Which film festivals are best for horror filmmakers?

After crunching a million+ datapoints on 10,000+ film festivals, I have found which are best for horror filmmakers. Get the data and adjust the weightings to create your own rankings and action plan.

Jan 20, 2025

When it comes to film festivals, horror filmmakers have both the best of times and the worst of times.

On the one hand, most film festivals disadvantage the horror genre, under-programming it, overlooking quality films, and generally regarding it as less 'worthy' than certain other genres (see proof later in this article).

But at the same time, some festivals embrace horror, showcasing brilliant new films to packed and enthralled audiences, forming a vital part of the thriving horror community.

So whether you're a horror filmmaker wondering where to submit your movie, or a horror fan looking for the best new frightening flicks, it's important you do your research.

I’ve got you covered. When researching my recent Horror Movie Report, I dug deep into the data to work out which film festivals are best for horror filmmakers and fans.

In this article, I'm going to explain my methodology, share which festivals I think deserve the most praise, and reveal what it is in particular that horror filmmaker want from a horror festival.

Strap in!

Horror's challenge with film festivals

Let's state it frankly - most conventional film festivals look down their noses at horror.

Between 2021 and 2023, 12.6% of all movies made were horror, yet horror films represented just 4.2% of movies selected at major film festivals.

Put another way, 83.7% of film festivals under-program horror (i.e., they showcase a smaller percentage of horror films compared to the genre's production levels).

The pie chart below shows the percentage of film festivals by the proportion of their line-ups that are horror movies. Most festivals include very few horror movies, with over half (55.8%) featuring less than 5% horror films. Only a small fraction of festivals focus heavily on horror.

Why festivals matter for horror filmmakers

Film festivals are the lifeblood of indie filmmaking. They’re more than just a place to showcase your work; they’re a vital opportunity to connect with audiences, meet future collaborators, secure distribution deals, and get a spotlight on you and your work.

As horror is treated differently, it’s even more important that filmmakers think carefully about which festivals they will pay to submit to and attend.

Let’s begin by considering the key questions filmmakers need to ask when assessing festivals:

What are the chances of being selected?
Is the festival legitimate? (or just a front to attract submission fees from unsuspecting filmmakers)
Does the film industry pay attention to the festival?
Does being selected help your career?
What is the reputation of the festival among filmmakers and audiences?
How much does it cost?

I built up a database of over 10,000 film festivals (yes, there really are that many!) and gathered data on them. This turned into a mammoth six-month-long journey, but, as the data nerd I am, it was actually quite fun!

In the end, I had data (when available) on the following areas:

Programming. Films the festivals have previously screened.
Accessibility. Submission fees, entry methods, and restrictions on applying.
Filmmaker POV. What previous filmmakers have said about the festivals.
Audience POV. Conversations and rankings on sites like Reddit and blogs.
Reputation. Whether the festivals were recognised on sites like IMDb and Wikipedia, and how long the festival has been running.
Press. Coverage each festival receives in the film industry press like Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and Screen.
Awards. Being selected or winning certain festivals can make you eligible for further awards, such as the Oscars, BAFTAs, and European Film Awards.

With all these data points in hand, I narrowed down to a list of 1,004 film festivals worth considering for horror. I created an adjustable scoring system to apply different weights to all these data points, giving me a way to compare and rank festivals.

So, which festival is best for horror filmmakers?

As annoying as this may sound, it really does depend on your goals.

Let’s find a few different framings and run the numbers.

First up, overall. When I adjusted the weights to what I thought they should be (i.e., a good balance of all factors), the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) came out top. I personally love TIFF and have had a blast there. It’s the perfect mix of scale (both in terms of number of titles and industry heft) but also lovely, personal, and audience-focused.

Joining TIFF on the podium were FrightFest, Screamfest, and Fantasia. (I have added a longer list of the top horror film festivals at the end of this article).

While TIFF is very supportive of horror, no one would describe it primarily as 'a horror film festival'.

So, with a tweak to the weights to account for the festival's theme, now we see FrightFest take the top spot, followed closely by Screamfest, Fantasia, Toronto After Dark, and Sitges.

Finally, let’s tweak those weights one more time to account for film industry standing. And here we see the industry’s problem with horror come to the fore.

The film industry press does not cover the vast majority of festivals and appears to have the same anti-horror bias we see in festival selection. This means that if you are looking for wider film industry recognition and coverage, you can’t rely on horror-focused festivals.

When you combine all the factors, Cannes reigns supreme. A close second is TIFF, followed by Sundance, Tribeca Film Festival, South by Southwest, and Berlin.

I don’t wish my views to come across as definitive. They are subjective, and as you’ve seen, the weighting applied to the data makes all the difference. If you want to play with the data yourself, head over to HorrorMovieReport.com and grab the Film Pro edition.

What do horror filmmakers praise festivals for?

Once I had my list of horror festivals I was able top track the discourse around them. One of the aspects I thought was rather revealing was what shortlisted filmmakers say about them.

I categorised the praise each festival received, and at the top came ‘Hospitality’, ‘Passion’, and ‘Communication’ - each featuring in around third of the feedback I tracked. (A single piece of feedback could cover multiple topics).

I noticed a few cultural differences:

German festivals came top for ‘Communication’
Canadian festivals topped the ‘Organisation’ list
The best ‘Atmosphere’ was at British festivals
American festivals came out in front for ‘Networking’ and ‘Support’.

The kinds of things filmmakers were grateful to festival for included:

Encouragement. Filmmaking can sometimes be a lonely and unrewarding pursuit and so filmmakers deep appreciated festivals recognising their efforts, awarding their work, and providing opportunities to showcase their films.
Passion. Filmmakers appreciated organisers and staff who demonstrated a genuine passion for film, particularly independent and horror movies.
Communication. It can be infuriating not to hear from a festival you’ve entered or been selected in. So it’s no surprise that filmmakers were quick to praise the festivals which kept them informed throughout the process, responding promptly, and made them feel valued.
Community. They appreciated the festivals which fostered a supportive community where filmmakers can connect with each other, and audiences.
Support. Many pieces of feedback mentioned that the festival went out of their way to solve technical issues or assist with distribution.
Memorable experiences. Overall, filmmakers loved festivals which provided a positive atmosphere, from events to screenings, making them feel celebrated and keen to return.

Calculate your own horror festival rankings

If you want the full list of festivals, and the chance to apply your own weightings to the ranking, then check out my Horror Movie Report Film Pro edition, which includes:

The digital version of The Horror Movie Report - the most comprehensive data study of the horror genre ever.
Full database of 1,004 horror film festivals, allowing you to adjust 45 different weights to generate your own top list of festivals. Or you can filter and browse the data.
Bonus report: The Business Case for Horror Investment with data, charts, and press clippings to bolster your film business plan.
Bonus report: Horror Filmmakers' Guide to Film Festivals covering twenty areas on how to get the most out of film festivals as a horror filmmaker.
All the data and charts used in the report, including a licence to use them in business plans.

Note: The data, spreadsheets, and bonus reports are only part of the 'Film Pro' edition.

My top 25 horror film festivals list

Here is my personal list of the top 25 film festivals for horror filmmakers, based on a balanced weighting.

Toronto International Film Festival – September, Canada
FrightFest – August, UK
Screamfest Horror Film Festival – October, USA
Fantasia International Film Festival – July, Canada
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – August, South Korea
Toronto After Dark Film Festival – October, Canada
Sitges Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya – October, Spain
Mórbido Mérida – October, Mexico
Lund Fantastic Film Festival – October, Sweden
Night Visions Film Festival – November, Finland
MOTELX - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Terror de Lisboa – January, Portugal
Abertoir Horror Festival – November, UK
Mostra Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza e del Fantastico – November, Italy
Sundance Film Festival – January, USA
South By Southwest – March, USA
Imagine Film Festival – October, Netherlands
Grimmfest – October, UK
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival – October, USA
Festival de Cannes – May, France
Crypticon Seattle Film Festival – May, USA
Nevermore Film Festival – February, USA
Weekend of Fear – June, Germany
Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival – April, Estonia
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival – July, Switzerland
Panic Fest – April, USA