HARD:LINE International Film Festival (13)

Inicio Festival: 16 abril 2026      Fin Festival: 22 abril 2026

HARD:LINE International Film Festival aims to present the various faces of extreme cinema.

The question as to what is meant by the term “extreme” can be understood by looking at the content of our wide selection of fantastic films. “Extreme” is often defined by an explicit splatter aesthetic but it can also be represented by unusual story-telling methods or an exotic visual language. Thus, we are meticulously selecting such examples that could be important in the future of the genre. We have not set any boundaries in our search and whether a film is a pearl of the independent scene, fun splatter or no-brainer, H:LIFF loves special films!

HARD:LINE International Film Festival is no warehouse festival where the priority is to show as many films as possible but rather concentrates on presenting a few glowing examples of everything that extreme film can be.

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THANK YOU FOR BEING A FILMMAKER!

You and your work are the reasons why we do exist!

We are primarily an audience-driven festival that focuses on entertaining the festival attendees which is why we have dispensed with an elaborate jury process and have instead left it up to the festival goers to decide what they find interesting and exciting. Every film has the chance of becoming the festivals darling except for the opening and closing film. These films are part of special events with parties, concerts, speeches and a lot of fun.

The audiences favourite will be awarded with the Golden Razor Blade for the best feature film. The best short in the eyes of the festival goers will be provided with the Silver Razor Blade. The prizes are not doted.

Besides that we are aware of how important a professional point of view may be for you as a filmmaker. This is why an international jury will judge your short films in order to hand out the Silver Melies Award of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF). Please note that the submissions for the short film section need to be European productions. The winner will be nominated for the best European short, awarded by the Federation itself at Sitges Fantastic Film Festival every year. Therefore, your short film must not be awarded at another Melies D’Argent competition. If your film won at another MIFF-Festival, you cannot be awarded at H:LIFF.

Beside the European productions we do select the same amount of shorts from the international genre circuit. Eight films are running in the competition for the Méliès D'Argent Award, eight titles will be screened out of competition.

Awards:

- Golden Razor Blade (Audience Award, Best Feature)

- Silver Razor Blade (Audience Award, Best Short)

- Méliès D’Argent Award (Best European Short)

Special Selections:

- Directors Spotlight (Just the latest film is in competition)

- Opening Night (Out of competition)

- Closing Night (Out of competition)

- International Short Highlights (Out of competition)

H:LIFF is an annual festival held in Regensburg, Germany. The festival is dedicated to exploring and celebrating extreme cinema. This term means that we are strictly focused on horror, thriller and science-fiction. The festival concentrates on presenting a few glowing examples of everything that extreme film can be.

I. GENERAL RULES AND CONDITIONS

a) Your film must be a genre flick (more precisely: horror, thriller or sci-fi).

b) We only screen fictional films (no documentaries).

c) For films in languages others than English, we require English subtitles.

d) Submitted films should have been produced within the last two years.

e) Films must not have been publicly screened in Germany previously.

f) The submitting person must have the permission of the right owner to submit.

g) All rights (music, based on, etc) are clarified by the filmmaker.

h) As for the screening itself the movie should be available as BluRay, HD-Video-File or DCP.

i) Submitted films must be made by human beeings. We do not accept AI-generated content.

j) Accepted running time for submitted feature films is 70 to 150 minutes, for submitted short films a maximum of 20 minutes.

Please note that submissions which are going against these simple rules will be rejected automatically.

II. SHORT FILMS (competition)

a-i) Same as I

j) In order to run in the mélies competition where we are searching the best European production the submitted films needs to be European (team from, made in or money from Europe).

k) In case the film is not European at all, it is not allowed to be part of the Melies-competition. But it can be selected anyway.

l) Non European shorts will run out of competition labeled as international Highlights.

m) All (!) selected films are eligible to win the Audience Award for short films (Silver Razor Blade)

III. THE SELECTION PROCESS

a) We will view all the submissions until end of January.

b) We will determine which titles we would like to present and will contact you should your submission be among the selections.

c) Thereafter we can negotiate the conditions for the screening.

d) By the end of February, every film should have been either accepted or rejected. In any case, you will hear back from us.

We are looking forward to get your movie submitted!