Rules

ART. 1 – Submission
Registration for the competition has to be made by the on-line platforms. The director pays the fee ( not refundable) relative to the category and to the period of registration. The open call starts from July 15th, 2025 to May 5st, 2026.

HORROR SHORT CATEGORIES
Earlybird Entry from 15/07/2025 to 29/07/2025 $ 10.00
Middle Standard Entry from 30/07/2025 to 26/08/2025 $15.00
Standard Entry from 27/08/2025 to 29/09/2025 $ 18.00
Extended Standard Entry from 30/09/2025 to 28/10/2025 $ 20.00
Middle Late Entry from 29/10/2025 to 25/11/2025 $ 23.00
Late Entry from 26/11/2025 to 06/01/2026 $ 25.00
Extended Late Entry from 07/01/2026 to 03/02/2026 $ 28.00
Middle Final Entry 04/02/2026 to 03/03/2026 $ 30.00
Final Entry 04/03/2026 to 07/04/2026 $ 33.00
Extended Final Entry 08/04/2026 to 05/05/2026 $ 35.00

HORROR FEATURE CATEGORIES
Earlybird Entry from 15/07/2025 to 29/07/2025 $ 10.00
Middle Standard Entry from 30/07/2025 to 26/08/2025 $15.00
Standard Entry from 27/08/2025 to 29/09/2025 $ 18.00
Extended Standard Entry from 30/09/2025 to 28/10/2025 $ 20.00
Middle Late Entry from 29/10/2025 to 25/11/2025 $ 23.00
Late Entry from 26/11/2025 to 06/01/2026 $ 25.00
Extended Late Entry from 07/01/2026 to 03/02/2026 $ 28.00
Middle Final Entry 04/02/2026 to 03/03/2026 $ 30.00
Final Entry 04/03/2026 to 07/04/2026 $ 33.00
Extended Final Entry 08/04/2026 to 05/05/2026 $ 35.00

ART. 2 Submission requisites
Italian or foreign HORROR Short Films which last up to 30 minutes; Italian or foreign HORROR Feature Films which last up to 120 minutes.

ART. 3 Genres
It’s an HORROR genre film festival. The author is responsible for the content and any disclaimers regarding the material submitted.

ART. 4 SELECTION
Official notification date: May 12th, 2026.
The Films received within the terms above, will be examined by Festival Staff that determines, unquestionably, the admission to the final stage of the Festival. The author(s) of selected films will be contacted by the organization. The Festival Staff will not give feedback to directors regarding the selection or non-selection of films. The full program of screenings will be published on the Festival social channels within May 12th, 2026.

ART. 5 PRESELECTION
May be made a pre-selection of the Films before the late entry deadline, in this case the directors will be contacted by Festival Staff.

ART. 7 ADVERTISING PURPOSES
Festival Staff can use parts of the selected Films for advertising purposes via print, radio, trailer on TV or Cinema or Internet.
After registering for the festival, a post will be made on the event’s social networks with the poster of the registered work.

ART. 8 Acceptance of Rules and Regulations
Participation in the competition implies acceptance of these rules. Festival Staff reserves the right to make any changes to the rules and regulations and how to deal with any controversial matters. It’s strictly forbidden to privately contact the staff and jury members during the selection period of the festival, punishment: exclusion from the competition.

PRIVACY
Subscribers to the Horror ShowFest, agree as established by Decree 30 June 2003, No. 196 on the protection of privacy, the use of personal data for all initiatives related to the event. The author of the work declares to accept the regulation in all its parts, you have the legal availability of the film and to authorize the public screening without compensation, freeing the organization of the Festival from any responsibility for the present and future. By entering the competition each author is responsible for the content of his works. The author declares to hold all rights to the work, not in any way prejudicing the rights of third parties, such as other authors, subjects portrayed, transferees of rights, along with those of music, etc. It also declares that the audiovisual material used is not protected by SIAE. Pursuant to the provisions of Legislative Decree. 30/06/2003 n. 196, we inform the author that the provision of data required and necessary for the completion of the documentation of enrollment in the Festival.