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2026 Blood in the Snow
Film Festival · Deadly Exposure · Horror Development Lab
🇨🇦 Fearless Canadian Horror
🩸 Isabel Bader Theatre · Toronto · Nov 16–21
Film Festival · Deadly Exposure · Horror Development Lab
🩸 Isabel Bader Theatre · Toronto · Nov 16–21
National Canadian Film Day
45th Anniversary Screening · Uncut Version (93 min)
Blood in the Snow Film Festival Director Kelly Michael Stewart invites you to a once-in-a-lifetime event: the 45th anniversary screening of the 1981 Canadian slasher classic, My Bloody Valentine. This is the director-approved 93-minute uncut version — screened as part of National Canadian Film Day.
My Bloody Valentine is the classic 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka, starring Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The film follows young adults in a mining town who plan a Valentine's Day party despite warnings tied to a local legend about a murderous miner.
A special 45th anniversary poster has been created exclusively for this event by noted artist Gary Pullin.
Following the screening, stay for a Q&A with Director George Mihalka, Actor Neil Affleck ("Axel"), and Producer Bob Presner hosted by Blood in the Snow's Kelly Michael Stewart — with more guests to be announced!
Until the screening
🩸 Celebrate Canadian Horror!
Tickets Going Fast
Award-winning director working across drama, action, and comedy in English and French. Recipient of the Canadian Trailblazer Award from Fantasia International Film Festival (2025) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. Credits include La Florida, Bullet to Beijing, Ominous for Bell Media, and My Bloody Valentine.
Montréal-born Toronto-based filmmaker, writer, and actor. Apprenticed at the National Film Board under animation pioneer Norman McLaren, then spent twelve years in Los Angeles including ten seasons on The Simpsons. Returned to Canada in 2001 to work extensively as a director and storyboard artist in animated film.
Producer with credits spanning two decades of Canadian and international film. Known for producing the cult classic My Bloody Valentine (1981) and Keeping Track (1986), with additional crew credits on The Good Thief and Spider (both 2002). Joins the Q&A panel to share behind-the-scenes stories from one of Canada's most beloved horror films.
Kelly Michael Stewart
Festival Director
In partnership with canfilmday.ca
Hosted by Blood in the Snow's Kelly Michael Stewart · Scotiabank Theatre · Wed Apr 15 · 9 PM
🩸 Updates & announcements from BITS
A brand-new season of BITS Radio has dropped, recorded live at BITS 2025. Go behind the scenes with Canadian genre filmmakers in this exclusive podcast series.
Listen now →
My Bloody Valentine — 45th Anniversary Screening at National Canadian Film Day
Wednesday April 15 · 9 PM · Scotiabank Theatre. Kelly Michael Stewart hosts the uncut screening followed by a Q&A with Director George Mihalka and Producer Bob Presner. Features an exclusive 45th anniversary poster by artist Ghoulish Gary Pullin. Free admission.
2026 Film Submissions Are Now Open
Submissions are open for BITS 2026! Submit your Canadian horror, sci-fi, or genre film on FilmFreeway. The festival runs November 16–21 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto — don't miss the early bird deadline!
Bloody Spirits of Winter — Submissions Now Open
BITS is now accepting submissions for Bloody Spirits of Winter, our Indigenous, Métis and Inuit horror shorts program exploring the supernatural and survival. Submit on FilmFreeway.
2026 Horror Development Lab — Submissions Now Open
Applications are open for the BITS Horror Development Lab, running alongside the festival November 16–21. The Lab is a development program focused on facilitating business and production opportunities for genre (horror, sci-fi, action, thriller) scripted projects by traditionally underrepresented BIPOC, women, and 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadian filmmakers.
BITS at Calgary Underground Film Festival
Festival Director Kelly Michael Stewart will be attending the Calgary Underground Film Festival April 16–20 as a special jury member and participating in industry round tables.
BITS at Shock Stock — London, Ontario
The Blood in the Snow crew is heading back to Shock Stock! Find us April 30–May 3 in London, Ontario for a weekend of horror, cult cinema, and genre mayhem!
BITS Co-Presenting "Witching Hour" at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Blood in the Snow is proud to co-present the Witching Hour horror program at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival on Friday, June 5. imagineNATIVE is the world's largest presenter of Indigenous screen content.
Subscribe to Northern Frights — The BITS Newsletter
Stay up to date with festival news, film announcements, and industry updates delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe to Northern Frights, the official Blood in the Snow newsletter.
🩸 15 years of fearless Canadian horror & genre cinema
The Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS) is a unique and imaginative showcase of Canadian horror, genre, and underground cinema that exists to challenge social boundaries, explore artistic taboos, and support and exhibit independent Canadian genre media artists. It was first created in 2012 as a non-profit organization with a mandate to highlight the best in contemporary genre filmmaking in Canada. The Blood in the Snow Film Festival is also on the eligibility list of festivals for the Canadian Screen Awards.
We are thrilled to open submissions for the 15th annual Blood in the Snow Film Festival running at the Isabel Bader Theatre, November 16–21, 2026. BITS is a Canadian Screen Award qualifying festival consistently listed as one of the Top 100 reviewed festivals in the world on FilmFreeway.
🩸 At BITS, we curate five distinct short film programs each year, in addition to our feature film lineup and opening shorts. All submitted films are reviewed by our programming team. We accept submissions exclusively through FilmFreeway.
Canadian horror, sci-fi, action & thrillers. Toronto Premiere required.
First-time directors & promising student filmmakers opening each feature.
The festival's most terrifying horror shorts.
The best in short-form science fiction.
Web & digital series, proof-of-concept shorts and music videos.
Comedy & genre shorts with a light or offbeat tone.
Indigenous, Métis & Inuit horror shorts exploring the supernatural & survival.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our 2025 funders & partners.
Interested in sponsoring BITS? Read More + Get in touch →
"The BITS Development Lab was one of the best industry support programs I've ever attended. I am honoured to have been selected. The talent, projects, connections, atmosphere, access was invaluable. Everything was well done. Kelly and the team were welcoming and helpful. I can't recommend this festival and lab enough."
"Blood in the Snow was very supportive and professional. The communication from the festival team was excellent, and I felt supported as a filmmaker. It's obvious that Blood in the Snow cares about Canadian genre filmmakers and works hard to create a strong, filmmaker-friendly environment. I would definitely submit again and recommend the festival to other filmmakers."
"What a beauty! The passion for film and empowering filmmakers is highly apparent at this festival. Was blown away by the programming, the stunning venue, the after parties and so much more. The networking was absolutely insane here. Very enthusiastic hats off to the organizers and HIGHLY encourage genre filmmakers to make submitting to this festival a priority!"
"Awesome festival! Great location and venue. The staff and volunteers are incredible. Hands down one of the best genre festivals to check out."
"Loved my experience at BITS 2024! The team, the venues and the crowd were great! Hope to be selected again in the future."
"Incredible community, amazing program, and just wonderful people."
"Can't say enough about this fest. It's fun, inviting and inclusive. Kelly and his team have dialed this thing in and it's clear they care about the details. I'd recommend this fest to anyone and everyone."
"A top-tier film festival and development lab. It was such a pleasure to be there and I saw so many great films!"
"Such a fun festival! Festival staff, volunteers, and filmmakers are all as passionate about genre films as the audience. Amazing energy at the screenings, fantastic filmmaker panels, pitching, and education events, and a great selection of high-quality films in a high-quality venue."
"It was an honor to have my film Spiritt be a part of this festival. I got great feedback from one of the attendees who said he will go again next year!"
"I absolutely love this festival — a celebration of Canadian genre films that have a lot to say. Being part of the horror lab and the festival helped me make so many lasting connections."
