48 Hours Later Horror Film Challenge — Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 14 October 2026

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern participation in the 48 Hours Later Horror Film Challenge (“Challenge”), operated by Fear Screen LTD, trading as 48 Hours Later (“Fear Screen”, “we”, “us” or “our”). Fear Screen LTD is incorporated and registered in England and Wales under company number 17057757, with its registered office at 3rd Floor, 86–90 Paul Street, London, England, EC2A 4NE.

By registering for, entering, submitting a film to, or otherwise participating in the Challenge, you (“Participant”, “you” or “your”) agree to be bound by these Terms. If you are entering on behalf of a team, production company, school, college, community group or other organisation, you confirm that you have the authority to bind that team or organisation to these Terms.

These Terms should be read together with any Challenge-specific brief, rules, deadlines, technical specifications, required elements, judging criteria and submission instructions issued through the official 48 Hours Later participant dashboard, email, website or other official communication channel. Where there is a conflict between these Terms and Challenge-specific instructions, the Challenge-specific instructions shall prevail in relation to that particular Challenge.

1. Changes to the Challenge

Fear Screen reserves the right to amend, supplement, suspend, postpone, cancel or withdraw the Challenge, or any part of it, where reasonably necessary for operational, legal, safeguarding, technical, safety, commercial or force majeure reasons. We will use reasonable endeavours to communicate material changes to registered Participants, but it remains each Participant’s responsibility to check official Challenge communications regularly.

2. Eligibility

The Challenge is open to individuals and teams worldwide, unless a specific Challenge brief states otherwise. Participants may enter as individuals or as teams of any reasonable size, subject to any team-size limit published in the relevant Challenge brief.

Each entry must have one nominated main contact, who must be aged 18 or over or have appropriate parent, guardian or responsible-adult consent and supervision where required. The main contact is responsible for receiving official Challenge updates, maintaining accurate contact details, coordinating the team, confirming that all team members have agreed to these Terms, submitting the completed film through the official dashboard, and responding to reasonable requests from Fear Screen regarding the entry.

Participants under the age of 18 may take part only with the prior consent of a parent, legal guardian or other appropriately authorised responsible adult. Registration is not fully approved until that consent has been received in the manner requested by Fear Screen. Where participants under 18 appear on screen, take part in production activities, or attend any associated event, appropriate consent, supervision and safeguarding arrangements must be in place.

Fear Screen may refuse, disqualify or remove any Participant or entry where we reasonably believe that the Participant is ineligible, has breached these Terms, has provided false or misleading information, or poses a risk to the safety, wellbeing or reputation of the Challenge, its participants, partners, audiences or personnel.

3. Registration and participation

Registration must be completed through the official 48 Hours Later website or participant dashboard. Places may be limited, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to selection, or subject to payment of a registration fee where stated.

By registering, you confirm that all information provided is accurate, complete and up to date; that you are eligible to participate; that you accept these Terms and the Fear Screen privacy policy; and that you will comply with all applicable laws, licences, permits, insurance requirements and venue or location rules. You also confirm that you will conduct all production activity safely, responsibly and lawfully.

Fear Screen may charge a non-refundable registration or entry fee where stated at the point of registration. Any applicable fee, payment method, refund position and deadline will be clearly displayed before registration is completed. Unless expressly stated otherwise, registration fees are non-refundable once the Challenge has begun, except where required by law or where Fear Screen cancels the Challenge and does not provide a reasonable alternative.

Participants are responsible for their own costs, including equipment, travel, accommodation, insurance, cast and crew expenses, locations, music, licences, post-production, data storage and any other production-related costs.

4. Challenge period and deadlines

The Challenge is a time-limited filmmaking challenge. Unless otherwise stated in the official Challenge brief, participating teams must conceive, produce, complete and submit an original short film within the stated 48-hour period.

The official start time, submission deadline, time zone, required elements, technical requirements and submission method will be published through the participant dashboard or other official channel. It is the Participant’s responsibility to allow sufficient time for uploading, encoding, file transfer, internet connectivity, platform processing and any technical issues.

Films must be submitted through the official dashboard or designated submission route before the published deadline. The timestamp recorded by the submission platform shall ordinarily be treated as the time of submission.

Late submissions may be rejected, accepted for exhibition but marked as out of competition, accepted subject to a published late-submission rule, or considered at Fear Screen’s sole discretion.

Fear Screen accepts no responsibility for submissions that fail to upload, are corrupted, are incomplete, are submitted to the wrong location, or are not received because of technical failure, user error, internet disruption, device failure, third-party platform issues or any other reason beyond our reasonable control.

5. Required elements and creative brief

Each Challenge may require Participants to incorporate specified required elements, such as a title, line of dialogue, prop, character, genre, theme, location type, visual motif, technical constraint or other creative instruction. These elements will be issued at or before the official start of the Challenge.

Unless the Challenge brief expressly permits otherwise, required elements must appear in the finished film; the film must be created specifically for the Challenge; the film must not have been publicly released, broadcast, published or submitted to another competition before the Challenge start time; and the film must comply with the stated running time, file format, resolution, aspect ratio, audio requirements, subtitles and file-size limits.

Participants must not begin writing, filming, animating, editing or otherwise producing the film before the official Challenge start time, except for activities expressly permitted in the Challenge brief, such as securing locations, casting, arranging insurance, preparing equipment or completing administrative planning.

6. Originality and intellectual property

All entries must be original works created for the Challenge. Participants must own, control or have obtained all necessary rights, licences, permissions, consents and clearances in relation to their film, including rights relating to the script, story, concept, adaptation, copyright, performances, publicity, crew, music, archive material, stock footage, stills, artwork, logos, trademarks, locations, property and any other rights-managed content.

Participants must not infringe the copyright, moral rights, trademark rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, confidential information or other rights of any person or organisation. Fear Screen may request evidence of rights, releases, licences or permissions at any time.

By submitting a film, the Participant confirms that the film is original and does not infringe third-party rights; that all necessary consents and clearances have been obtained; that all persons appearing in or contributing to the film have given the necessary permission; and that the film does not contain unlawful, defamatory, discriminatory, hateful, harassing, sexually exploitative, excessively violent or otherwise inappropriate material.

Participants retain ownership of their film and underlying intellectual property, except for the rights expressly granted to Fear Screen under these Terms. Fear Screen does not claim ownership of the Participant’s film by reason of submission alone.

7. Licence granted to Fear Screen

By submitting an entry, the Participant grants Fear Screen LTD, trading as 48 Hours Later, and its group companies, subsidiaries, partners, sponsors, venues, broadcasters, distributors and authorised service providers a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, store, encode, adapt, exhibit, screen, stream, publish, distribute, promote and communicate the submitted film and related materials in connection with the Challenge, judging, administration, live or online screenings, festival programming, trailers, reels, highlights, promotional edits, social media, press, publicity, marketing, sponsorship and related Fear Screen activity.

This licence includes the right to use the film title, synopsis, poster, stills, behind-the-scenes material, cast and crew names, biographies, logos and other submitted materials for promotional and archival purposes connected with the Challenge and related Fear Screen activity.

Participants may continue to exploit their own film independently, including submitting it to other festivals or platforms, unless a specific Challenge brief imposes a reasonable exclusivity window. Any exclusivity period, if applicable, will be clearly stated before submission.

Fear Screen will not sell a Participant’s film as a standalone commercial product without seeking further permission, except where such use is necessary for the promotion, exhibition or administration of the Challenge and related Fear Screen activity.

8. Credits and attribution

Participants must supply accurate credits for directors, writers, producers, cast, crew, composers, editors and other key contributors. Fear Screen will use reasonable endeavours to reproduce credits accurately in official materials, but cannot guarantee that every credit will appear in every format, platform, edit, listing or promotional item.

Where Fear Screen uses an entry in promotional material, it will use reasonable endeavours to identify the film and, where practical, the primary creative team. The Participant accepts that promotional edits, social-media posts, trailers, highlight reels and event materials may be shortened, reformatted, captioned, edited or otherwise adapted for technical or promotional purposes.

9. Content standards, safety and safeguarding

All Participants must create and submit content responsibly. Films must comply with applicable law and must not contain illegal activity, instructions for serious criminal activity, material that incites violence, terrorism, hatred or discrimination, non-consensual intimate imagery, sexual exploitation, sexual content involving minors, defamatory, harassing, threatening, abusive or discriminatory material, unlicensed copyrighted material, or content that presents a serious risk to public health, safety or security.

Participants must ensure that all filming is conducted safely. This includes obtaining appropriate permissions, using qualified personnel where necessary, avoiding dangerous stunts or special effects without proper expertise, complying with road, drone, firearms, pyrotechnic, animal, alcohol, drone and public-space regulations, and ensuring that no person is put at unreasonable risk.

Where minors are involved, Participants must obtain appropriate parental or guardian consent, ensure suitable supervision, and comply with all relevant safeguarding requirements. Fear Screen may request evidence of consent, risk assessments, insurance, licences or safeguarding arrangements.

Fear Screen may reject, disqualify, remove or decline to screen any entry that breaches these content standards, poses a safeguarding concern, or is otherwise unsuitable for the Challenge or its audience.

10. Judging, selection and awards

Entries may be assessed by a judging panel, audience vote, Fear Screen programming team, partner organisation or a combination of these methods. The judging criteria, panel composition, weighting and award categories may be published in the Challenge brief or participant dashboard.

Judging decisions are final. Unless there is a clear administrative, technical or procedural error, Fear Screen will not enter into correspondence regarding individual judging decisions, scores, shortlisting, selection or award outcomes.

Fear Screen may decide not to award a prize, may reduce the number of awards, may introduce additional awards, or may declare an entry ineligible where these Terms or the Challenge brief have not been met.

Prizes, where offered, are non-transferable and may be substituted with an alternative of equal or greater value where reasonably necessary. Prize winners are responsible for any tax, national insurance, visa, travel, accommodation or other personal costs associated with accepting or using a prize, unless expressly stated otherwise.

11. Screening, exhibition and festival activity

Submission does not guarantee selection for screening, exhibition, streaming, awards, press coverage or any other form of presentation. Fear Screen has sole discretion over programming, scheduling, venue allocation, technical presentation, censorship, classification, accessibility arrangements and the format in which any entry is exhibited.

By submitting a film, the Participant grants permission for the film to be screened at Challenge-related events and promoted in connection with the Challenge and related Fear Screen activity. This may include physical screenings, online screenings, streaming, social media, trailers, festival reels, press coverage and archival presentation.

Fear Screen may require amendments, content warnings, alternative versions, subtitles, captions, technical adjustments or classification information before exhibition. Failure to provide requested materials by the stated deadline may result in the entry being withdrawn from screening or competition.

12. Data protection and privacy

Fear Screen respects your privacy and handles personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and its published privacy policy. The privacy policy explains how personal information is collected, used, retained, shared and protected when you interact with Fear Screen websites, submit films, purchase tickets or subscribe to communications.

Personal data provided for the Challenge may include your name, email address, team details, role, film details, submission materials, technical information and any other information you choose to provide. This information may be used to administer registrations, communicate Challenge updates, coordinate participation, assess entries, manage screenings and comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

Fear Screen may share limited information with trusted service providers where necessary to deliver the Challenge, including submission platforms, email providers, ticketing providers, event partners and professional advisers. Fear Screen does not sell personal information and will not disclose personal information to third-party partners without first making direct and meaningful contact with the individual, except where necessary for service delivery or required by law.

Where third-party platforms are used, such as film submission, ticketing, commenting or email platforms, those platforms may process data under their own privacy policies and terms. Participants are responsible for reviewing the privacy policies of any third-party services they choose to use.

Participants have rights under UK data protection law, including rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, withdrawal of consent and data portability. Requests can be made to Fear Screen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@fearscreen.com.

Film submission data may be retained for the relevant festival or Challenge cycle. After that cycle, personal data will ordinarily be deleted unless the Participant has explicitly consented to future contact or retention is required for legal, accounting, safeguarding or regulatory purposes.

13. Conduct and community standards

Participants, team members, guests and representatives must behave respectfully towards Fear Screen staff, volunteers, judges, partners, venues, audiences and other Participants. Abusive, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, disruptive, intoxicated or unsafe behaviour may result in removal from the Challenge, disqualification, refusal of entry to associated events and, where appropriate, reporting to relevant authorities.

Participants must not attempt to manipulate voting, judging, registration systems, submission platforms, social-media campaigns or any other element of the Challenge. This includes using bots, fake accounts, automated voting, impersonation, bribery, collusion or any other improper method.

Fear Screen may investigate suspected breaches of these Terms and may take any action it considers reasonably necessary, including disqualification, withdrawal of awards, removal of content, suspension of participation and reporting to relevant authorities.

14. Insurance, risk and liability

Participation in the Challenge is at the Participant’s own risk. Participants are responsible for assessing and managing the risks associated with their own production activity, including risks to cast, crew, the public, property and locations.

Participants should ensure they have appropriate insurance for their production activity, including public liability insurance where required by a venue, local authority, location owner or other relevant party. Fear Screen does not provide insurance for Participants’ productions unless expressly stated in writing.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Fear Screen, its directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, partners and agents shall not be liable for loss, damage, theft or destruction of equipment, files, footage, props, vehicles or personal property; personal injury, illness or death arising from a Participant’s production activity; loss of profits, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill, data or anticipated savings; missed deadlines, failed uploads, technical failures, platform outages or internet disruption; cancellation, postponement or alteration of the Challenge; or any indirect, consequential or special loss.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under English law.

15. Force majeure

Fear Screen shall not be liable for failure or delay in performing its obligations where caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including severe weather, fire, flood, epidemic or pandemic, public-health restrictions, industrial action, utility failure, cyber-attack, platform outage, government action, civil disturbance, terrorism, war, transport disruption or other force majeure events.

Where a force majeure event materially affects the Challenge, Fear Screen may extend deadlines, alter the format, move the Challenge online, postpone the Challenge, substitute prizes or cancel the Challenge. Participants will be notified through official channels where reasonably practicable.

16. Withdrawal and disqualification

A Participant may withdraw from the Challenge at any time by notifying Fear Screen through the official contact route or participant dashboard. Withdrawal does not entitle the Participant to a refund of any registration fee unless expressly stated otherwise or required by law.

Fear Screen may withdraw, disqualify or exclude an entry where it reasonably believes that the entry breaches these Terms or the Challenge brief; the Participant has provided false or misleading information; required consents, releases or rights have not been obtained; the film is unsafe, unlawful, offensive or unsuitable; the submission is late, incomplete or technically non-compliant; the Participant has attempted to manipulate the Challenge; or the Participant’s conduct is inappropriate or damaging to the Challenge.

17. Amendments to these Terms

Fear Screen may update these Terms from time to time. The current version will be published on the official 48 Hours Later or Fear Screen website. Material changes will normally be highlighted through the participant dashboard, email or an on-site notice.

Continued participation after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If a Participant does not accept an update, they should withdraw from the Challenge before the applicable deadline.

18. Severability and entire agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary or, if modification is not possible, severed. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with the Challenge brief, privacy policy and any official Challenge communications, constitute the entire agreement between the Participant and Fear Screen in relation to the Challenge.

19. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction, except where mandatory local consumer-protection law gives a consumer the right to bring proceedings in their country of residence.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms, the Challenge, submissions, safeguarding or data protection can be directed to Fear Screen using the official contact details published on the 48 Hours Later or Fear Screen website.

For data protection matters, contact the Data Protection Officer at dpo@fearscreen.com.

For general enquiries, contact hello@fearscreen.com.