Fear Screen Launches First Official Festival Year This October with Children’s Events, Filmmaker Q&As, Industry Workshops and Year-Round Programming

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Middlesbrough, UK – 11 September 2026

International horror film festival Fear Screen is set to launch its first official festival year this October, bringing independent cinema, filmmaker events, industry education and family programming to Middlesbrough.

Fear Screen will take place across 30 October to 13 November 2026, transforming venues across Middlesbrough into a celebration of horror and genre cinema, with the festival centred around Roxy Movies Middlesbrough, with access to the Festival Hub at the old TK Maxx building across the road from Roxy Movies, and a prestigious gala awards evening at Grade I listed Acklam Hall.

Founded and operated by professionals working across the UK film and television industry, Fear Screen has been created with a clear ambition: to make horror cinema more accessible while providing a platform for independent filmmakers and creating meaningful opportunities for audiences, emerging talent and the wider creative community.

Horror for Audiences of All Ages

The festival will open its programme with two dedicated children’s event days on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, designed to introduce younger audiences to genre cinema in a welcoming, accessible and family-friendly environment.

The events will combine carefully selected family-friendly film screenings with activities and experiences aimed at making cinema more interactive and engaging for children and their families.

Fear Screen believes that a love of film can begin at any age, and its children’s programme forms part of a wider commitment to developing the next generation of filmmakers, cinema audiences and creative professionals.

Alongside its public programme, Fear Screen hosted a private industry screening of Unsavory Elements on 11 September 2026, attended by invited journalists and content creators.

Directed by Tom Carter and produced by Jeffrey Allard, whose producing credits include the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the film will form part of Fear Screen’s 2026 festival programme.

Following the private screening, Unsavory Elements has been confirmed for two official festival appearances. The film’s main festival screening will take place during the 6–8 November weekend, followed by a special screening and filmmaker Q&A on 12 November, giving audiences an opportunity to hear directly from the creative team behind the film and explore its production and themes in greater depth.

More Than a Film Festival

While film screenings remain at the heart of Fear Screen, the 2026 programme extends well beyond the cinema screen.

Throughout its inaugural festival year, audiences and filmmakers will have opportunities to take part in:

• Independent and international horror film screenings
• Filmmaker Q&As and audience discussions
• Industry workshops and educational sessions
• Filmmaker networking opportunities
• Special screenings and festival events
• Children’s and family programming
• The 48 Hours Later filmmaking challenge
• Industry and creative networking
• The Fear Screen awards programme
• Pop-up and community events, including a free-to-enter alternative market

The festival will also continue developing its year-round programme, ensuring that Fear Screen is not simply an annual event.

One of its key ongoing initiatives is 48 Hours Later, Fear Screen’s filmmaking challenge which gives filmmakers a limited period of time to create a short horror film.

Seasonal editions of the challenge are designed to encourage collaboration, experimentation and practical filmmaking experience, while providing filmmakers with another route into the festival community.

Fear Screen is also developing a year-round streaming platform, similar to Shudder, but intended to give audiences access to curated horror films, filmmaker interviews, special content and festival highlights beyond the physical festival dates, based in the UK.

Building a Festival from the Ground Up

Although 2026 marks Fear Screen’s first official festival year, the project has been developing and testing its events programme throughout 2025 and 2026.

The team has used a series of monthly ‘Pay What You Can’ screenings, filmmaking challenges and pop-up events to test different formats, develop relationships with filmmakers and audiences, and establish what a North East-based horror festival could look like.

These events have provided Fear Screen with an opportunity to build its community before launching its full festival programme, while maintaining a deliberately accessible approach to ticketing and participation.

The festival has subsequently built relationships with filmmakers, industry organisations, venues and creative partners across the region, with the wider aim of contributing to the North East’s growing screen and cultural economy.

Putting Filmmakers at the Centre

Fear Screen is particularly focused on supporting independent and student filmmakers, recognising the challenges faced by emerging talent when attempting to get their work in front of audiences.

The festival’s programming aims to provide more than simply a screening slot. Through Q&As, networking, workshops, awards and filmmaking challenges, Fear Screen is creating opportunities for filmmakers to meet audiences, build professional relationships and become part of an ongoing creative community.

The festival’s team brings experience from across high-end television, feature film and major studio productions, including work connected with Disney, Lucasfilm, Netflix, BBC, ITV and many more major studios, alongside independent productions and regional filmmaking.

This combination of professional industry experience and independent filmmaking culture sits at the centre of Fear Screen’s identity.

A Festival with Its Roots in Middlesbrough

For Fear Screen, establishing the festival in Middlesbrough is a deliberate decision.

The festival aims to demonstrate that major cultural and creative events do not need to be concentrated in London or other traditional media hubs.

By bringing international genre cinema and industry activity to the North East, Fear Screen hopes to create opportunities for local audiences and creatives while attracting filmmakers and genre fans from across the UK and internationally.

The festival’s programme will ultimately bring together filmmakers, audiences, students, industry professionals, families and horror fans across its two-week festival window.

Fear Screen Founders Said

“Fear Screen has been built by people who work in the high-end television and feature film industries every day, with the team bringing more than 20 years of combined industry experience, but who still have a huge passion for independent filmmaking and genre cinema.

“We wanted to create something that reconnects us with that independent side of the industry while giving filmmakers a genuine opportunity to get their work seen, meet audiences and build relationships.

“Our first official festival year is about much more than screening films. We want Fear Screen to be a place where people can discover cinema, make films, learn new skills, meet other creatives and feel part of something.

“Middlesbrough and the wider North East have an incredible creative community, and we want Fear Screen to play a small part in helping that community grow.

“Whether you are an established filmmaker, someone making their first short film, a lifelong horror fan or a family looking for something different to do together, there should be something at Fear Screen for you.”

Looking Beyond 2026

The 2026 festival represents the beginning of Fear Screen’s long-term plans rather than the end goal.

Following the festival, the organisation intends to continue developing its programme of screenings, filmmaker events, educational workshops, filmmaking challenges and community activities throughout the year.

With 48 Hours Later providing a regular filmmaking opportunity and the planned streaming platform extending its reach beyond physical events, Fear Screen’s ambition is to establish itself as an ongoing home for independent horror and genre filmmaking in the North East.

The festival is also continuing to develop partnerships with venues, creative organisations and industry partners, with further announcements expected throughout the festival season.

About Fear Screen

Fear Screen Ltd is a UK-based horror film festival and film exhibition company founded and operated by professionals from the film and television industry: Jay Finlayson and Simon Daley.

The organisation champions independent, emerging and student filmmakers, with a particular focus on making genre cinema, filmmaking opportunities and industry education more accessible.

Fear Screen combines film screenings with filmmaker Q&As, workshops, networking, children’s programming, filmmaking challenges and year-round events, creating opportunities for audiences and filmmakers to connect.

Its first official festival year takes place in Middlesbrough from 30 October to 13 November 2026, with events taking place across the town, including screenings at Roxy Movies Middlesbrough and the festival’s gala awards event at Acklam Hall.

Fear Screen’s film programme includes submissions from filmmakers in the UK and internationally, with film submissions managed through FilmFreeway.

Festival Dates

Fear Screen 2026

30 October – 13 November 2026

Middlesbrough, North East England

• Children’s Events: 30–31 October 2026
• Festival Screenings & Events: Throughout the festival period
• Gala Awards: Acklam Hall
• Website: FearScreen.com
• Film Submissions: FilmFreeway
• Instagram: @FearScreen