Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival

A celebration of outstanding genre cinema in the historic cradle of the American supernatural.

ABOUT

Hello,

We hope that you and your loved ones are staying well and safe in this challenging time.

For reasons that are obvious concerning the current pandemic, and after serious consideration, we have decided to postpone the SLEEPY HOLLOW FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SHIFF) to OCT 14-17, 2021.

Beyond vital safety and health concerns which are most important, we also want to make sure it’s possible to put on the best fest we can. Postponing SHIFF to OCT 14-17, 2021 will allow us to do just that. We have confirmed our venues, the historic Tarrytown Music Hall, the Warner Library and more for these new 2021 dates.

We will continue to accept film and script submissions now for SHIFF 2021 via FilmFreeway. If you have already submitted a feature film, a short, or screenplay, for this year’s postponed fest, know that your entry remains completely valid, and that it remains in official consideration for the OCT 2021 fest. More information on this will soon be available on our site here, and the new dates/deadlines are already posted on our FilmFreeway posting. (https://filmfreeway.com/SleepyHollowInternationalFilmFestival). Feel free to email us at info@sleepyhollowfilmfest.com with any inquiries regarding this.

In the meantime, remain well and safe! Let’s get through this together and we’ll see you for an amazing 2nd year of SHIFF in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY OCT 14-17, 2021!

The SHIFF Team

“2019 has been a banner year, from a ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ stage musical to the inaugural SLEEPY HOLLOW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES

“A line up worthy of the Sleepy Hollow name!” — YAHOO ENTERTAINMENT

THE FIRST ANNUAL SLEEPY HOLLOW International Film Festival (SHIFF) debuted in October 2019 and was an official partner in the Villages of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY’s Bicentennial celebration of Washington Irving’s immortal story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. SHIFF ’19 unveiled four days of memorable programming at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall and Warner Library, thrilling attendees with feature film premieres, live stage events, special guest panels and discussions and film and screenplay competitions. Entertainment entities such as Disney, Universal Pictures and others participated in SHIFF’s launch, presenting special events and screenings, and they, along with other noteworthies will be participating in 2021 as well!

SHIFF 2021 continues its celebration of outstanding genre cinema in the very cradle of the American Supernatural, taking place in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, NY, on October 14-17, 2021, and is now accepting film and script submissions! Be a part of this wondrous exploration of creative cinema, right in the heart of the historic Hudson Valley region, during its legendary Halloween season!

Once again, exciting premiere feature films and groundbreaking new films in competition will screen alongside thrilling retrospectives, live events and panels. Venues include the historic Tarrytown Music Hall, the Warner Library and others to be announced.

“Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in continual reverie.” —WASHINGTON IRVING, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

And the reverie continues: This special place, this remarkable hollow of the indescribable, bewitched not only Irving, but also artists of every creative pursuit for the next two centuries—including masters of the cinematic arts. Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival celebrates this legacy of artistic inspiration and achievement.

But it is not enough to look back. Just as Irving used the Hudson Valley as a wellspring of extraordinary ideas to push his art forward, SHIFF strives to bring important works from current and future filmmakers into the world with exciting new films in competition and premiere screenings.

The festival’s advisory board, selection committees and jury will include film and literary professionals with industry experience who will program and award new films of quality, of all genres, and that touch upon, relate to or simply explore the otherworldly or unknown.

SHIFF 2019’s offerings included U.S. and regional premieres of THE WRETCHED, PHANTOM OF WINNIPEG and MAKING APES as well as a special advance screening of acclaimed director Peter Strickland’s IN FABRIC and more! Renowned actor Jeffrey Combs brought down the house with his live-on-stage one man Edgar Allan Poe show NEVERMORE, and Dana Gould, Bobcat Goldthwait, John Hodgman and an all-star comedy cast killed with a live stage reading of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE! We can’t wait to unleash what is in store for 2020 — and we’re excited to make this year’s film and script submission selections the backbone of the experience!

Special lifetime awards are bestowed upon artists whose influential work recalls the spirit of Irving’s creativity. SHIFF ’19 honored legendary actor/songwriter/performer Paul Williams (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) with its first Washington Irving Legend Award and iconic producer Edward R. Pressman (THE CROW, AMERICAN PSYCHO, WALL STREET) with a Horseman Award for lifetime achievement in producing. Additionally, SHIFF19’s “Unproduced Original Screenplay” winners received mention in renowned trade publication, Variety.

There is no more perfect place to launch such a celebration than in the actual, historic Sleepy Hollow, New York—the very cradle of the American supernatural. Filmmakers and fans alike are welcome to participate October 15-18 2020, for the inception of a new legend, where the breathtaking whirl of unthinkable sounds and visions witnessed will inspire us all for centuries to come!