front of the right people and unleash the next wave of horror film voices on eager viewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The next Horror Underground Film & Screenplay Festival takes place on Nov. 11, 2025.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/TellurideHorrorShow\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Telluride Horror Show<\/mark><\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next deadline:<\/strong> Aug. 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final deadline: <\/strong>Sept. 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lauded by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/tag\/telluride-horror-show\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">MovieMaker Magazine<\/mark><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/01\/travel\/horror-film-festivals-halloween.html\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">New York Times<\/mark><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangoria.com\/15th-telluride-horror-show-lineup\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Fangoria<\/mark><\/a>, this event might be overshadowed by the more renowned Telluride Film Festival that\u2019s held a month earlier\u2014but it\u2019s a must for horror fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its beginnings 16 years ago as Colorado\u2019s first-ever horror film festival, the Telluride Horror Show has become one of the highest-attended genre fests in the world. Every October, thousands of devoted horror fans descend on the picturesque mountain town of Telluride to gorge on an international mixture of horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller films. The festival also provides industry opportunities for burgeoning filmmakers: Accepted short films are screened for Antihero Entertainment producer Aengus McLoone and 18Hz creative executive Nick Romano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to screening more than 20 feature films and 50 short films in packed theaters, the Telluride Horror Show often surprises attendees with guest appearances and themed parties that help to make the event even more memorable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Telluride Horror Show\u2019s next run will take place Oct. 10\u201312, 2025.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/BuriedAliveFilmFestival\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Buried Alive Film Festival<\/mark><\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next deadline: <\/strong>Aug. 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final deadline:<\/strong> Sept. 22\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a delightfully macabre name, this Atlanta film festival has a lot to live up to. Now entering its 18th year, the event brings bold and innovative storytelling from the horror, sci-fi, and thriller genres to the Southeast U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Festival founders Blake Myers and Luke Godfrey\u2014who also founded the horror-orientated film company Gorehound Productions\u2014started the Buried Alive Film Festival to celebrate independent movies from across the area. That\u2019s also why they created Buried Alive\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buriedalivefilmfest.com\/sinemachallenge\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Sinema Challenge<\/mark><\/a>, which gives filmmakers 13 days to make a 13-minute horror film. The results are screened at the Buried Alive Film Festival, all with the hope of challenging local artists while bringing them closer together so they can work on future collaborations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Buried Alive Film Festival\u2019s next run takes place Nov. 6\u20139, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These film festivals can launch your filmmaking career in the horror genre and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":1723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4 Festivals Built for 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