🤘 Submission Fee and Deadline 🤘
Feature Film: € 30,-
Short Film: € 20,-
Young Talents (up to 26 years old*): € 6,66,-
Entries must be submitted by June 15th, 2025.
*The age is determined at the time of submission.
🤘 Important Notice 🤘
Submitting your film does not guarantee its screening at the Fright Nights Film Festival. Paying the submission fee only entitles your film to be considered for the Official Selection 2025.
Our organizers will carefully select which short and feature-length films will be screened. Films that were submitted to a previous Fright Nights Film Festival will not be accepted.
Nominations will be finalized in July 2025, with the festival program published on our website. All selected films will automatically be screened without any additional fees.
Screening versions must be submitted in DCP format by August 15, 2025, and screener versions must remain available until the end of the festival.
🤘 Format Requirements for Screening Version 🤘
The largest screen at the Hollywood Megaplex PlusCity measures 340m². To maintain our technical standards, only films meeting the following requirements will be accepted:
DCP – Digital Cinema Package
Additionally, an MP4 file is required as a backup.
All subtitles must be hardcoded (directly embedded in the film). Separate subtitle files, such as SRT or SUB formats, are not accepted.
If you do not have access to software for converting to DCP, we recommend using the free DCP-o-matic tool. Tutorials and guides for using this software are available on YouTube.
🤘 Copyright 🤘
By submitting your film, you confirm that you hold all necessary rights to distribute and submit the film for festival consideration. This includes rights to all content such as visuals, sound, and music. Licenses must be presented upon request.
You also agree that the film may be screened at the festival and used for promotional purposes in connection with the festival. This includes:
- Distribution of the film to jury members
- Use of excerpts for trailers and promotional content
- Non-commercial reuse for festival-related events
🤘 Language 🤘
If the film is not in German or English, it must include English subtitles. Subtitles must be hardcoded into the film. While German films do not require subtitles, we encourage filmmakers to provide English subtitles for international audiences.
🤘 Publication Restrictions 🤘
Submitted films must not have undergone commercial exploitation before the festival. This includes:
-Official theatrical release
-Distribution on DVD, Blu-ray, or VoD platforms
-However, private screenings, premieres, festival participation, and self-distributed DVDs or Blu-rays are exempt from this restriction.
🤘 Awards 🤘
The Silver Hand is awarded in the following categories:
- Best Feature Film (included in the Hollywood Megaplex regular program)
- Best Short Film
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Mutilation Scene
- Trash Award
The award ceremony will take place at the end of the festival. The exact date will be announced in due course.
🤘 Important Notice for Awards 🤘
Awards will only be given to filmmakers who are present at the ceremony. If the filmmaker cannot attend, the Silver Hand may be accepted by a representative.
If neither the winner nor a substitute is present, the film will be disqualified, and the award will be given to the runner-up.
Only films submitted on time will be considered for the program.
🤘 Advertising Material 🤘
The following promotional materials must be submitted along with your film:
- Three film stills (300dpi for print and 96dpi for digital use) in PNG or JPEG format
- A biography and pictures of the director
- A synopsis
- A digital movie poster
- A film trailer
- Behind-the-scenes footage (if available)
