Nightmares Film Festival

Columbus, OH / October 2019 / nightmaresfest.com

Nightmares only debuted two years ago, but has already made an impression. “Though it’s still young, Nightmares has set the bar for what a fest can do for moviemakers,” says one panelist. “Through its #BetterFesting efforts”—which focus on empowering independents with valuable festival circuit insight—“it’s pushing other events toward excellence.” Directors Jason Tostevin and Chris Hamel are devoted to digging up gems from off the beaten genre path; look among the lineups from 2016 and 2017 and you’ll see many titles you may not be familiar with, but should be. In addition to revealing these terrifying treasures, Nightmares awards them with multiple prizes in the Horror, Thriller, Midnight, and True Crime/Documentary categories; there’s also a screenplay category in both feature and short forms.