Festival dossier

Atlanta HorrorFest - Atlanta Horror Film Festival

Atlanta, United States · Est. 2006 · High structural score (80–100) for legitimacy and industry clout — not limited to Oscar-qualifying festivals

Tier ATrusted
Atlanta, United States
98
Legitimacy Score

Should I submit?

Strong legitimacy signals

Tier A score for legitimacy and industry clout. Still confirm deadlines, fees, and categories on the festival site before paying.

  • 20 years of verifiable history
  • Physical screenings at Limelight Theater
  • 4 verified pro signals

Overview

Atlanta HorrorFest, also known as the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, is Atlanta’s long-running showcase for independent horror and dark genre cinema, founded in 2006 and now marking two decades of screenings. It is notable as Georgia’s first horror film festival and as a major regional venue for scary shorts, indie horror features, thrillers, supernatural stories, dark comedies, creature features, and other boundary-pushing genre work.

Last updated Oct 1, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+48 pts)

  • 20 years of verifiable history
  • Physical screenings at Limelight Theater
  • 4 verified pro signals
  • Verified trusted status
  • Legitimacy signals outweigh concerns (4 vs 0)

Red Flags (-0 pts)

No red flags found

Trust Signals

Positive Signals

  • FilmFreeway Gold festival
  • Has FilmFreeway community ratings
  • Documented history with archived programs
  • Named venues with external verification

Festival Details

Founded

2006

Venue

Limelight Theater

Screenings

Physical screenings confirmed

Visit Festival Website

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

Avg. rating

4.8/ 5

Reviews

179

Synced 4 days ago

  • Eli VazquezOct 2023

    Wasn't able to attend but so appreciative to be accepted! Would def submit again. The fest had great communication and was on it!

  • Chris BorgoOct 2023

    The Atlanta Horror Film Festival accepts a wide range of horror films and the schedule is massive! This gives the filmmaker a better opportunity for their film to be selected. The communication was professional and honest. We will certainly be submitting more of our films here. Highly recommended!

  • Justin GorunOct 2023

    Great festival! Really glad that our short “Don’t Let Her In” was part of it.

  • Javo AguirreOct 2023

    Again....thank you for having us! "Till We Meet Again" holds a very special place for us and having it showcased in Atlanta Horror Film Festival was very rewarding! Greatest experience...thank you for your overall support....we feel the love!

  • Henk Lambert PretoriusOct 2023

    A great experience to be part of Atlanta Horror Film festival. Great communication and a true love for film.

View on FilmFreeway

FilmFreeway reviews are filmmaker opinions, not our score. Cross-check red flags before paying fees.

Related Festivals in United States

Research

Live web research is off to control API cost. This shows cached scheduled research when available, plus analysis from our database.

Hard research (cheap model + thorough prompt) runs on a cron for suspicious festivals; a biweekly job refreshes others. No live API calls from the site.

At a glance

Legitimacy Score98/100
TierTier A
Reviews0
Community Reports0
FilmFreeway4.8★ · 179

How scoring works

Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.

Filmmaker reviews

No community reviews yet. If you submitted here, your experience helps others avoid award mills.

Write a reviewOr report a problem →

Write a review

Review Atlanta HorrorFest - Atlanta Horror Film Festival

Get Alerts

Get notified when Atlanta HorrorFest - Atlanta Horror Film Festival's tier changes or new reports are filed.

See something wrong?

Filmmakers and festival teams can propose listing corrections or submit verified evidence. Verified evidence can change a tier, but it is weighed alongside every other flag on this listing.

Request a correction
Compare Atlanta HorrorFest - Atlanta Horror Film Festival with another festival →