Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. Its first edition was October 24 to October 25, 2001 at the Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles. In 2025, the festival celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary and has been credited as being the largest and longest running horror film festival in the United States.
Screamfest premieres and showcases new work from American and international independent horror filmmakers. Films that have premiered at the festival include Paranormal Activity, the series' final installment, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, 30 Days Of Night, Let The Right One In, The Grudge, and The Human Centipede.
Screamfest has received praise from AMC as being an "audience-friendly fest that celebrates indie and foreign horror and is run for the fans more than the industry". The festival was also featured in a 2012 episode of Cupcake Wars, where the winning team would create cupcakes for the festival's closing VIP event.
Skull Awards
The Screamfest Skull Award is awarded at the festival in several categories, which can include the following:- Best Feature
- Directing
- Cinematography
- Editing
- Special Effects
- Musical Score
- Best Animation
- Best Short
- Best Documentary
- Best Student Film
- Trailblazer Award
- Future Icon Award