The 6th Annual Dark Carnival Film Festival

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – join us October 19-21, 2012 in Bloomington Indiana for the “Sundance of Horror” and the Greatest Show Unearthed!

Founded nearly six years ago in Bloomington Indiana, the Dark Carnival Film Festival strives to be the premier event for screening the best independent horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy films. Our mission is to put fans and filmmakers first and present a show filled with freaks, fire, and fantastic films from the four corners of the globe. Many of the movies at the Dark Carnival have been picked up for distribution by major companies, and our event has provided numerous networking opportunities for visiting filmmakers.

Since 2007, Dark Carnival has screened over 160 films from more than a dozen countries all over the world, and from almost every state in the US. In a relatively short time, we have gained a reputation as a festival that values indie filmmakers and that loves the horror genre as something much more than a business niche or a way to sell merchandise.

As a result, we’ve gained the attention of some of the most highly regarded genre publications, film distributors, and sponsors including Avid, R2 Entertainment, HorrorHound Magazine, GeekTyrant, Final Draft, and Rue Morgue Magazine. The festival has also been featured multiple times in MovieMaker Magazine, which recognized Dark Carnival as one of the “13 Horror Film Fests to Die For” (Fall 2011) and one of the top “25 Film Fests Worth the Entry Fee” (Fall 2009)

While other so-called ‘film festivals’ often screen their movies in tiny hotel conference rooms, from the very beginning we’ve been proud to showcase festival films in the best possible venue – the historic Buskirk-Chumley Theater (BCT) in downtown Bloomington, Indiana.  Formerly known as the “Indiana Theatre,” the BCT is is a vintage 1930s era movie house that features state-of-the-art sound and projection equipment, on a 30 by 20 foot screen. The BCT is located just blocks from the Indiana University campus, and is surrounded by a variety of amazing shops and restaurants.

About the Show
Dark Carnival is a celebration of horror, featuring live entertainment, merchandise vendors, special guests and film screenings. It’s a different show every year, and Dark Carnival events have included outdoor drive-in film screenings, costume contests, dance parties, sideshows, horror hosts, filmmaking seminars, burlesque dancers, live fire shows and more!

And even though we’re focused more on films and live entertainment than selling autographs, we’ve been honored to have some amazing hosts and special guests, including horror icons like Ken Foree and Michael Berryman; syndicated film critic, actor, and writer Joe Bob Briggs; Indiana horror host legend Sammy Terry; and indie scream queens Tiffany Shepis and Raine Brown.

 The festival also features the horror hosts of Atomic Age Cinema as our resident Monsters of Ceremonies. Atomic Age Cinema is our own homegrown group of B-movie horror hosts with the distinction of founding the longest running, live horror spook show in the country!  These days, the members of AAC (Dr. Calamari, Basement Boy, Baron Mardi, and Woody) are special guests at horror conventions all over the Midwest.

To read more about Dark Carnival, be sure to check out our PRESS page.  For more photos and videos of past Dark Carnival shows, visit our GALLERY page.