The Fright Nights Horrorfilmfestival
Our philosophy
Fright Nights – the ultimate festival of fear is a unique Austrian festival of cinematic horror, founded by Heinz Olbrich in 2005. Originally intended to be a one-off event, the festival revealed a deep fascination by the public in German and Austrian independent productions. This led to the festival developing into a competition-based festival since 2006.
Fright Nights aspires to include short and feature length films, professional productions and home movies, as well as German and international films. In 2013, Fright Nights screened films from more than 30 countries, often in the presence of directors and performers. Our principle is not to reject any film because of directorial taste, but to offer an opportunity to show all productions fitting into our program. You can find our Call for Entries here.
From 2005 to 2013, the festival has been held at five different locations, showcasing a total of over 300 films. Fright Nights has found its home at the cinema Pörtschach, the VolXhaus in Klagenfurt, and even the Torture Museum at the Castle Sommeregg in Seeboden! At present, Fright Nights is held at the Hollywood Megaplex PlusCity in Linz, Pasching. It is consistently one of the most popular horror film festivals, and since 2006 has awarded the coveted Silver Hand award in several categories.
Chiara Kamnik, cultural manager and horror fanatic, became the festival director and organizer in 2020. Her priorities are to encourage and support independent productions, provide a first-rate cinematic platform, and to connect filmmakers with a horror-loving international audience.
Our Horror-Awards
The Silver Hand
Since 2006, the Silver Hand has been awarded as part of the Fright Nights Horror Film Festival. With this award, the jury honors film productions from the field of horror in different categories. The Silver Hand is considered a well-known symbol for the devil’s horn. The various designers and creative minds involved deliberately decided against a classic gold. The trophy is awarded in the following categories:
Best Shortfilm
Best Feature
Best Actress
Best Actor
Trash-Award
Best Mutilation Scene
Hollywood Megaplex Pluscity
The roots of the Hollywood Megaplex lie in 1959, when the trend-setting Metropol cinema was opened in Innsbruck by Ingrid Hueber’s father, Ferdinand Purner, which even then set new standards. In 1995, Heinz and Ingrid Hueber built the Hollywood Megaplex in Linz-Pasching. Since 1997, the family business has expanded to St. Pölten and Vienna. Hollywood Megaplex was the first cinema in Austria to bring 3D to the big screen and conquered the mobile market in 2011 with a cinema app for iOS and Android. In 2013, Hollywood Megaplex held a market share of 11 percent in Austria and has welcomed more than 34 million moviegoers nationwide since 1995.
Fotos © Martin Steinkellner
