The Film Festival for our Event is not held in the convention center but at the newly built entertainment complex, LexLive, in downtown Lexington, KY. ScareFest was founded in 2008 here in Lexington, KY, the ScareFest is celebrating its 14th year. The ScareFest is an annual Horror, Paranormal & Fandom Convention held every year at the Central Bank Center with over 10,000 local, out-of-state & international attendees. The ScareFest is one of the largest of its kind in the country, bridging the horror and paranormal with over 50,000 followers on social media. Every year we host celebrities, of the small and large screens, from the horror and paranormal world as well as local artists, businesses and entertainers.

The ScareFest Film Festival is a 4-day celebration of the macabre and all things horror. We are an event ran by fans for the fans, bringing terror from around the United States into Kentucky. We love to support independent filmmakers, students, & studios looking to showcase their work and anyone who is bringing innovation and excitement to the horror genre. Independent films and low budget masterpieces are central to the Horror genre and so that’s what we strive to showcase to our audiences.

We accept films from any genre of horror… SPLATTER, SLASHER & SUPERNATURAL! Comedy horror, documentary, dark sci-fi… if it’s got blood and guts or will keep you on the edge of your seat then we want to showcase your work!

Our attendees want to see original and pioneering films and shorts. We are looking for films that haven’t been released, are not available on YouTube or DVD and are less than one year old preferably. We are looking for new and fresh works to show our audiences and that’s what they’ve come to expect. Also works from students & our local indie filmmakers are always wonderful and we love to promote our Kentucky Horror Filmmakers!

Awards & Prizes

All film submissions chosen as finalists will automatically receive free VIP passes for the weekend which will gain you early entrance to meet your favorite celebrities & browse our exhibitor halls. It also gets you into our VIP events and our Halloween Costume Ball held on Saturday night with music, drinks and all-around great time. We also offer discounted booths to our entries so you can sell merchandise & actively promote your film to our thousands of attendees as they pass by.

Awards will be available in the following categories:
• Best Feature
• Best Short
• Best Kill Scene
• Best of Horror (Most reflects our fandom)
• Best Cinematography
• Best Director
• Best Actor & Actress
• Best Horror Comedy
• Best Documentary

and New/Back for 2021
* Best Supernatural/Ghost Story
* Best Special Effect
* Best Jump Scare

Each winner will receive a statuette at our awards ceremony to be held at the Saturday Night Costume Ball during the event. Winners will also be featured on all social media, as well as ongoing promotion through all our social media platforms and website. Main Prize Winners may be invited to be guests on ScareFest Television, our weekly video podcast.

Showings of our finalist's entries will be held at The LexLive Krikorian Theaters and open to the public as well as our attendees. This venue will allow your entry to be viewed in an actual theater setting and not just a meeting room at the convention center.

Rules & Terms

• Productions cannot have been previously screened at the event.
• Premiere status will be preferred and will be a factor in inclusion decision.
• Films that are not available to the public will be a factor in inclusion decision. We prefer to not have films readily available online to current streaming services.
• By submitting, you're giving us permission to exhibit your film at the event, and other screenings (such as promotional events, etc.).
Online submission will be accepted through film festival platform FilmFreeway.
We will accept hardcopies in some cases. These must be a digital copy on DVD (minimum 1920×1080). Please contact us for mail submissions.

By submitting, you represent and warrant that you have full legal right and authority to submit the film/video project for consideration by The Scarefest, and that all necessary consents, licensing, and approvals have been obtained with respect thereto. You agree to hold The Scarefest and its sponsors harmless in any and all matters pertaining to the consents, licenses, and approvals of heretofore film/video project. You understand that your submission is in no way a guarantee of acceptance into The Scarefest Film Festival. No one from The Scarefest or its sponsors has guaranteed you admission into the festival. Should your film be accepted to The Scarefest Film Festival, you grant The Scarefest the right to use any footage from the preview screener, and all submitted publicity photos and any other materials pertaining to this entry for The Scarefest's promotional non-commercial purposes, without limitations.

All submissions are final. No refunds are provided.
13 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Tony Reames

    Found a new favorite, was able to visit on Friday. It was a BLAST!!!!!! Great fest, great communication.

    October 2022
    Helpful
  • Jason-Christopher Mayer

    Still waiting on award winners? Not much communication.

    October 2022
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Check your spam folder, but all of the accepted entries, the nominees and award winners are posted on our website and were shared on social media preceding and following the event as applicable. Our featured film winner has alerted us that our emails were in fact getting caught in his spam folder.

  • Suzanne DeLaurentiis

    We had a great time and good turnout. Would go again for sure!!!

    April 2022
    Helpful
  • Sam Quinn

    What an awesome event! Bummed we couldn't attend the festival. I'll def be submitting again in the future!

    November 2021
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  • David Weaver

    The Scarefest team provided engaged and consistent communication with us and was truly supportive of our team. We're very thankful for the opportunity they provided our feature, THE LAST FRANKENSTEIN.

    November 2021
    Helpful