Austin Film Festival (AFF) and Vertigo Entertainment have come together to form a strategic partnership for the 30th Annual Austin Film Festival, BD has learned today.

Supporting AFF’s overall mission of championing storytellers, this partnership looks to identify new and unique voices within the horror genre and provide winners mentorship and the possibility of a production agreement. Vertigo will be the presenting sponsor of both AFF’s existing Screenplay Horror Feature Award and the Film Competition’s Dark Matters Feature category.

Since its founding in 2001, Vertigo Entertainment has become a prominent force in the horror-film genre with the release of The Ring (2002). From there, Vertigo went on to produce hit films The Grudge (2004), The Strangers (2008), Quarantine (2008), IT: Chapter One (2017), IT: Chapter Two (2019), and last year’s smash hit, Barbarian. In addition, Vertigo has also produced television favorites Bates Motel (2013-2014), The Exorcist (2016), and Them (2021).

As the presenting sponsor of the Film Competitions’ Dark Matters Feature category, Vertigo Entertainment will review the submitted films of the finalists, with Vertigo co-founder Roy Lee acting as a juror for the competition. Narrative films with a running time of 41 minutes or longer and with a story easily identified as belonging to the horror or thriller genre and embodying dark themes, unconventional subject matter, or suspenseful sensibilities are eligible for the Dark Matters Features category.

The Dark Matters Features category winner will receive a mentorship guaranteed for at least six months in 2024. The mentorship will include monthly calls providing advice and insight on networking, pitching, and workshopping, the opportunity to pitch a new film to Roy Lee, and a possible option to work on other Vertigo projects.

The Screenplay Competition’s Horror Feature Award is open to any feature horror script, including dark suspense, thriller, sci-fi, and macabre themes. Vertigo Entertainment will provide the winner with a mentorship for up to six months in 2024. The mentorship will include feedback and notes on the winning script, monthly calls giving advice and insight on networking, pitching, and workshopping, the opportunity to pitch the winning script to co-founder Roy Lee, and a possible option to produce the winning script or work on other Vertigo projects.

“I am thrilled to return to the Austin Film Festival as a juror and sponsor for AFF’s 30th anniversary. The festival’s focus on unique, original storytelling over large budgets and expensive special effects is in line with the types of projects we are known for. In recent years, audiences have been responding very positively to original genre films, especially horror/thriller films, and AFF’s Dark Matters Competition always highlights the most exciting rising filmmakers in this space. My goal for this partnership with AFF is to discover the next exciting voice in horror, support young talented filmmakers and writers, and most of all, be surprised!” — Roy Lee, Co-founder of Vertigo Entertainment.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring back Roy Lee and Vertigo Entertainment to offer this incredible opportunity for any budding storytellers in the world of horror. Vertigo’s films showcase ingenuity and boldness in horror-filmmaking that fits right in with the creativity of emerging genre writers and filmmakers from around the world. We can’t wait to see what is conjured up through this partnership.” — Andy Volk, Austin Film Festival Lead Film Programmer.

AFF’s Film & Script Competitions are currently open for submissions. Film submission deadlines are as follows: Early Deadline of March 23, Regular Deadline of May 17, Late Deadline of June 22, and Extended Deadline of July 7. For the screenplay competition, the deadlines happen March 23 for the Early Deadline, April 18 for the Regular Deadline, and May 25 for the Late Deadline. For more information, including rules, eligibility, and how to submit, please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.