Peak film festival season is just mere months away, which means that they’re currently hard at work behind the scenes prepping for another year of fantastic films to get excited about. One such festival is the Austin Film Festival, an  8 day film festival and 4 day Conference set in Austin, Texas that champions the work of writers, filmmakers, and all artists who use written and visual language to tell a story.

This year’s festival will take place on October 26 through November 2, and they’re currently accepting film submissions for their 2017 competition. The festival’s Dark Matters category is of particular interest, as its reserved for horror, thrillers, unconventional, and dark subject matter. Basically, this is the type of film we seek out at film festivals.  The Dark Matters category has screened notable genre films like Found Footage 3D and Blood Punch in years past, proving a knack for curating a killer film lineup not to be missed.

There are a lot of undiscovered horror films out there, and film festivals is a key component to landing distribution deals. If you, dear reader, happen to be a filmmaker sitting on a yet-to-be-discovered genre film, then we want to see it.

Even though the Austin Film Festival’s 2017 competition deadline is currently June 30th for Late Deadline, you can submit with the Early Bird Deadline price ($50) on their website here or FilmFreeway by using the code MODERNHORRORS50. That’s a steal, so don’t miss this chance!

For those wanting to attend the festival, badges are on sale here, with a price increase right around the corner on June 15th.