August 18 - August 24, 2023

Dipson Amherst Theatre

3500 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14226

Directions

Admission

Single screening: $12
Day Pass: $20
All Festival Pass: $70

“There are more film festivals in Buffalo now than any time in the area’s history, and that’s a great thing for lovers of cinema. The most purely fun of these movie extravaganzas? It’s undoubtedly the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, which offers action, animation, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, thriller and science fiction features and shorts from around the world.” - The Buffalo News

“This is one of the very few festivals I would travel to attend even without a project involved. It is always incredible.” Skip Shea, filmmaker and Shawna Shea Film Festival Director

“Buffalo Dreams is a well oiled machine of blatant awesomeness, due completely to the fierce dedication of its showrunners, Gregory Lamberson and Chris Scioli. These two work tirelessly to program one intense and well rounded festival, and perhaps what’s more impressive is the fact that they still remain completely approachable throughout. They do all the greeting, introductions, and personally hand out passes and talk to fans and festival goers.” - Bro Knows Movies

Welcome to the tenth anniversary of Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival! For nine years, filmmaker Gregory Lamberson (Slime City, Guns of Eden) and Chris Scioli have brought the greatest independent genre films from around the world to Western New York: action, animation, comedy, fantasy, horror, science fiction and thriller. Buffalo Dreams has become a destination event for creators of fantastic cinema everywhere.

In 2022, Buffalo Dreams screened 20 features and 40 shorts – the best of the best. In terms of features, we hosted eight World Premieres, two Festival Premieres, seven New York Premieres, and three Western New York Premieres. Buffalo Dreams is one of the most eclectic festivals in the Eastern United States, and for Year 10 we plan to pull out all the stops!

We crave films that are smart, innovative, and push the envelope, regardless of genre. It’s cliché to say we want originality, but that’s the fact, Jack. We love films that don’t necessarily fit into one easy genre classification. We also love westerns and musicals. We want cool movies that stimulate the imagination.

We screen at a venue with a large screen, excellent sound, comfortable seats, and convenient parking. We only show one film at a time, on one screen, with no counterprogramming, so attendees don’t have to choose between films. Providing a first-rate theatrical experience is one of our primary goals. We look for that same commitment to quality in the films we select.

We separate films according to region: Western New York, U.S. and Canada, and International. We show Micro Shorts, Shorts, Medium Length Films, and Features. We reserve the right to combine categories for awards purposes, and often do.

We do not have a documentary category. Filmmakers may submit documentaries according to length and region, but we advise only submitting if your film is related in some way to fantastic cinema, or if they hold special local interest.

We usually run for seven days and present our Dreamer Awards in person during the festival, usually on a Sunday. We issue awards to celebrate excellence, but our primary focus is showing filmmakers’ work on a large screen. Our awards presentation is casual and fun, just like our whole event: we don’t pretend to be Sundance.

We go out of our way to welcome visiting filmmakers, and love pointing them to restaurants, the best wings, Beef-on-weck (your life will never be the same), etc. Summer is now our permanent slot, so visitors can enjoy Niagara Falls.

We do not pay screening fees. We do not pay for filmmakers’ transportation, lodging, or other expenses. WE DO NOT OFFER WAIVERS.

Our venue is equipped to exhibit DCP files. If you wish your feature to screen from a DCP, you must provide the DCP on an external hard drive, at your own expense. We will not download DCP files, and neither will our venue. We accept .MOV or MP4 h264 files only. For all films other than features, we will only accept .MOV and MP4 h264 files.