Welcome to Our Fest

Genre colors all film, and we're here to celebrate that whether you create sci-fi works, horror, noir, westerns, etc. We love them all. Indie filmmakers are encouraged to submit. We don't have a premiere requirement or any made by dates so don't hesitate to submit. We're looking for the best genre films and scripts regardless of budget. Our jury consists of industry veterans and professionals around the world.

If selected, your film will be screened to a live audience in Tokyo, giving you an incredible opportunity for international exposure!


Please Note: We used to have 4 rounds of judging prior to our Tokyo screening then we switched to 2 but now we've changed to a completely traditional festival format so we won't be doing awards before our screening (so no announcements or results before our Nov event), we won't have any different rounds, and although less films will be selected now like most other festivals, all official selections will screen in Tokyo. Only the official selections will then be eligible for our awards that will be announced after our yearly screening. We used to be partnered with the Bloodstained Indie Film Festival for this as noted before but that is no longer the case so we're both separate now. The screenings of several years ago took place in Shanghai but we changed to Japan a while back.

Web series are welcome and can be submitted under shorts. If we receive enough high quality web series entries, we will have a Best Web Series award, and we may have separate web series genre awards depending on the number of entries. Animated genre films are welcome too and can be submitted under the appropriate category like Horror Short or Sci-Fi Short, etc. If your film fits more than one genre like if it's both Horror and Sci-Fi, you can pick the category you feel is most appropriate but don't worry since we can move it to a different category if necessary. We're not that picky and obviously some films are a blend of different genres but we love to see those too.

Judging Process: Once a film wins a particular category, we don't list it again under nominees in the same category it already won (we felt this was redundant), but of course, a film cannot win without first being nominated by our judges behind the scenes. But in our process, after a film wins a specific category, it changes from nominee to winner in that category so that's why we don't list it again.



2026 Tokyo Festival


Screening Event Schedule

Sunday, November 22, 2026
Cinema House Otsuka
4-7-4-101 Sugamo, Toshima-ku
Tokyo 170-0002
Live In-Person Showing
https://cinemahouseotsuka.com/access/
 
2pm Event Begins
2:03pm BMECTO / substitute (Russian Drama)
2:19pm OUROBOROS. (British Action)
2:24pm A place to stare at the end of the world (Or the last gig of Plan99) (Chilean Sci-Fi)
2:44pm Waking (Chinese Fantasy)
3:00pm The Chick Streamer (South Korean Drama)
3:12pm 5 min Break for Discussion, Bathroom, etc.
3:17pm After the Echo (Japanese Drama)
3:42pm Wishfeather (Australian Fantasy)
3:45pm The Tale of the Girl and the Horse (Italian Western)
3:53pm cut dog (South Korean Fantasy)
4:05pm The Orange of Daydreams (Japanese Drama)
4:31pm My boyfriend, a mannequin (Russian Fantasy)
5:49pm Event Finished
 
Google Maps Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HYJH8GZoZqDzbheB8



Official Selections

MatriarcART - the Red Moment
Stractor
The Life of Terry Brooke
Come Out
Love Off the Track
4th and Going Home
The Not So Great Escape
Foreign Exchange
WeHo Story
Isle of the Lost
The Cage in the Basement
Eye See You
The Scytheman Cometh
Nighthawk
GODHOOD
Crime & Punishment 2121
Rubies, the Gritty, and the Adventurous
Good Ol' Adventure, Oomph, and the Spunkiest of Souls
Crazy Cat Lady
BMECTO / substitute
OUROBOROS.
Waking
The Chick Streamer
After the Echo
Wishfeather
The Tale of the Girl and the Horse
cut dog
The Orange of Daydreams
My boyfriend, a mannequin
A place to stare at the end of the world (Or the last gig of Plan99)
THE THOUSAND FACES OF MARS
The Midnight Well
Day's End
Stars in the Wilderness
The Call of the Owl
Hellraiser II : Leviathan
Night of Vampires in Transylvania
The Place of the Lost Things
Six Guns
Hibernation
Mianmoto
Lazarus Code
The Devil's Highway
Once Upon a Time in Pachuca
A Made-Up Story

2025 Tokyo Festival


Winners

Best Sci-Fi Feature
AIRE, JUST BREATHE

Best Horror Short
The Nest
De Rodillas

Best Sci-Fi Short
Force5

Best Noir Short
Croaked!

Best Fantasy Short
The Companions
The Memory Emporium

Best Action Short
CHILDE
Best Comedy Short
Are You Coming To My Birthday?
Poop Bucket Remembers: A Satanic Panic Story

Best Visual Effects
AIRE, JUST BREATHE

Best Actor
Dormant - Joris Smit

Best Actress
Lonely Miss Albright - Kirsten Anderson

Best Director
Snacktime
Are You Coming To My Birthday?

Best Cinematography
Dormant
De Rodillas
Best Editing
The Harpies

Best Score
Croaked!

Best Short Screenplay
13 Steps
Wisdom's Teeth
THE SKIN LOTTERY

Best Feature Screenplay
MNEMONIC
Clementine
Moon Players
THE DOPPELR EFFECT



Nominees

Best Horror Short
Snacktime
Dormant

Best Comedy Short
Lonely Miss Albright

Best Director
De Rodillas

Best Cinematography
The Nest
The Harpies
Best Actor
The Companions - Alberto Amarilla

Best Actress
Are You Coming To My Birthday? - Taylor Griffiths

Best Visual Effects
Poop Bucket Remembers: A Satanic Panic Story

Best Editing
Poop Bucket Remembers: A Satanic Panic Story

Best Score
Force5
Best Short Screenplay
Onírico
San Vito's Waltz

Best Feature Screenplay
Hangman
The Tethering
Cherished Viciousness
The Silence of the Mountains



Screening Event Schedule

Saturday, November 22, 2025
Cinema House Otsuka
4-7-4-101 Sugamo, Toshima-ku
Tokyo 170-0002
Live In-Person Showing
https://cinemahouseotsuka.com/access/
 
2pm Event Begins
2:03pm Snacktime (French Horror)
2:11pm De rodillas (Spanish Horror)
2:35pm The Nest (Spanish Horror)
2:42pm CHILDE (US Action)
2:55pm Lonely Miss Albright (US Comedy)
3:05pm Poop Bucket Remembers (US Comedy)
3:15pm Croaked! (US Noir)
3:19pm 5 min Break for Discussion, Bathroom, etc.
3:24pm Dormant (Dutch Horror)
3:33pm Force5 (US Sci-Fi)
3:55pm The Companions (Spanish Fantasy)
4:08pm Are You Coming To My Birthday? (Australian Comedy)
4:16pm The Harpies (Canadian Horror)
4:21pm The Memory Emporium (New Zealand Fantasy)
4:25pm AIRE, JUST BREATHE (Spanish Sci-Fi)
5:56pm Event Finished
 
Google Maps Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HYJH8GZoZqDzbheB8



Official Selections

The Tethering
THE DOPPELR EFFECT
13 Steps
Snacktime
De rodillas
The Nest
Ashes of Freedom
The Fates
CHILDE
Wisdom's Teeth
Lonely Miss Albright
Onírico
An L.A. Story
The Deep State
Clementine
MNEMONIC
Hangman
San Vito's Waltz
Poop Bucket Remembers: A Satanic Panic Story
Croaked!
Dormant
Force5
The Companions
The Silence of the Mountains
Moon Players
MATILDA
Thirsty
Fake news: the price of truth
Serving Justice
Are You Coming To My Birthday?
Cherished Viciousness
Camp of the Killer Ninja Zombies
The Future's Not Ours To See
THE SKIN LOTTERY
Tomorrows People
Berwick Tower
The Harpies
The Memory Emporium
AIRE, JUST BREATHE
Georgia Boy
RULER
Too, Too Late
Psyched!

2024 Tokyo Festival


Winners

Best Sci-Fi Feature
Exit Pangea

Best Horror Short
A Shining Example

Best Sci-Fi Short
Homeward Journey

Best Noir Short
Cactus Noir

Best Fantasy Short
Mushroom Cut

Best Drama Short
Il caso è chiuso, andate in pace
Best Comedy Short
A Question of Y

Best Visual Effects
Black Pines
Exit Pangea

Best Actor
A Question of Y - Eric Feltes

Best Actress
Autopilot - Gina Su

Best Director
GAME SHOW

Best Cinematography
Velours Rouge
Best Editing
BFFR

Best Score
From the Dark
Homeward Journey

Best Short Screenplay
Cravings
Red in the Wood
A Lonely Dreamer

Best Feature Screenplay
Steve's Law
The Hitchhikers
The Communing Engine



Nominees

Best Horror Short
Black Pines

Best Sci-Fi Short
GAME SHOW
Autopilot

Best Comedy Short
BFFR

Best Fantasy Short
From the Dark

Best Director
Cactus Noir
Best Actor
Il caso è chiuso, andate in pace - Maurizio Lombardi

Best Actress
A Shining Example - Clarke Wolfe

Best Visual Effects
Autopilot

Best Editing
Velours Rouge

Best Score
Il caso è chiuso, andate in pace

Best Cinematography
Mushroom Cut
Best Short Screenplay
Grandma Böse
The Delicacy of Sin
The Fairest Thing on This Black Earth

Best Feature Screenplay
Chosen
Antinean
Contamination
Night of the Mummy
The Styrofoam Shaman
Saving Christmas at Crackenberry Castle



Screening Event Schedule

Saturday, November 23, 2024
Cinema House Otsuka
4-7-4-101 Sugamo, Toshima-ku
Tokyo 170-0002
Live In-Person Showing
https://cinemahouseotsuka.com/access/
 
2pm Event Begins
2:03pm Autopilot (US Sci-Fi)
2:20pm BFFR (US Comedy)
2:35pm GAME SHOW (Chinese Sci-Fi)
2:47pm Velours Rouge (UK Horror)
2:54pm From the Dark (US Fantasy)
3:01pm Black Pines (US Horror)
3:09pm A Question of Y (US Comedy)
3:26pm 5 min Break for Discussion, Bathroom, etc.
3:31pm Il caso è chiuso, andate in pace (Italian Drama)
3:41pm Cactus Noir (Mexican Noir)
3:45pm A Shining Example (US Comedy Horror)
4:01pm Homeward Journey (Chinese Sci-Fi)
4:27pm Mushroom Cut (Dutch Fantasy)
4:35pm Exit Pangea (German Sci-Fi)
5:55pm Event Finished
 
Google Maps Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HYJH8GZoZqDzbheB8



Official Selections

The Hitchhikers
GAME SHOW
Black Pines
The Styrofoam Shaman
Red in the Wood
The Delicacy of Sin
A Question of Y
Cravings
Virulence
The silence
The Communing Engine
Antinean
BFFR
Velours Rouge
Chosen
Night of the Mummy
The Art of the Matter
A Shining Example
Homeward Journey
We Want Your Baby
Saving Christmas at Crackenberry Castle
The Fairest Thing on This Black Earth
Mushroom Cut
Exit Pangea
Grandma Böse
Contamination
From the Dark
Mile Marker 666
A Lonely Dreamer
Steve's Law
Autopilot
Il caso è chiuso, andate in pace
Cactus Noir