whats up,
Alright i hope what i write will be of some intrest to u.
well first i wasnt to sure what u needed area u neede help in so i will try and answer both.
with the prop problem i know a lot of people who sell props and equipment for haunted houses, film makers, ect. if u have a list of what u need i can try and help you find the cheapest place to find them.

Then for the entering it into a film fear fest type of thing your best resource would be the internet just go to a search engine they should be able to help u out also AMC (american movie channel) plays short films bye upcoming film makers which if it turns out all right u could always try there.

Now if u dont mind here is my 2 cents on your post just 2 let you know right now zombie films probably are not the best place for student film makers (even though they are easy to make and usually end up really cool to people like me who cant get enough of zombies and explict gore) but for most people watching the film it probably would be a little late right after Dawn of the Dead was released in theaters a month or 2 ago, so to do a film like that would have to have some major twists and turns to the story not just the "dead are amoung us run away leading to a final zombie take over or the heros figure a way to live through it." well that was just my advise so if u r intrested in it just reply i guess.
well good luck with your film i would love to see it if ever accepted to any festival what have u.
Horror Child
Monster