The fest
Dead by Dawn is the UK's longest running genre film festival, established in 1993. It is a unique festival, celebrating the finest independent film-making with a focus on emerging talent. Our approach to horror is broad; story is paramount, as are humour, suspense and atmosphere. We welcome lifelong fans and the genre-curious to discover the breadth of unusual stories lurking under the 'horror' banner! Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin...we have such sights to show you!
Next year
Dead by Dawn will return in 2017 and we'll be announcing our dates and submissions deadlines soon.
2016 audience award winners
Best Animation was won by David Romero’s OTHER LILY. You can now check it out online.
Best Short was won by Ryan Spindell’s THE BABYSITTER MURDERS. Check out the trailer.
Best Feature was won by Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton’s WE GO ON. Check out the trailer.
Congratulations to all our winners!
At Dead by Dawn, it’s all about the story.
We thrive on films that unsettle us and which address our anxieties and our mortality in vibrant, curious, wry or startling ways.
We're devoted to films that allow us to scare ourselves, to see our own fears materialise in the long shadows and that dark space under the bed.
To me, when the lights go down, the cinema is a sacred place and whether we laugh or squeal, jump or hunker down in our seats, we give ourselves to the terrors unfolding on screen, seen or unseen, known and dreaded or wholly unexpected.
Dead by Dawn is a unique discovery festival, and proud to be the UK’s longest running genre film festival. We’d love you to join us...we have such sights to show you!
Adèle Hartley, Festival Director