Through April 1
Showcasing local creators of the horror genre(s), season 2 of The Akron Independent Horror Short Film Festival is a celebration of frightening Ohio Filmmakers. Far fanatics are strongly encouraged to save the date, September 20th, 2025, at the Akron Civic Theatre.
Citing a generous donation from Isabelle George, this year’s event is offering $2,000 in cash prizes for Best of Festival, runner-up, and two honorable mention awards. Entries will be judged on 12 individual categories across a five-point system. Scoring will be based on originality, direction, writing, cinematography, performance, production-vaule, pacing, structure, editing, and sound. As they say, the devil is in the details.
Early first-look submissions are $10 and open until April 1st. Final-look submissions at $25 and close on July 1st. Participants will receive official selection or rejection notification by August 1st, 2025. Filmmakers are asked to provide a photo, bio, trailer and poster for each film submission.
Stay tuned for even updates here.
For questions about the festival, email event staff at AIHSFF@gmail.com.