Visceral Festival Internacional de Cine de Terror (1)

Festival start: 30 October 2025      Festival end: 31 October 2025

Visceral, International Horror Film Festival, emerges as a project to showcase, disseminate, and promote genre cinema in the Biobío region. It provides an opportunity to bring cinematic works from around the world to the local audience, structured around a program that includes short film screenings, talks with filmmakers, and audiovisual workshops, with a cultural, artistic, and entertainment focus on horror and its various subgenres.

Among our objectives, we aim to position ourselves as a local, regional, national, and international reference within the genre festival circuit, offering a unique thematic experience for filmmakers who submit their films through the recognition of their work via selection and subsequent awards for the most outstanding pieces of each edition. We also seek to enhance the experience for our attendees, who will have the chance to watch, discuss, and share in a space dedicated to genre cinema, as well as participate as jurors through public voting.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

The jury, which will be announced before the festival begins and is composed of representatives from the national audiovisual, artistic, and/or creative fields, will select a single winner in the PENUMBRA category, NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, and a single winner in the ULTRATOMB category, INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION.

The AUDIENCE AWARD will also be presented for a short film that can be in either of the two competing categories, even if it has already won in one of them. This recognition will be based on the average votes cast by attendees during the in-person screenings on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, and FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025, at the end of each screening.

If all necessary criteria are not met, the jury and/or the festival organization may declare any of the awards or recognitions void.

AWARD PRESENTATION

All awards and recognitions will be presented in person to the winners of the PENUMBRA category, NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, and ULTRATOMB category, INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, who attend the festival's closing ceremony. Shipping costs will not be covered for those who are unable to attend.

All participants in the PENUMBRA category, NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, and ULTRATOMB category, INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION, will receive the official laurels of the event, as well as a certificate of participation, which will be sent via email.

01. IMPORTANT DATES

Visceral, International Horror Film Festival, will take place on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, and FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025, in the commune of Concepción, Biobío Region, Chile.

The submission of works opens with the publication of these call bases on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024, and closes for all competing categories on MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2025, with three stages of registration:

EARLY CALL From October 31, 2024, to December 31, 2024

REGULAR CALL From January 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025

EXTENDED CALL From April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025

02. COMPETITION CATEGORIES

The official competition of the festival will be divided into 2 categories:

PENUMBRA, NATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

In this category, up to 2 works can be submitted by all national filmmakers residing in Chile, students of audiovisual careers, graduates, professionals in the field, and horror film enthusiasts who have created a short film during the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, inclusive. The film must belong to the horror genre and its multiple subgenres, with a minimum length of 3 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes, including credits.

ULTRATOMB, INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

In this category, up to 2 works can be submitted by all filmmakers residing anywhere in the world except Chile, students of audiovisual careers, graduates, professionals in the field, and horror film enthusiasts who have created a short film during the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, inclusive. The film must belong to the horror genre and its multiple subgenres, with a minimum length of 3 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes, including credits.

03. REGISTRATIONS

The festival organization will accept all submissions for the competing categories only through the platform FESTHOME, which will be available from THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024, until MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2025. Please note that the closing time for submissions is based on the local time of the platforms. Consult the terms and conditions of use for each, as applicable.

You can request the direct link to each platform through our social media via direct message or email.

Incomplete works, submissions through other means, late submissions, or those that do not correspond to the event's theme will not be accepted.

04. ASSOCIATED COSTS

The registration fee will depend on the submission date of the audiovisual piece and does not include payment for the use of the submission platforms, detailed below in U.S. dollars:

EARLY CALL From October 31, 2024, to December 31, 2024: FREE REGISTRATION for ALL CATEGORIES

REGULAR CALL From January 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025: NATIONAL COMPETITION REGISTRATION: $5 USD INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION REGISTRATION: $10 USD

EXTENDED CALL From April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025: NATIONAL COMPETITION REGISTRATION: $10 USD INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION REGISTRATION: $20 USD

The registration fee, once paid, is non-refundable under any circumstances.

05. REQUIRED MATERIAL

Each applicant must correctly fill out the data within the submission platforms, including:

a. The audiovisual piece for online viewing by the selection team on a video platform, preferably YouTube, as unlisted content. Spanish subtitles available on the video (for works not spoken in Spanish)

b. A minimum of 3 stills in maximum quality from the work.

c. Poster of the short film (if available).

d. A high-quality photograph of the director(s).

Occasionally, a download of the audiovisual piece may be requested during the curation process, which does not guarantee its selection for the competition, so it is advised to keep the option enabled on the submission platform.

The festival is not responsible for the availability, visibility, accessibility, or expiration of the link to the short film or any associated material, and the applicant must ensure compliance. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

06. COPYRIGHT

By registering their work, the applicant declares that they hold all rights to it, both image and sound. The festival will not be responsible for any copyright violations or consequences arising from such issues with any submitted works.

A rights transfer agreement for free exhibition during the festival days and future screenings will be signed by each representative of the selected works.

The mere registration automatically grants the festival the right to use up to 3 minutes of the work for non-profit promotion and dissemination of the festival through any communication means deemed appropriate, both before and during the event, as well as at subsequent screenings or events.

07. SELECTION

The selection of works will be carried out by a committee designated by the festival, and their decision is final.

The results of the official selection will be communicated via the FESTHOME platform for all registered participants, and only via email and our social media for those selected on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2025.

If selected, the applicant must send the digital file of the short film along with the requested material by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2025, meeting the following requirements: a. .mp4 format

b. H.264 video codec
c. 1920x1080p resolution
d. Stereo sound
e. Maximum size of 5 GB
f. Spanish subtitles embedded in the video (for works not in Spanish)

Failure to comply will be understood as withdrawing from participation in the festival, resulting in exclusion from the competition and programming, with no possibility of appeal.

08. RECEIPT & EXHIBITION

The reception of selected works for the official festival competition will be via Wetransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, Send GB, or similar file transfer services. Physical submissions will not be accepted.

The selected short films will be exhibited during the festival on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, and FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025, in person in the commune of Concepción. The number of screenings will be announced in the festival program, along with any changes to the exhibition format.

Once selected and received, no work may be withdrawn from the event's programming.

The festival does not pay any fees to representatives of the works for exhibition-related matters.

09. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Participation in the festival implies knowledge and full acceptance of the conditions described in this document, as well as all information provided subsequently by the festival organization.

The festival reserves the right to modify, correct, change, expand, reduce, add, and/or eliminate any point within these bases, if deemed necessary for the proper development of the selection process, curation, programming, awards, and execution of the event.

The decisions of the selection committee, jury, and festival are not subject to appeal under any premeditated or accidental circumstances.

Any exceptions, doubts, conflicts, divergences, or discrepancies will be evaluated and resolved solely by the festival organization.

10. CONTACT

For questions, concerns, inquiries, or any requests related to participation in the official competition of this edition of the festival, please write an email to:
visceralfilmfestival@gmail.com

For sponsorships, collaborations, partnerships, and/or commercial inquiries, please write an email to:
makinariaudiovisual@gmail.com

On social media, we can be found as:
Facebook: Visceral Film Festival / Makinaria Audiovisual
Instagram: @visceralfilmfestival / @makinariacl
YouTube: Visceral Film Festival / Makinaria Audiovisual
TikTok: Visceral Film Festival / Makinaria Audiovisual

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