Call for Entries: 2009 Eerie Horror Film Festival Screenplay Competition

The 2009 Eerie Horror Screenplay Call for Entries is now open, offering beginning, aspiring and veteran screenwriters in the horror genre a chance to have their work recognized by people in the industry and beyond.

The winning screenplays and finalists will receive awards, be announced on all Eerie Horror Film Festival websites and the top 3 winners information will be forwarded directly to industry professionals for review.

The deadline for Screenplay entries is August 1, 2009.

Winners will be announced no later than September 1, 2009.

Since its debut in October of 2004, the Eerie Horror Film Festival has quickly become one of the most popular and respected events of its kind in the country.

Each year the Eerie Horror Film Festival attracts thousands of fans, filmmakers and screenwriters to the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, for a four day celebration of independent cinema, featuring special celebrity guests, screenings and workshops.

The competition based event opens its call for entries each season on Halloween day and accepts film and screenplay submissions from all around the world, with a special discount for students 10 - 17 years of age.

Nearly 300 films have been shown at the festival since its inception, including several world premieres and movies that eventually secured distribution deals with major companies.

With their current and ever expanding contacts, the Eerie Horror Film Festival hopes to play an active role in connecting their filmmakers and screenwriters directly with those within the industry.

Eerie Horror Film Festival Advisory Board members Tony Todd ("Candyman"), Sid Haig ("House of 1,000 Corpses"), Dave Alexander (of Rue Morgue Magazine) and Steve (Uncle Creepy) Barton of Dread Central.com are kept up to date on all festival activities and alerted to any extraordinary film and screenplay submissions.

Our past guests have included Jason Mewes ("Clerks"), Adrienne Barbeau ("The Fog"), Dee Wallace Stone ("E.T."), Sid Haig ("The Devil's Rejects"), Tom Savini ("Grindhouse"), Kane Hodder ("Friday the 13th" series), James Duval ("Donnie Darko"), Michael Berryman ("The Hills Have Eyes"), Jerry Only ("The Misfits"), PJ Soles ("Halloween"), Tony Todd ("Candyman"), Lloyd Kaufman ("Toxic Avenger"), Gunnar Hansen ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Ed Neal ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick ("The Omen"), Tony Moran ("Halloween"), Lynn Lowry ("I Drink Your Blood"), Nancy Loomis ("Halloween"), Don Edmonds ("Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS"), Charles Cyphers ("Halloween"), Kenny Miller ("I Was a Teenage Werewolf"), Eugene Clark ("Land of the Dead"), Tom Atkins ("Halloween III"), Alex Vincent ("Child's Play"), Joe Pilato ("Day of the Dead") and Academy Award nominated director John Hancock.

Fans can always meet their favorite stars, buy horror related merchandise and converse with film company representatives at the Carnival of Carnage Expo, held in conjunction with our film screenings during the weekend of the Fest.

Throughout the year, the Eerie Horror Film Festival takes part in several community events, including Celebrate Erie, which attracts more than 100,000 people. The Eerie Horror Film Festival donates a percentage of their ticket and merchandise sales to Make-A-Wish each season and makes a sizable donation to The Second Harvest Food Bank as well.

The Festival hopes that their efforts continue to attract attention, tourism and economic impact to the Erie County area and that they can provide an even bigger and better event for attendees each and every year.

The next Eerie Horror Film Festival & Expo takes place October 8-11, 2009 at the prestigious Warner Theater in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Updated: 03/05/2009

Additional Contest Info: Eerie Horror Screenplay Competition