L'Horror
Film Festival

TESTS TO EVALUATE GENDER BIAS

BECHDEL TEST

The film has at least two women; the women talk to each other, and they talk about something other than a man.

Tests that look behind the camera
THE UPHOLD TEST - Rory Uphold: screenplay and acting
A film passes if:
The crew on set is 50 percent women

THE REES DAVIES TEST - Kate Rees Davies: direction and production
A film passes if:
Each department has two or more women

THE WHITE TEST - Jen White: DOP; International Cinematographers Guild.
A film passes if:
Half the department heads are women
Half the members of each department are women
And half the crew are women

Tests that look beyond white women
THE WAITHE TEST - Lena Waithe: Screenplay. Emmy Award Winner
A movie passes if:
There is a Black woman in the play
Who is in a position of power
AND is in a healthy relationship

THE KO TEST - Naomi Ko: Written and Performed
A movie passes if:
There is a non-white person in the film who identifies as a woman
Who speaks in five or more scenes
AND speaks English

THE VILLALOBOS TEST - Ligiah Villalobos: Produced and Written
A movie passes if:
The film has a Latina lead
AND the lead or other Latina character is portrayed as a professional or college student, speaks in unaccented English, and is not sexualized.

Tests that look at female leads
THE PEIRCE TEST - Kimberly Peirce: direction
A film passes if:
There is a female character who is a protagonist or antagonist with her own story
The female protagonist has dimension and authentically exists with needs and desires that she pursues through dramatic action.
And the audience can empathize with or understand the desires and actions of the female protagonist.

THE VILLARREAL TEST - Lindsey Villarreal: production and assistant
A film fails if:
A female lead is presented as one of three common stereotypes in her first scene: as sexualized; as stiff, expressionless, or soulless; or as a matriarch (tired, old, or overworked)
But a failed film can be redeemed and pass the test if it is later shown that the main female character is three or more of the following:
-Someone with a career where she is in a position of authority or power
-A mother
-Someone who is reckless or makes bad decisions
-Someone who is sexual or chooses a sexual identity of their own

THE LANDAU TEST - Noga Landau: screenplay
A film fails if:
A main female character ends up dead
A main female character ends up pregnant
Or a main female character causes a plot problem for a male lead.

Tests that look at the supporting cast
THE HAGEN TEST - Kate Hagen: writing community director The Black List
A film passes if:
Half the roles in a scene are female
And the first crowd scene includes at least 50% women

THE KOEZE-DOTTLE TEST - Rachael Dottle and Ella Koeze: journalism
A film passes if:
The supporting cast is 50 percent female

THE FELDMAN SCORE - Rachel Feldman: direction; former chair of the Directors Guild of America's Women's Steering Committee.
A film passes with a score of five or more:

Source: FiveThirtyEight

TALENT NOVELL SECTION

L'Horror Film Festival second edition will take place from 15 to 17 on April, 2026 at the Torre Barrina Social Innovation and Multimedia Creation Center. We will hold a session for works by new authors and we encourage you to send us your works.

PARTICIPATION RULES
New Talent Section
The creation of this International Film Festival with a Gender Perspective in Hospitalet was born with the aim of visualizing the gender perspective through horror cinema.
Promote values through leisure.
Provide windows, different visions from the hegemonic ones.
Generate new perspectives.
Offer opportunities and space for representation.

Participation conditions
The first or second work of authorship will be accepted.
Priority will be given to works directed or scripted by people from L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
The maximum running time of the work will be 20 minutes.
The theme of the works must be versed in the gender perspective.
The genre of the works must be mainly horror.
The works can be fiction, animation, documentary and experimental.
All those works that differ from Catalan or Spanish must provide subtitles in these languages.
Submission form

Works selected
Once the selection has been communicated, the selected works will provide the following materials: Digital copy (H264 format or similar); Graphic materials: poster, director's photography, 1 or 2 frames; Film sheet (technical and artistic team).

Clarifications
Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of the rules. Otherwise, the short film will be disqualified. The representatives of the participating works will be solely responsible for ensuring that the work does not violate any intellectual or industrial property right, exploitation right, right to honor, privacy and image, or any other right of third parties or current legislation. The organization of the Festival declines any legal responsibility in relation to the short films presented at the Festival and their content.

Contact details
For any further questions, please contact us: contacte@lhorror.com - http://www.lhorror.com