Playing into Conventions
Another way to find a built-in horror audience is to submit to the official film festivals attached to major horror and comic book conventions in the United States and Canada: the San Diego Comic Con Film Fest, Fright Night Film Fest in Louisville, Kentucky, Dragon Con Film Fest in Atlanta, Georgia, the multiple-city mega convention Days of the Dead Film Fest, and the Crypticon Seattle Film Fest.
Because these events aren’t primarily festivals, the submission process can often be far simpler than with a standard film festival. San Diego Comic Con, for instance, doesn’t charge admission fees. They also provide passes to the entire convention for accepted filmmakers.
Some filmmakers encounter downsides to this attention-splitting, though. Courtney Marsh, whose short “Zari” screened at SDCC in summer 2015, laments that the event was not centered on the films. “Films are played individually, rather than in a program,” she says, “and instead of a theater they are played in a hotel ballroom, projected onto a screen, which I felt was slightly too small for the room it is in. While they had a great stage setup for Q&As, there wasn’t a moderator, so you just had to take the reins and go for it.”
Erin Li, who screened her film “Kepler X-47” at the same festival, feels that the enthusiastic audience makes up for these setbacks. “Even though the festival wasn’t the star of Comic-Con,” says Li, “the fans who attended our screening were diehard genre fans who appreciated the film on a whole other level.”
Screening at a convention will guarantee you an attending audience, but you will inevitably be secondary to the main event panels and table signings. So don’t set expectations too high for making connections or getting noticed. Instead, just enjoy the convention and support the other filmmakers in attendance.
Exploiting the Niche Festivals
The, uh, fantastic part of searching for horror film festivals in North America is that there are dozens of niche festivals with very specific requirements—that your film may just meet. Does your horror film involve a Cthulhu-like aberration conjured from the Necronomicon? The well-loved H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, with events in both Portland, Oregon and San Pedro, California, probably wants you to submit your film. Does your film get downright gory, low-budget and trashy, or involve gross-out humor? Tromadance in Long Island, New York, created by Lloyd Kaufman’s independent film production and distribution company Troma, will probably screen your film to a joyous audience. Does your horror film feature an LBGT character or storyline? Fears For Queers, presented by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of North Texas, would love to screen it. My own annual festival showcase in Hollywood, Etheria Film Night, screens the best new genre films directed by women. (With only six to eight shorts in total, Etheria filmmakers are inundated with attention from press and genre fans.) And so on.
You’d be surprised at how closely industry insiders pay attention to the carefully curated lineups at these niche festivals. Another benefit? Better audience targeting. The attendees know exactly what to expect and enthusiastically support the distinctive programs, which they value highly in a world inundated with middle-of-the-road.
Step one for a successful horror festival run: Research genre festivals—by searching online and asking around. Step two: Try to realistically weigh your chances of getting in, and the value of your expected experience, against the submission costs. Because horror fans are so rabidly supportive of new films and filmmakers; connecting the right film to the right audience through smart festival planning can make or break a new career in horror filmmaking.
Actor-producer Elijah Wood gets a souvenir to remember at Fantastic Fest 2014’s closing night party. Photograph by Arnold Wells
Major International Horror and Fantasy Film Festivals
The rest of the world is genre-hungry, too
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
During its 13-day run each winter in Belgium, the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival has more than 60,000 attendees, some of which participate in the annual Zombie Parade through the city streets, as well as the dedicated Japanimation Day and midnight X-treme films (Warning: Don’t take the kids to that lineup).
Bucheon International Film Festival
Bucheon International Film Festival, known as BiFan, in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea is the largest fantastic film festival in Asia. Programming, which includes retrospectives and special panels, tends to give special preference to original Asian works.
Fantaspoa
Established in 2005 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Fantaspoa has grown to be the largest fantasy film festival of Latin America. Showing more than 70 feature films and close to 50 shorts, Fantaspoa hosts numerous parties and events, and showcases new Brazilian and South American filmmakers.
Frightfest
Frightfest was established in London, U.K. in 2000 to compete with Sitges and Brussels, and it has grown in stature and attendance every year since. Frightfest events take place several times a year in London as well as in Glasgow, Scotland. The festival often hosts U.K. premieres of major Hollywood fantasy and horror films.
Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival in Neuchatel, Switzerland, featured the first all-female genre film jury in the world at their 2015 edition. Taking place during the summer months, Neuchatel screens one full week of new genre shorts and features from all over the world.
Sitges International Film Festival
Sitges, in Catalonia, Spain, is the largest horror/fantasty film festival in the world. Each year, thousands of attendees gather amid Hollywood stars and directors playing new genre films. Sitges also plays a very strong local lineup of new Spanish fantasy and animation films. MM
This article originally appeared in MovieMaker’s 2016 Guide to Making Horror Movies, featured inside our Fall 2015 issue. Featured image photograph by Ian Goring.
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