ABOUT US

We are non-elitist and non-political, and welcome entries from all Fortean (and non-Fortean) filmmakers around the globe irrespective of age or experience.

It is a multi-level award festival with opportunities to receive award laurels and trophies for OFFICIAL SELECTION, SCREENING SELECTION, HONORABLE MENTION, BRONZE, SILVER, GOLD, and PLATINUM awards in each category.

The 'Judge's Award for Best of Show' will be presented to the submission which they deem to be the overall best entrant in the festival.

There will also be an 'Audience Choice Award' which attendees of the live event will be able to vote for in-person.

WHAT DOES 'FORTEAN' MEAN?

Fortean - /ˈfôrdēən/ /ˈfɔrdiən/

adjective.

1. A subject of the unexplained, unknown, paranormal, supernatural or strange/anomalous phenomena. 
2. Of or relating to 'Charles Fort' (6th August 1874 – 3rd May 1932); he was an American writer and researcher who studied anomalous phenomena.

noun.

1. A person who studies and investigates the unexplained.

WHY CHOOSE US?

There are many perks to submitting your project to the 'International Fortean Film Festival', which include: -

• A guarantee that your project will be viewed and judged by an international panel of industry professionals from the world of film and television, from both in front and behind the camera, with a wealth of connections to numerous mainstream television networks, distributors and media outlets.
• The Fortean Film Festival and MegaFlix Film Awards are both IMDb approved festivals.
• FREE SUBMISSION for the category of 'Best Film Poster/Press Kit'.
• Guaranteed free publicity for all official selections via our social media platforms.
• The potential for publicity through interviews on established genre-specific YouTube channels and podcasts, as well as the possibility of being interviewed by the prestigious 'Fortean Times' magazine.
• The potential for reviews to be published in a range of media forms with a range of media outlets, including British national newspapers.
• A non-elitist approach which will offer constructive feedback to every submission.
• Bespoke selection and award laurels.
• This festival aims to champion British filmmakers with a specialist category for 'Best British Short'.
• Discount on submission for FilmFreeway Gold members.
• The creators of the most exceptional submissions may be invited to join the judging panel for the next season of the festival, offering a potential opportunity to gain experience behind the scenes of the judging process and live film screenings.
• A great opportunity to network with industry professionals and have your project catch the eyes of international distributors.
• The chance to have your film screened at independent cinemas in the UK outside of the festival.
• All entrants to our festivals will be eligible to receive an exclusive 35% discount on services offered by our official partners 'ScreenReaders'; however, those filmmakers submitting work specifically to the 'ScreenReaders' category for Best Screenplay in the MegaFlix Film Awards who achieve a Platinum Award will also win a free basic service from 'ScreenReaders'. All other award levels in this specific category (including honorable mentions) will be offered a 50% discount on their services.
• Winners in the 'Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena' category for Best Paranormal Investigation Film at the Fortean Film Festival will also receive a full year's membership to ASSAP, including copies of their journals and magazines; and additionally, vouchers to the value of £150 redeemable with our official partners at 'InfraReady' will be shared among the winners of this category.
• All entrants to our festivals are eligible to receive an exclusive 10% discount on services offered by our official partners 'Cotswold Costumes' for wardrobe hire on UK based projects.
• Entrants of our festivals will also receive a 50% discount code for either the 'Highlands Horror Film Festival' or the 'Highlands Comedy Film Festival', based in New Jersey, USA.

THE EVENT

The event takes place on the last UK Bank Holiday weekend of the summer each year. The award winners and honorable mentions will be announced after midday on the Sunday of that weekend, right here on the official website of the Fortean Film Festival, FilmFreeway (and also on social media).

To kick off the festival, there will be a private party sponsored by the 'Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena' (ASSAP) on the opening night of Friday 2nd September 2022 from 9pm-1am where VIPs, stars of selected movies and television shows, filmmakers, distributors and festival organisers will be able to network and socialise. A lucky few fans and cinephiles will be able to buy tickets to attend this VIP event and have a 'meet and greet' experience with the stars and creators of their favourite shows and movies.

There will be a full day of film screenings on Saturday 3rd September at the Sherborne Cinema in Gloucester, after which our partners at 'Gloucester Paranormal Investigation Services' will meet attendees of the event and filmmakers to take them on a paranormal tour of haunted Gloucester.

Additionally, ASSAP will hold virtual screenings of a selection of films as part of their 'Seriously Strange' conference at the University of Bath, across the weekend from Saturday 3rd September, through the Sunday 4th September.

Live screenings will be held annually at physical locations in the United Kingdom; however, in any such event that a lockdown may impact the in-person live event, there will be provisions made for an online alternative as a contingency measure to ensure the festival definitely takes place.

Films which do not have a Fortean theme can be submitted, but will automatically be placed into the 'MegaFlix Film Awards'.

OUR CERTIFICATES HAVE NOW BEEN SUPERCEDED BY OUR TROPHIES. FILMMAKERS WHO HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED CERTIFICATES FOR THE 2022 SEASON WILL RECEIVE THEM ONCE OUR ADMIN TEAM HAS FINISHED PROCESSING THESE (USUALLY NO LONGER THAN 10 WORKING DAYS AFTER THE FESTIVAL).

SUBMISSIONS ENTERED INTO ONE SINGLE CATEGORY WHICH THE JUDGING PANEL DEEM TO FIT IN OTHER CATEGORIES MAY BE MOVED INTO ANOTHER CATEGORY OR JUDGED IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR EVERY OFFICIAL SELECTION TO BE SCREENED AT THE LIVE EVENT.

THE CINEMA IS FOLLOWING THE CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE 'UK CINEMA ASSOCIATION'.