Dark Scream Film Festival welcomes bold, disturbing, suspenseful, strange, and imaginative stories from filmmakers around the world.

We accept Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Noir, Zombie, Crime, Queer Genre Films, Animation, AI Films, and related dark-genre projects under the following categories:

SCREAM IN SIXTY

One-Minute Horror Films (Maximum Duration: 60 seconds)

Horror and dark-genre films with a maximum total runtime of 60 seconds, including final credits.
Selected, Finalist, and Nominee films in this category are eligible for the Best Scream in Sixty Award.

NIGHTMARE SHORTS

Horror Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short films exploring horror in all its forms, including supernatural, psychological, paranormal, slasher, body horror, folk horror, experimental horror, and other terrifying stories.

DESI NIGHTMARE SHORTS

Indian Horror Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Horror short films from India, celebrating homegrown nightmares, regional stories, folklore, supernatural tales, psychological horror, and contemporary Indian horror filmmaking.

TWISTED REELS

Thriller Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short thriller films built around suspense, mystery, tension, danger, psychological conflict, unexpected twists, or gripping narratives.

DESI TWISTED REELS

Indian Thriller Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Indian short films exploring thriller, suspense, mystery, psychological tension, and other dark or twisted narratives.

THE DEAD WALKING TERROR

Zombie Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short films featuring zombies, the undead, outbreaks, apocalyptic survival, infection, reanimation, or other creative interpretations of the living dead.

STELLAR SHADOWS

Sci-Fi & Noir Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short films combining science fiction, futuristic ideas, dystopian worlds, technology, space, neo-noir, classic noir, mystery, and darker visions of reality.

FORBIDDEN MYTHIC SHADOWS

Fantasy & Dark Fantasy Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short films exploring fantasy and dark fantasy, including mythology, supernatural worlds, dark folklore, magical realism, monsters, forbidden realms, and imaginative tales.

BLOOD SHED MOVIES

Crime Short Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Short films centered around crime, criminals, investigations, murder, revenge, corruption, gangsters, heists, or the darker side of human nature.

HAUNTED FRAMES

Horror Animation Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

Animated horror and dark-genre films created using traditional animation, 2D, 3D, stop-motion, or other animation techniques.

REAL TERROR TALKS

Horror Confessions (Maximum Duration: 10 minutes)

Projects presenting real-life frightening experiences, paranormal encounters, disturbing incidents, personal confessions, unexplained events, or other supposedly true stories of terror.

RAINBOW NIGHTMARES

Queer Genre Films (Maximum Duration: 45 minutes)

LGBTQIA+ films within Horror, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi, Noir, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Zombie, and related dark genres. The category celebrates queer perspectives, characters, filmmakers, and stories within genre cinema.

ARTIFICIAL SCREAMS

AI-Generated / AI-Assisted Films (Maximum Duration: 5 minutes)

Dark-genre films created substantially using artificial intelligence tools, including AI-generated visuals, animation, characters, environments, or other major creative elements.

DARK EPICS

Horror Feature Films (Duration 46-120 minutes)

Feature-length horror films covering supernatural, psychological, paranormal, slasher, folk horror, body horror, creature horror, experimental horror, and other horror subgenres.

SUSPENSEFUL SHADOWS

Thriller Feature Films (Duration 46-120 minutes)

Feature-length thriller films built around suspense, mystery, psychological tension, danger, conspiracy, crime, or unexpected twists.

BEYOND CRIME

Crime, Sci-Fi, Noir, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy & Zombie Feature Films (Duration 46-120 minutes)

Feature-length genre films exploring Crime, Science Fiction, Noir, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Zombies, or stories combining these genres.

DESI DARK SHADOWS

Indian Genre Feature Films (Duration 46-120 minutes)

Feature-length Indian films within Horror, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi, Noir, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Zombie, and related dark genres.

DARK PAGES

Short Horror & Thriller Film Scripts (Page Upto 30 minutes)

Original unproduced short-film screenplays within Horror, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi, Noir, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Zombie, or related dark genres.