Glowflare Horror Film Festival is an independent horror film festival founded in 2024 by Daniel Smales, is produced and presented by Glowflare. The festival celebrates the art of filmmaking in horror genres, offering a platform for independent filmmakers from the UK and internationally to showcase their work. The festival took place in Beverley, United Kingdom. The event has been hosted since 2025 at Parkway Cinemas an independent cinema known for its modern facilities and support for independent film events.
The festival welcomes short and feature length films of horror genre and sub genres. Submissions are managed through FilmFreeway, a platform that simplifies the process for filmmakers to submit their works to festivals.
History Founded in 2024, submissions for the inaugural event were opened exclusively through FilmFreeway on 11 August 2024. The festival was announced publicly by Daniel Smales, the festival director, in April 2025. The festival accepted both short (under 40 minutes) and feature-length films, with submissions categorised under animation, comedy, folk horror, found footage, gore/extreme, monster/creature, psychological, science fiction/fantasy, slasher, supernatural, and zombie. Tickets for the first festival were made available through the Parkway Cinemas website on 4 April 2025. Final submissions was accepted until 18 April 2024. Submissions included works from both local and international filmmakers, with entries from the United States, Canada, and Europe, highlighting the festival's openness to international participation.
"All This Time," "The Reign of Queen Ginnarra," and "The Cellar" were announced as part of the first official selections for the 2025 Glowflare Horror Film Festival, as reported by the Yorkshire Times. The official trailer for the 2025 Glowflare Horror Film Festival was released on 10 May 2025 on YouTube, offering a preview of the films and events scheduled for the festival's inaugural edition. The final line-up was announced on 12 May 2025. The 2025 programme featured films produced across a wide range of budgets, from no-budget shorts to feature films completed for up to $350,000 (approximately £280,000), reflecting the diversity of production scales in independent horror filmmaking. Award nominations was announced on 13 May 2025.
The short film "Sour Tooth" by Inverclyde-based filmmakers Scott McIntosh, Cameron McDonald, and Rachael McAlonan premiered at the 2025 Glowflare Horror Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Editing and Best Film Made for Under £1,000. The festival concluded with an awards ceremony on 18 May, where All This Time won Best Feature Film, Best Director (Rob Worsey), Best Actor (Daniel De Bourg), and the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature. Other winners included Tears of Sorrow for Best Short Film, and Lost Angels for Best Screenplay and Best Editing.
Submissions opened for its 2026 season on 1 May 2025, reflecting its intention to become a recurring event on the film festival calendar.
In August 2026, Glowflare Horror Film Festival became a member of the Film Festival Alliance.
Official Selection
The following is the list of films selected for the inaugural Glowflare Horror Film Festival in 2025:
2025 Season (17-18 May 2025) Project Director(s) Runtime Type Country All This Time Rob Worsey 1:29:00 Feature Blood on the Bleachers Chase Dudley 13:40 Feature Candy Giuseppe Marino 16:03 Short Chainsaws Were Singing Sander Maran 1:57:33 Feature Disease Alex Masciotra-Milstein 4:58 Short Evil Dinner Jose Murzia 10:10 Short Firecrow Markham Samuels 19:55 Short Goodnight Sweetheart Kathrin Told 28:43 Short Gretchen Dean Addison 18:20 Short How To Kill Monsters Stewart Sparke 01:35:00 Feature Karen Dean Addison & Marc Zammit 13:58 Short Lady and the Tooth Shaun Clark 8:00 Short Lost Angels Peder Pedersen 01:35:47 Feature Mother Mary Warren Dudley 17:15 Short Rip Advisor Ludovic Matthey 9:48 Short Sanitorium Bruno Martínez 14:00 Short Shape in the Lake Falko Jakobs 22:00 Short Tears of Sorrow Jodie R. Tuccio 7:47 Short The Abyss Orlando Del Maestro, Josh Flower 5:51 Short The Allure Josh Wood 13:30 Short The Birdwatcher Ryan Mackfall 13:40 Short The Cellar Jamie Langlands 2:06 Feature The Dead of Winter Stephen Graves 11:42 Short The Five Stages of… Glenn L Lisser 06:00 Short The Reign of Queen Ginnarra Lawrie Brewster 1:39:00 Feature The Xmascist Andy Winward 06:58 Short Uncanny Valley Diego Pino 9:00 Short
2026 Season (5-6 September 2026) Title Director(s) Runtime Type Country A Ghost at Gilmore House Oliver Mitchell 1:36:04 Feature A Night at Morgrave Manor Xavier Grehan 14:56 Short Arcana Lester Platt 08:28 Short Archai Eugenio villani 1:26:00 Short Bright Eyes Kieren Hardy 07:25 Short Crèche & Burn Frank O'Neil 03:53 Short Exhibit B David Gregory 13:09 Short Gumboro Dimitris Vavatsis 21:00 Short Hag Brooke deRosa 13:17 Short Haunted Henry Gary J Hewitt 10:55 Short Jimmy David-Jan Bronsgeest 1:20:00 Feature Lest We Forget Scott Newman 16:00 Short Marrow Jay T Grimes 10:00 Short Match Victor Basallote 08:00 Short Mr. Whispers Dorian Todd, Oliver Revie, Seumas MacNeil 1:25:54 Feature Necrosectos Javier Lozano 09:53 Short Obsessed cliff mello 05:00 Short Olga Z Tennyson 15:48 Short Painted Devil Bruno Pimentel 05:00 Short Pleased to Kill You Adolfo Vico 13:30 Short Prey Switch Falko Jakobs 20:00 Short Qui Insieme Fabio Langella 12:10 Short Rear Road Roberto Montalbo 16:00 Short Script Piero Cannata 08:10 Short Serumel Kate Grey 09:50 Short Shadows Christos Nektarios Mavromatis 14:20 Short Southern Nightmare Charlie Steeds 1:33:15 Feature Spoiling You Megan Tremethick 1:28:00 Feature Surprise! Dave Gardner 10:30 Short Sweet Child of mine Fereshteh Nezakati rezapour 14:00 Short The Black Dog Sophia Peaslee 12:21 Short The Caretaker Luke Tedder 1:53:00 Feature The House on Lidderman Street Andrew David Barker 1:20:00 Feature The Last Sleep Federica Bertellotti 14:56 Short The Rabbit Dylan Hamar 10:08 Short The Severing Nicholas Kaiden 19:23 Short The Shug Martin J . Pickering 1:26:00 Feature Undying Love Anca Vaida 00:59 Short Virus Detected Geoff Harmer, Chris Josty, James Plumb, James Morrissey, Charlie Bond, James Hamer-Morton, Paul Cousins, Samuel Rush 1:15:42 Feature Voodoo Party Richard Anthony Dunford 08:23 Short
Awards The festival recognises the achievements of filmmakers in variety of the following awards.
Best Feature Film Best Short Film Best Director Best Screenplay Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Score Best Sound Design Best Special Effects (Practical or CGI) Best Hair & Makeup Best Creature Design Best Film Made for £50,000 or Less Best Film Made for £1,000 or Less Best Kill Scene Best Gorefest Best Villain Audience Choice Award(s)
+ Key Award Nomination Award Winner
(2025) Season Nominations & Award Winners Award Nominee / Award Winner Best Feature Film Best Short Film Best Director Best Screenplay Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Score Best Sound Design Best Special Effects Best Hair & Makeup Best Creature Design Best Film Made for £50,000 or Less Best Film Made for £1,000 or Less Best Kill Scene Best Gorefest Best Villain Audience Choice
(2026) Season Nominations Award Nominee / Award Winner Best Feature Film Best Short Film Best Director Best Screenplay Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Score Best Sound Design Best Special Effects (Practical or CGI) Best Hair Makeup Best Creature Design (Practical or CGI) Best Film Made for £50000 or Less Best Film Made for £1000 or Less Best Kill Scene Best Gorefest Best Villain
References
External links
Official Website Glowflare Horror Film Festival on FilmFreeway Glowflare Horror Film Festival on IMDb Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Mubi Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Letterboxd Glowflare Horror Film Festival on British Council Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Facebook Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Twitter Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Instagram Glowflare Horror Film Festival on Threads Glowflare Horror Film Festival on YouTube