Enter at your own risk... submit a Horror short film for the chance to win funding and career development support.
In partnership with
Celluloid Screams, our
DIY Filmmaking Challenge is an opportunity for aspiring filmmakers aged 16-25 in the
North of England to practise their filmmaking skills and create original short films in response to a theme.
For our latest challenge, we want filmmakers to create Horror micro-shorts. The theme we want you to explore is Retro Nightmares, looking back to the films of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s and rebuilding, presenting or reflecting films from this era for a modern-day audience.
Creatively, there are no rules to the DIY Filmmmaking Challenge. We want to see bold, original responses to the theme that showcase who you are as a filmmaker. Production value doesn’t matter, ideas do. You can use whatever equipment you have access to. Films can be any form – live action, animation, documentary, or something in between.
What’s in it for you
Shortlisted films will be presented at a special showcase screening as part of Celluloid Screams in Sheffield. Shortlisted filmmakers will also receive a one-to-one mentoring session with our BFI NETWORK filmmaker development team. One winning filmmaker will receive £1,000 of funding and production support to make a micro-budget short.
Get involved
Practically, there’s only a few things to bear in mind:
- Submitted films should be no longer than 3 minutes
- Films should be your own work, and should have any necessary copyright clearances in place
- Filmmakers should be aged 16-25
- Filmmakers should be based in the North of England
- Filmmakers should have written consent from any participant if their film portrays lived experience. Any sensitive and identifiable information should not be included and instead should be anonymised
- The film must be able to achieve a 15 Age Rating, all shortlisted films will be sent for certification ahead of the screening. If your film is unable to achieve a 15 Age Rating it will not be considered as part of the programme. Please take a look here for more information regarding the BBFC and how they certify their films
- The film must not contain any sexual violence, nudity or sexual content within any of the film submissions, those that do include them here will not be considered as part of the competition.
The deadline for submissions is 23:59 on Tuesday 1 October 2024.
You can submit your film via the online form below.
Celluloid Screams: DIY Challenge screening
Showroom Cinema, Sheffield. Saturday 26 October, 16:00
DIY Filmmaking Challenge: Horror is delivered by Film Hub North as part of BFI Film Academy.
BFI Film Academy offers opportunities for ambitious 16-25 year olds, anywhere in the UK, to get to know more about film and how to forge a career in the screen industries.