THE PARAMOUNT
24 COURT ST. S
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA
OCTOBER 14TH - 18TH, 2026
OPEN CALL FOR FILM & SCREENPLAY SUBMISSIONS TO THE
10TH ANNUAL TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL
STARTS ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2025!
HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER FILMS ARE WHAT WE LOVE!
SLASHER FILMS, SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS, SLOW-BURN SUSPENSE, CREATURE FEATURES, GOTHIC OR COMEDY HORROR. IF YOUR FILM IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE HORROR GENRE, THEN WE WANT TO SEE IT!
TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASES A WIDE RANGE OF INDIE HORROR FILMS & TRAILERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!
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THIS 4-DAY FILM FESTIVAL IS DEDICATED TO THE CREATIVE WORKS OF INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS THAT HOLD A STRONG PASSION FOR HORROR FILMS. AS FILMMAKERS OURSELVES, WE RECOGNIZE TALENTED ARTISTS WHO BRING THEIR VISUAL STORYTELLING GIFTS TO THE SCREEN.
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OUR COMMITEE WILL VIEW ALL SUBMISSIONS, AND EACH FILM WILL BE JUDGED FAIRLY, REGARDLESS OF BUDGET, POPULARITY OR PRODUCTION COSTS. SELECTED FILMS WILL BE SHOWCASED AT THE PARAMOUNT ENTERTAINMENT THEATRE, LOCATED IN THE EXCITING DOWNTOWN CORE OF THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA.
DON'T RUN AWAY! THE 9TH ANNUAL TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL TRAILER
THE 9TH ANNUAL TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL - OPENING NIGHT!
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2025
LISTEN TO FILMMAKER & PROFESSOR
ANDREW SIMPSON SPEAK ON CBC "UP NORTH" ABOUT
TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL CLICK HERE!
THANK YOU TO THE READERS OF
THE WALLEYE - THUNDER BAY'S ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE
FOR VOTING US TOP FILM FESTIVAL: 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2024!
2025 AWARD WINNERS
-BEST FEATURE FILM (MORA Award) *CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING
​-BEST FEATURETTE (MORA Award) *TILL DEATH DO US PART
-BEST SHORT FILM (MORA Award) *THE NATURE OF DEATH
-BEST MINI SHORT FILM (MORA Award) *STRIP MALL
-BEST WEB SERIES *THE MADNESS OF DAVID JUDGE - CHAPTER ONE:
"SUDDENLY THERE CAME A TAPPING"
-BEST MUSIC VIDEO *GRAYSHAPES - BLADE
-BEST FILM TRAILER *THE CRIME FAMILY
-BEST DIRECTOR *JACOB HAMBLIN (TILL DEATH DO US PART)
-BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY *OSCAR IGNACIO JIMENEZ (THE ANGEL)
-BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY *ANDRES CABRERA RUCKS (ISLAND LIFE)
-BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY *RISE UP LITTLE GIRL
-BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY (1ST RUNNER-UP) *TOILET SHARKS
-BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY (2ND RUNNER-UP) *INIQUITOUS
-BEST ORIGINAL SCORE *EDWARD O'MAHONY (BUNKER BABY)
-BEST EDITING *C0STANTINO CIMINIELLO & MITCHELL VINCENT SLAN (ROUGH CUT)
-BEST SFX MAKEUP *ERNAKA PUSPITA DEWI, JACKY FARHAN, DEFI, NANDA, PANJUL & PUTRI (LABINAK: THEY ARE ALMOST US)
-BEST TITLE/CREDIT SEQUENCE *SHAUN MUNRO (UNDERTONE)
-BEST ACTOR *BEN PETERS (ISLAND LIFE)
​-BEST ACTRESS *PAULA JON DEROSE (CROOKEDFINGER)
-BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR *CIARAN BERMINGHAM (BUNKER BABY)
-BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS *WELKER WHITE (CROOKEDFINGER)​​
-BEST FILM POSTER *PETE WARE (MOVING)
​-BEST ATMOSPHERE *JUD WILLMONT, NICHOLAS Z. SCOTT & KIRTAN HUMMELEN
(BLACK FOG)
-BEST ENSEMBLE *KARL ILVES, LAURA NIILS, JANNO PUUSEPP, MARTIN RUUS, RITA RATSEPP, PEETER MARAN, RA RAGNAR NOVOD, HENRYK JOHAN NOVOD
(CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING)
-BEST ACTING DUO *ZOE KOEP & ANISSA EISENBERG (SALT CIRCLES)
-BEST STUDENT FILM *LONG JOURNEY TILL DAWN
​-AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD *BERTA
*27 AWARDS IN TOTAL
FIND US ON
WE INVITE ALL INDIE HORROR FILMMAKERS TO SUBMIT YOUR FILMS INTO THE 8TH ANNUAL TERROR IN THE BAY FILM FESTIVAL! THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS AWARDS GIVEN FOR BEST FILMS AND INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS. IF YOUR FILM IS PICKED AS AN OFFICIAL SELECTION, IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CONSIDERED FOR INDIVIDUAL AWARD NOMINATIONS. GOOD LUCK!
*ALL OFFICIAL SELECTIONS, IN EVERY CATEGORY WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS.
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS, NOMINEES AND WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2025. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE FILMMAKERS AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOUR FILM PLAY IN OUR
FILM FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!
"Huge thank you to Terror In The Bay Film Festival for putting on another incredible event. Nothing beats spending time with such awesome people while meeting wonderful filmmakers from all over the country all in one house watching films together."
- Andrew Simpson [Terror in the Bay Alumni] 2025
"The folks behind Terror in the Bay are warm, welcoming, and supportive of filmmakers. Great audiences every night I was there and the programming is fun, original, and takes risks. And Thunder Bay is both beautiful and weird (in the good ways). Outstanding experience."
- Jason Cortlund [Crookedfinger] 2025
"Terror in the Bay is such an absolute gem of a festival! My film had its Canadian premiere there and I had the pleasure of coming out to Thunder Bay and experiencing the festival firsthand. Everyone so so generous and kind, and the festival director took special efforts every day to make sure I felt taken care of and comfortable. I will certainly be submitting my work any chance I can to them, and hope to return again!"
- Matthew Rush (Chickenboy) 2024
"It was truly fantastic! I was treated like a king!
I'm not very good at English, but everyone was encouraging and patient! The program was great, with films from all over the world. Plus, and this was really cool, there was a "Canadian Night," which included short films and a feature-length film.
It must have been a lot of work to program! Thanks to the three Chrises! Thanks also to the super friendly volunteers! We were also able to chat with local and international filmmakers. It was really great! The organizers even provided hotel suggestions for our stay. We were really welcomed! Thanks again!"
- Luis Dion-Dussault [The Susceptible] 2025
"So excited to have our film "Vampire Zombies...from Space!" included in this year's festival. Terror In The Bay is a true champion of indie horror cinema. It's great to know that they program so much from filmmakers submitting via film freeway, and not just inviting every big studio film out there to screen. Communication was excellent by the whole team. Was thrilled to have won 3 awards too including Best Feature Film. If you have a horror film, I highly recommend you submit to this festival. Many thanks!!"
- Michael Stasko (Vampire Zombies... From Space!) 2024
NORTHERN WILDS
REEL CANADA
MERK
CBC THUNDER BAY
THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS, PARTNERS & SPONSORS!
RYMACK CREATIONS
S& C CRAFTWORKS
THE PARAMOUNT
24 Court St. S
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
BLACK MANDALA FILMS