Grimmfest 2021 is scheduled for 7th to 10th October, teaming up with our regular venue partner, the Odeon Great Northern for a live event. We also plan to have an associated virtual festival reflecting the live event and enabling those who are unable to join us physically, to enjoy the show at home following the success of year of online screenings.

Submissions are open and all awards still apply.

Grimmfest has fast become one of the ‘go to’ genre film festivals in the World, now in its 13 year, the festival will see thousands of fans attend in early October at the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester UK. Hosting a plethora of horror, dark fantasy and sci-fi movie premieres alongside Q&As from many of the film makers and stars of the films; Grimmfest 2021 will be a massive celebration of genre cinema on the big screen.

The festival seeks the very best cutting edge and exciting new horror and genre movies to premiere in the north of the UK. Every selected film will benefit from extensive press coverage and will also be in the running for one of our prestigious Reaper awards. This year, films will be competing for these categories: BEST FEATURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST SCREENPLAY, BEST SCORE, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST SHORT, BEST SFX, BEST SCARE and the Converted AUDIENCE AWARD. The winners will be announced on the closing night of Grimmfest 2021 and a full list of award prizes will be announced soon.

GRIMMFEST continues to draw a huge community of genre film fans, press and guests to Manchester (UK) and was recently named as one of the best genre festivals in the world' by MovieMaker magazine.

Submissions for short and feature films open in November 2020.

Selected films will be viewed and voted on by a special Jury of genre experts.

This year’s Jury includes ‘Horror Channel’ head honcho Stewart Bridle and the multi-talented director, actress and screenwriter Brea Grant (12 HOUR SHIFT). Further jury to be announced.

Previous award winners have included: RENT-A-PAL, ROPES, TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID, WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, HARPOON, EXTRA ORDINARY and many more.

TESTIMONIALS:

“Fast becoming one of the most prominent genre festivals in the UK, attracting premieres, special guests and plenty of media attention.” – Bloody-Disgusting.com

“We had a great reception from a wonderfully enthusiastic crowd of genre fans. Can’t wait to visit Grimmfest again.” – Paul Hyett, Director - Howl & The Seasoning House; SFX - The Woman in Black, The Descent

“Grimmfest’s reputation as a premiere genre festival was only surpassed by its buzzing attendees... They’ve really fostered a fantastic culture.” – Chris Peckover, Director – Better Watch Out, Undocumented

“I loved everything about Grimmfest. I very much look forward to screening another film there.” – Matt Stuertz, Director – Tonight She Comes, RWD

“I applaud the programmers at Grimmfest for their bold film selections, which not only create unique opportunities for moviemakers but allow their audiences to see and feel cinema they might not have the chance to experience.” – Ted Geoghegan, Director - Mohawk, We Are Still Here

“Easily one of the best experiences I’ve had at a festival.” – Elliot James Langridge, Actor – Habit, Northern Soul

“I've attended film premiere's before but I've never felt such a warm atmosphere or watched cast and crew members be so well looked after, myself included”. - Sara Dee, Actress (Borley Rectory)

Awards & Prizes

THE AWARD CATEGORIES:

BEST FEATURE

BEST SHORT

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST SCREENPLAY

BEST SCORE

BEST ACTOR

BEST ACTRESS

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

BEST SFX

BEST SCARE

AUDIENCE AWARD. Voted on by Grimmfest attendees.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. Awarded to a person who has worked extensively in genre film.

Rules & Terms

GRIMMFEST is looking for independent feature-length and short genre films from around the world.

Our Standard Festival Participation Agreement (Terms and Conditions), which all submitted films are also expected to follow is as follows:

GENERAL RULES AND CONDITIONS
The 13th Grimmfest Film Festival will take place first weekend of October 2021.

1. Submission Deadlines
Submissions will be accepted from 3rd November 2020.

The early deadline is March 22nd 2021, the regular deadline is June 28th 2021, the late deadline is July 29th 2021. Early entry is encouraged but in no way guarantees acceptance.

2. Submission Format
Films must be submitted via online screener.

3. Submission Eligibility
All submissions must have been completed after 1 January 2020.
Grimmfest generally requires at least a Greater Manchester premiere for all films. Films which have already been publicly released online are not accepted.
Works-in-progress and films with distribution are accepted.
All films not in the English language are required to have English subtitles.

4. Premiere Status
Grimmfest generally requires at least a Greater Manchester premiere for all films and they may not have been screened publicly online. All films may have screened at other festivals but just not have screened in the Greater Manchester Region.

5. Film Classification
All films screened during Grimmfest receive an age rating that is decided by the Manchester City Council.

6. Submission Fee
All FilmFreeway submissions for Grimmfest are to be paid by via FilmFreeway. The submission fee is non-refundable.

7. Shipping
All shipping and postage costs, if the film is selected for the Festival, for all DCPs and additional materials sent to and returned from Grimmfest must be borne by the submitting party. Grimmfest will not accept Cash On Delivery shipments. Grimmfest will not absorb any fees incurred in British customs. All charges must be pre-paid.

8. Notification
Grimmfest endeavours to complete all selection procedures by 2nd September 2020 and inform all submitting parties, in writing, if their film has been successful or not after that time. Due to the volume of submissions received, we cannot offer detailed personalised feedback for every film submitted. Successful submissions will receive important information on shipping the DCP to the Festival, press and publicity, guest accreditation, contact information and how to make the most of participating in the Festival.

9. Festival Screenings
Selected films MUST provide a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) or high res digital file in order to be screened at Grimmfest. Delivery of feature films must be via physical media (hard drive or USB). Short films can be accepted via online file transfer. The film title MUST be clearly labelled on the hard drive.
The screening copy of the film must be received at Grimmfest no later than TWENTY days prior to its scheduled screening date.

10. Scheduling
Screenings are scheduled during the Festival at the discretion of Grimmfest. Whilst every effort will be made to adhere to the published schedule, Grimmfest reserves the right to make changes at any time for any reason. Grimmfest will not be liable for any costs claimed as a result of a change in scheduling.
No film may be withdrawn from the festival programme after its selection.

GENERAL AGREEMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN GRIMMFEST:
By submitting to GRIMMFEST I confirm that I have read and accept the terms and regulations of GRIMMFEST. I will provide the festival with any additional information required pursuant to these rules and regulations. I authorize GRIMMFEST to exhibit my film, and if selected, I confirm that an exhibition copy will be available in a required format for screening during the 2020 festival. I certify that I hold all necessary rights for the submission of this film/video to Grimmfest and that all rights and clearances have been made. This film is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation. I hold Grimmfest harmless from damage to, or loss of any or all materials en route to, from or otherwise at the festival. I assume all legal responsibilities therein. By Agreeing to these terms, I transfer to GRIMMFEST the right to use excerpts of the submitted film, its stills, and trailers, for the purposes of publicity and marketing of the film at the 2021 festival, and for other non-commercial uses related to the promotion of the 2021 festival. I hereby agree to indemnify GRIMMFEST, in the event that such rights have not been properly transferred.

For further information or queries please contact the team at info@grimmfest.com with the subject line ’GRIMMFEST 2021 Submission Inquiry’.

29 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ben Charles-Edwards

    Great experience. Terrific communication and felt we got a lot from screening at the festival

    October 2021
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  • Lovina Yavari

    Thank you so much for hosting Red String of Fate. We were more than happy to have our UK premiere with you guys. We werent able to attend in person, however we were updated frequently. Ill definitely submit again in the future with my other projects.

    October 2021
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  • Paul O’Flanagan

    I was delighted to get to attend and introduce my film at Grimmfest in person this year. I was warmly welcomed by some fantastic hosts and I only wished that I could have hung out at the festival longer.

    October 2021
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  • Alisa Stern

    It was an honor to have my animated horror short at Grimmfest! The communication and social media presence of the fest was fantastic. I really wish I could have attended in person - hopefully another year! Thanks!

    October 2021
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  • Asaf Yecheskel

    While we didn’t get the chance to attend the festival, communication was great and we were well informed. Thank you for selecting "While We Stayed Home" and I look forward to collaborating with you again in the future.

    October 2021
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