Dark Escape Film Fest ()

Festival start: 05 June 2020      Festival end: 07 June 2020

The first annual Dark Escape Film Fest (DEFfest) will take place for three days (June 5th-7th) at the Greenwich Odeum in beautiful downtown East Greenwich (Rhode Island).

Our festival is a three day event packed with feature films, shorts, filmmakers & actors, industry insiders, media, special guest panels and an epic awards ceremony. Our film festival is sponsored by film distributor Uncork'd Entertainment, and their CEO Keith Leopard will be attending as a programmer & judge.

As filmmakers ourselves, and having experienced festivals like Sitges in Barcelona, A Night of Horror in Sydney, Feratum in Mexico, MonsterFest in Melbourne, TIFF 'Midnight Madness' and many others, we are COMPLETELY determined to create a wild genre film festival that premieres the best horror, fantasy, sci-fi & action thrillers on the festival circuit. Our festival is dedicated to both the filmmakers attending and the unbelievable fans that support independent horror.
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We believe there isn't a better form of escapism than going to a kickass movie, and we aim to find to the best new voices in genre cinema and celebrate them with a worthy festival.

Cash Prizes: 1,500$

Dark Escape Film Fest (DEFfest) awards a variety film awards the films, filmmakers & actors it showcases. our three day festival weekend will be finished with all encompassing awards ceremony with a special host.

- 'Feature Film Jury Competition' with prizes for Best Film, Director, Screenwriting, Cinematography, Sound Design, Film Editing, Special Effects, Best Actor, Best Actress

- 'Feature Film Audience Awards' with trophies for Best Film, Scariest Film, Best Action in a Film, Best Actor, Best Actress

- The 'DEFfest Shorts' short Film Competition with prizes for Best film, Best Director, Scariest Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Audience Favorite

- Awards for 'Best Music Videos' with prizes for Best Music Video, Best Song in a Music Video, Best Cinematography in a Music Video

The Dark Escape Film Fest seeks independent feature-length and short films from around the world in any of the following main genre groups:
- Horror
- Supernatural, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
- Action, Thriller, Suspense
- Cult
- Dark Comedy
- Music Video (with a genre connection)
- Documentary (with a genre connection)
- Animation (with a genre connection)

The 1st annual Dark Escape Film Festival will take place June 5th-7th 2020

1. Submission Deadlines
Submissions will be accepted from August 15 2019. The final deadline is April 1, 2020.

2. Submission Eligibility
- All submissions must have been completed after January 1, 2018.
- Dark Escape Film Fest requires at least a Rhode Island Premiere for any feature or short film.
- Works-in-progress are accepted.

3. Festival Screenings
Dark Escape Film Fest has the capability to screen Digital Cinema Package (DCP). Blu-ray will be used as well.


If selected, all commercial/private property including all trademark/copyrighted materials shown or recorded on the project is the responsibility of the filmmaker.

By submitting an entry, filmmaker states that he or she is responsible as an agent to promote the film and that the film is an original work.

Participants agree that clips and images from their film may be used and/or published in the Dark Escape Film Fest program guide, on our web site and for any promotional purposes which Dark Escape Film Fest deems appropriate.