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HALLOWEEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS OCT. 23-24, 2026!
The Halloween International Film Festival is a destination horror event celebrating independent film and the most hallowed of seasons, held on the historic and haunted Outer Banks of North Carolina, presented by Halloween Daily News.
The multi-day festival features independent horror and Halloween-themed films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure, all taking place as part of the town of Manteo’s Halloween Island festivities, during which area restaurants, bars, and hotels transform into Halloween pop-ups for October.
In addition to selected shorts and feature films screened, the festival also showcases Q&A panels with attending filmmakers, nightly meet and greets, photo ops on our Orange Carpet, and more.
The Halloween International Film Festival returns October 23-24, 2026. Film submissions are now open.
Additional details, including venue, hotel discounts, and more, will be revealed soon.
Our call for entries officially opened on Friday, March 13, accepting short film and feature film submissions for consideration for the 2026 Halloween International Film Festival exclusively via FilmFreeway. Click here to submit a film.
Early Deadline – March 31
Spring Deadline – May 31
Summer Deadline – July 13
Final Deadline – August 13
ATTEND
GET TICKETS HERE SOON!
Best Feature Film – HAUNT SEASON (dir. Jake Jarvi)
Best Short Film – WHITCH (dir. Hoku Uchiyama)
Best Halloween Film – JUST STAY IN (dir. Noah. J. Welter)
Best International Film – GROUPCHAT (dir. Dan Brownlie)
Best North Carolina Film – THE TALK (dir. Cameron Voris)
Scariest Film – SCRATCH (dir. Michael Trainotti)
Best Lead Performance – KAYLA CROMER (Rough Cut / dir. Mitchell V. Slan)
Best Supporting Performance – SARAH ZINSSER (Grandma, May I / dir. Gage Zanghi)
Breakthrough Filmmaker – GAGE ZANGHI (Grandma, May I)
OFFICIAL HIFF SHIRTS AVAILABLE!
Support the Halloween International Film Festival by owning t-shirts from throughout our history, each featuring that year’s official poster on the front and all of the selected films listed on the back, and we just launched our 2025 t-shirt!
Order HIFF 2016 (inaugural) shirt here.
NEW! Order HIFF 2025 shirt here.
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ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Held on North Carolina’s historic and haunted Outer Banks, home of America’s first unsolved mystery, the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, and the nearby site of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, this destination event features three days of independent genre films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure.
Founded in 2016 by Matt and Sue Artz, the Halloween International Film Festival is a Gold-ranked festival on the world’s top film festival submission platform, FilmFreeway.
Previous Official Selections include The Barn (2016 Best Halloween Film and Best Feature Film Award Winner), 3 Dead Trick or Treaters, 10/31, The Haunt (2017 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2018 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), Epic Home Haunts (2019 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Winner), They Live Inside Us (2020 Best Halloween Film), Mass Hysteria (2020 Best Feature Film), and Haunt Season (2025 Best Feature Film).
Special invitational Showcase Selections from previous years include Honeyspider, The Houses October Built 2, Candy Corn, and the world premieres of 10/31 Part II and Sharp Candy.
Follow the Halloween Film Festival official Facebook page HERE!
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