Features Competition

The Dark Hedges International Film Festival’s New Cinema’ strand is open to films made by filmmakers from around the world of all production techniques, forms and budgets that fall within the horror/sci-fi/ fantasy/thriller genres.

Only films with a runtime in excess of 60 minutes will be considered for the ‘New Cinema’ strand of our festival.

We only accept online submissions via FilmFreeway. BanterFlix guarantees that your film will never be used in any way other than that to which you agree.

The primary contact completing the submission process must be authorised to submit the film for consideration. This must include permission from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and the applicant must have obtained necessary permissions for the inclusion of any copyrighted music and/or images used in the film.

With this submission, the applicant confirms that they possess all rights necessary for the screening of the submitted film at our festival.

Dates

Only films completed after April 2023 will be accepted for consideration

Submission Fees

There is a submission fee (£25) to enter your feature. All submissions are final, and there are no refunds.

Submission Agreement

At the point of payment on your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the festival’s regulations. By agreeing to proceed with your submission, you agree to these regulations, and your application can then be processed.

The entry of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence.

Failure to comply with these regulations may result in the submission being disqualified. These regulations are subject to change without prior notice.

Foreign Language Films

If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled in English, unless this is at variance with the filmmaker’s intention.

Festival Selection Procedure

Submitted films are viewed by two or more members of the festival’s selection committee, all programming decisions within our festival’s ‘New Cinema’ strand are made at the discretion of the festival and all decisions are final!

The festival team will not provide comments on films before submission, or reasons for rejection, however, we are happy to provide informal feedback on individual films after the festival has taken place.

Notification

We will not confirm the receipt of submissions. All applicants will be notified via e-mail about the selection or rejection of their film (We aim to finalize our programme two months before our festival’s opening night).

Short Film Competition (Horror & Sci-Fi Shorts)

Our short film programme consists of two different categories; our Irish short-film competition (See Eligibility) and our International short-film competition (Open to non-Irish entries)

Submissions for both categories will be shortlisted down to a maximum of 10 finalists and given a physical screening within our festival’s programme.

Awards & Prizes

  • Best Irish Short Film (Voted for by Festival Jury)
  • Best International Short Film (Voted for by Festival Jury)
  • First Time Filmmaker Award * [International/Irish] (Voted for by Festival Jury)
  • Women Make Horror Award ** [International/Irish] (Voted for by Festival Jury)

Any shorts made by a first-time filmmaker that enter into the final shortlist of both our international and Irish categories will automatically be considered for this award)

Any shorts made by a female director that enter into the final shortlist of both our international and Irish categories will automatically be considered for this award)

Eligibility Criteria

• Shorts runtime must be under 20 minutes in length (including credits)

• All entries (Irish/International) must have been completed within 18 months of our festival’s date (April 2022) and not previously selected as a finalist in the previous festival.

• Shorts submitted within the Irish short film strand must be made in Ireland- or made by an Irish writer/director (i.e. shot in England, but writer or director or Lead actors are Irish/NI citizens)

• Submitted online (Via FilmFreeway)

• Available for competition screening in, DCP or HD QuickTime format

Submissions

We only accept online submissions via FilmFreeway. The Dark Hedges International Film Festival guarantees that your film will never be used in any way other than that to which you agree.

Submission Fees

There is a submission fee (£7) to enter your short. Due to our low submission fee, we do not offer a discount for student entries. All submissions are final, and there are no refunds.

Multiple Entries

You may enter as many films as you wish. Each entry requires a separate submission form, fee and upload.

Submission Agreement

At the point of payment on your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the festival’s regulations. By agreeing to proceed with your submission, you agree to these regulations, and your application can then be processed.

The entry of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence.

Short’s Selection Procedure

Submitted shorts will be viewed by two or more members of the festival’s selection committee, all programming decisions are made at the discretion of the festival and all decisions are final! Our finalists will then be judged by our festival jury and winners will not be announced until the night of our short film showcase.

The festival team will not provide comments on films before submission, or reasons for rejection, however, we are happy to provide informal feedback on individual films after the festival has taken place.

Contact

For all enquiries, please contact info@DHIFF.com