Congratulations to the 2026 IHSFF Short Screenplay Competition Winners!

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2026 International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition. We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

First Place

THINK APOCALYPSE!- BY ERIN COPEN HOWARD

Five desperate screenwriters land the meeting of a lifetime, only to discover that in Hollywood, bad ideas can be deadly. Welcome to the writers room from hell.

Second Place

RETROGRADE- BY MICHAEL H. MOORE

Facing a terminal diagnosis, a woman manipulates her husband into a radical medical procedure — then attempts to erase their memory of the fatal betrayal she committed to preserve her version of forever.

Third Place

SECOND HONEYMOON- BY KEN TEUTSCH

A widower assumed he would be getting on with his life, but his dead wife has other plans.

Finalists

(In alphabetical order by last name)

ORIGINAL SIN- BY JORDAN ARNOLD

When Lilith and Kayla move into their new home, they come face to face with a group of religious fanatic's trying to enforce their traditional family values on the young couple.

RADIO CONTACT- BY KEVIN MACHATE

After receiving a call for help from a remote ranger station, a HAM radio operator begins to suspect that the emergency he's trying to resolve may not be what it appears to be.