Friday, November 9, 2012

Alex Bram Assesses 2012 Carnival of Darkness

The 3rd annual Carnival of Darkness horror film festival screened on October 25, 2012. It's been two years since their last run, since they skipped 2011. As in 2010, Carnival of Darkness is still a "shorts only" festival.

I asked festival founder and director Alex Bram if any trends dominated this year's submissions?

"We had two unicorn films," said Bram, "and two films where the girl who seems to be running from the bad guys turns out to be the bad guy in the end.

"There's always a lot of zombies. And folks always want to buy a camera, film themselves naked, and send that in to me."

None of those nudie films were selected, so if you hope to screen at Carnival of Darkness in 2013, it's probably a good idea to keep on your clothes (at least on camera).

Bram reports that he received "over 200 submissions." Of those, 14 films were screened. The festival has only one award -- the Thrill Ride Award -- so naturally, only one film won.

What single element tanked most submissions? "Acting," said Bram. "Always the deal killer in many films, and the number one reason I have to reject films.

"Folks, move to L.A. or New York if you want to be filmmakers. It's not that you aren't brilliant cinematographers or sound designers or writers. That part is very democratic, and you can nail that no matter what part of the world you live in.

"But if you are an otherwise brilliant filmmaker living in Montana, and it comes time to cast your film, you will have a much more limited pool of actors to pick from. People end up casting friends and family, or people in their local theater programs.

"I'm not being snobby. It's just simple math. Even in Los Angeles, which is crawling with actors, it's still a challenge to successfully cast a film. This is the cold, hard fact, folks. Sorry."

There's one other thing that Bram wants in a short horror film: "I always look for suspense, which is an art."

=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Denise Gossett Looks Back on Shriekfest 2012

The 12th annual Shriekfest horror film festival concluded on October 7, 2012. We asked festival founder and director Denise Gossett if any trends dominated this year's entries?

"We saw a ton of found footage films and scripts," says Gossett. "Every year there seems to be a theme, something that everyone seems to be tapped into. This year it was found footage films. I think it is being overdone now. Take a break from it, guys.

"There were quite a few zombie films, still. This never seems to wane. And quite a few ghost films/scripts.

"We hardly saw any vampire flicks or werewolf movies/scripts. And not so many slashers -- but the ones we did get were brutal -- more torture porn."

In light of the Twilight film series' recent success, the dearth of vampire entries is surprising. Perhaps so many horror filmmakers are instead tackling found footage films because it's a structure that seems cheap to produce, and easy to pull off?

If you entered Shriekfest this year, and your film wasn't selected, remember that the competition is fierce. Gossett reports that "We accepted 26 short films, 10 features, 20 feature screenplay finalists, 10 short screenplay finalists, and 10 original song finalists. It's always extremely hard to win."

What separated the winners from the losers?

"So many good films were submitted that didn't make the cut because they weren't tight enough in the editing department." says Gossett. "Just because you shot it does not mean you need to use it. If it doesn't forward the story, cut it out.

"Start with a strong story, and don't start shooting until you have one. Really flesh out your stories. Find your passion in each and every project.

"The acting can hurt a film too. Audition your actors, and keep shooting until you get what feels authentic.

"Make sure you light properly. Don't let small errors pull us out of your story."

=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Tabloid Witch Award Winners Announced

The 2012 Tabloid Witch Award winning horror films have been announced!

Read all about them at the Hollywood Investigator.

=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

IMDb Has a Moratorium on New Film Festivals

One nice thing about the Internet Move Database (IMDb) is that when you look up a film, TV show, or person, you can see the awards that project or person has won, in what year, and from which arts academy or film festival.

If you've won an award -- or if your organization or film festival presents awards -- you'd naturally like to have your awards listed. Unfortunately, the IMDb's award listings are woefully incomplete.

But why? Why are so many awards not listed?

In 2009, I emailed and asked the IMDb to add my Tabloid Witch Awards to their list of recognized awards. They cryptically replied that they were not adding any new awards "at this time."

Strange. But, okay.

I emailed them every year after that -- in 2010, and again in 2011 -- and got the same replies. It appeared that "at this time" was longer than I had initially anticipated.

Finally, when I once again emailed them in July 2012, the IMDb gave me a more specific reply. Here's their reason for not listing any new awards:


Recently, we suspended updates to our Awards list while we made software improvements; while these improvements were in process, we were not accepting any additions, deletions, corrections, updates, or changes to the awards list.

Our data editors have recently begun accepting updates for some events on our site; if the Award Event you'd like to update is already listed on the Event list on IMDb.com here:

http://www.imdb.com/event/all

you should see the option to submit your request to our data editors.

However, if the Award event does not yet exist on the site, we regret that you'll be unable to submit the data until our software changes have been completed.


"Recently"? It's been three years since I first contacted them.

Anyway, if you run a relatively new horror film festival, and have been unable to add its award winners to the IMDb, now you know why.


=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, July 9, 2012

American Cinematheque Seeks Short Horror Films

Good news for the hundreds (thousands?) of filmmakers seeking distribution for their hard-to-place short films. You are not limited to film festivals.

The American Cinematheque runs two film theaters in the Los Angeles area: The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. And they screen short films!

Their Alternative Screen program is for films of 10 - 12 minutes maximum running time -- but they also welcome longer shorts for occasional genre programs ... including horror and sci-fi shorts. Yes, they specifically mention those genres.

According to American Cinematheque's website:


Alternative Screen does accept short films, however, we generally do not play films in this program that are longer than 10-12 minutes, because they are shown preceding a feature film. Shorts addressed to Margot Gerber should not be longer than 12 minutes.

If you have a short film that does not seem to fit into the description of what The Alternative Screen plays -- it may fit into the themed short film programs we present several times per year. Use the address below to submit it, but address it to the attention of ANDREW CRANE (ext. 112). Past short programs have included Gay & Lesbian shorts, New York shorts, Women's Shorts, French shorts and Spanish shorts and a sci-fi/horror program.


Their website says "THIS SERIES IS CURRENTLY ON HIATUS" -- but don't let that discourage you. I was at the Egyptian Theater last Saturday, and there were flyers about their shorts program. So it may be that the website is out of date.

Click here for details about how to submit short films.

Also check out the American Cinematheque website.

=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Director of Photography vs. Cinematographer

Only a minority of film festivals present awards for a film's Director of Photography (DP) or Cinematographer. And because most people use those job titles interchangeably, festivals that do honor the category at all, do so with only one award: It's either Best Director of Photography or Best Cinematography.

Pennsylvania's Terror Film Festival is the only festival I know of that honors both the DP and cinematographer as separate categories. In 2011, their Best Director of Photography award went to Matthew Mandarano for Banks of the Vltava, whereas Best Cinematography went to Devin Graham for An Evening with My Comatose Mother.

How does the Terror Film Festival distinguish between a film's DP work as opposed to its cinematography? What are the judges's aesthetic criteria?

The Terror Film Festival's Grace Peters explained their judging criteria as follows:


It is surprising that until now, no one has challenged the distinction between cinematography and director of photography as two separate awards in our festival. This debate would be an interesting one, with probably a varied poll of opinion as to why the terms are used interchangeably, and if the roles are one and the same.

I will tell you why the Terror Film Festival differentiates the roles. We developed an award process and selection criteria that is fair to every filmmaker, regardless of the film's production value. We have honed and fine-tuned it each year, but it is standardized, consistent, and academic. We have a secret formula that allows a $500 production to compete with a five million dollar production.

Which is why we decided to give two separate awards for cinematography.

Independent films have varying budgets and crew. Varying levels of experience and craftsmanship. With that come strengths and weaknesses of every facet of the film's technicality. Sometimes the director is also the DP and the cameraman. And sometimes a production has the luxury of having a [separate] DP, with camera crew and gaffers, etc.

The DP award is based on an aesthetic nature. The visual imagery and style of the film, lighting, and frame composition.

The cinematography award is based on the actual execution of camera (types of shots, camera movement, focus, etc.), and is a technical award for craftsmanship. We feel the person operating the camera deserves merit, whether it is the DP or someone else.

=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

2012 Tabloid Witch Awards Seeks Horror Films

The 2012 Tabloid Witch Awards is seeking short and feature length films for their NO ENTRY FEE horror film contest and festival.

Many award categories -- Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Music Soundtrack, Special Effects, Cinematography, Sound, Music Video, Animation, more!

The Tabloid Witch Awards normally screens in either Santa Monica or Los Angeles, California.

There is NO ENTRY FEE. Just submit your DVD. Deadline is August 31, 2012. This means that entries must be in the Tabloid Witch Awards PO box by that date.

Entry details at: TabloidWitch.com.


=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2012 Los Angeles Film Festival Honors Horror

It seems every other horror film festival laments that horror is a forgotten genre, an ignored and abused genre. Thus Such-and-Such Horror Film Festival was founded to finally correct that oversight.

But it just ain't so!

The mainstream does not forget or ignore or disrespect horror. Many mainstream film festivals welcome horror. As the latest example, consider the highly prestigious Los Angeles Film Festival.

Their 2012 selections include at least two horror shorts: 3113 and Juan of the Dead.

Check out the 3113 trailer below (looks like horror to me):



Also consider Juan of the Dead's trailer:



Also playing at the L.A. Film Festival is the feature length Saturday Morning Massacre:



There may be other horror films at the Los Angeles Film Festival. I just haven't bothered to check their entire schedule.

But horror filmmakers, please let's put to rest this myth that the mainstream ignores horror films. The mainstream welcomes good horror films. Yes, the competition is fierce. But if your horror film was rejected, the solution is not to whine about genre discrimination, but to improve your craft!


=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Still Time to Vote for the 2012 Constellation Awards

The 6th annual Constellation Awards will be presented in Toronto on Saturday, July 7, 2012 -- and there's still time for you to vote!

The Constellation Awards are a Canadian fan award, recognizing the best in science fiction and fantasy film and television, with an emphasis on Canadian productions and talent. They are presented at the Polaris sci-fi fan convention.

You can vote by going to the Constellation Awards website. You might have to be Canadian to vote, but the voting is online, so I'm not sure how they enforce it. Maybe by screening your IP address?

If you're curious as to what goes on at the Constellation Awards, here's a clip from their 2009 presentation:



=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Colchester Film Festival Seeks Horror Films

The Colchester Film Festival is now accepting submissions. Tristan Syrett emails me to say:

While this isn't strictly a horror film festival, for the opening night's events, we plan to screen a selection of horror films as part of a fancy dress themed horror evening. For this were looking for people to submit their horror films for consideration. Submission is free for all the films before the 31/07/12.


In Europe, 31/07/12 means July 31, 2012. Get your films in before then, and there is No Entry Fee.

Syrett states the following requirements for film entries:


* They must be 26 minutes or less (including titles & credits).

* They must have received their first public screening on January 1, 2011 or later.

* They must either be in English or have English subtitles.


She adds: "We hope to also run a similar zombie themed game to this to coincide with the screenings, although this has been put on hold for the time being."

Details at: ColchesterFilmFestival.com.


=====================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

2012 Viscera Film Festival Boasts an Impressive Panel of Judges

One sign that a horror film festival is growing -- and gaining in prestige -- is in the evolution of its panel of judges. Most festivals are initially judged by its founders or fans. In its first few years, the Viscera Film Festival's judges were its co-founders, Shannon Lark and Heidi Honeycutt (aka Heidi Matinuzzi).

That changed last year. And this year, the Viscera's panel of judges is an especially impressive group of industry veterans. They are:


* Gale Anne Hurd (producer, The Walking Dead, Terminator)

* Mary Harron (director, American Psycho)

* Catherine Hardwicke (director, Twilight, Red Riding Hood)

* Rachel Talalay (director, Nightmare on Elm Street 6, Tank Girl)

* Steve Niles (author, 30 Days of Night)

* Elizabeth Stanley (producer, Trailers from Hell)

* Tony DiBlasi (director, Dread)

* Amber Benson (actress, Buffy director, Drones)

* Dew Daywalt (director, Leprechaun's Revenge)

* Barbara Peeters (director, Humanoids from the Deep)

* John Skipp (author, Mondo Zombie)

* Michelle Maxwell McLaren (director, The Walking Dead)

* Mary Lambert (director, Pet Semetary)

* Emily Hagins (My Sucky Teen Romance)


This year the Viscera will screen on July 7, 2012, at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Details: VisceraFilmFestival.com.

==============================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, May 28, 2012

5,000 Film Festivals Worldwide

Ever wonder how many film festivals currently exist? The total number?

According to Deborah Caulfield Rybak, writing for Delta Sky Mag ("Screen Play: The World's Top Film Festivals," March 2012):


Each year, an estimated 5,000 festivals around the world -- some gargantuan, others as small as three films in a high school gymnasium -- screen films that might not otherwise find an audience.

They come from every place on the planet and from filmmakers both known and unknown. Some festivals are "industry" events, where studios and other distributors shop for smaller films to buy. Others are more audience-based, created to put new and interesting films in front of movie-loving audiences.


Rybak is talking about all film festivals, but the bulk of her article discusses indie films, which to most people mean non-genre.

I know of over 200 horror festivals worldwide (which Rybak doubtless includes in her estimated 5,000), but the festival opportunities for horror films are greater than 200. Many indie festivals welcome and award horror films. (Yes, they do -- despite some horror festivals' claims that the mainstream ignores horror. Not true.)

Rybak suggests that a festival's purpose determines when it screens. At least as far as the big players are concerned.


Conventional wisdom holds that distributors do their shopping at the major film festivals held at the beginning of the year. Later in the year, films considered to be potential winners on the Academy Awards/Golden Globes circuit are presented. Either way, a project's prospects -- financial and otherwise -- can be significantly altered by its festival appearances.


I'm not sure how much of this is true for horror film festivals. Although many mainstream festivals welcome horror, the Academy Awards and Golden Globes shun most genre films. This means that when a horror festival screens is irrelevant to that film's Oscar/Globe prospects.

But that's okay. Most horror film festivals present their own awards, so there's no reason to screen at a horror festival hoping to improve your chances for an Oscar.

Also be aware that many festivals, especially smaller ones, are one-time affairs. Despite which, the total number of festivals are increasing. Rybak says:


[T]he number of festivals continues to grow. There's a reason behind the explosion of film festivals, says Laurie Kirby, executive director of the International Film Festival Summit. The business of film festivals has become so big that Kirby's organization was formed to provide professional support and development to member organizations.


Yes, indeed. Film festivals are a growing business. Ever more people are shooting indie films (genre and mainstream), which means an ever more crowded field of films seeking distributors and audiences.

And ever more filmmakers willing to pay high entry fees for their shot at a festival screening.

==============================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Michael Coulombe Co-Founds Youth Film Festival

Script supervisor Michael Coulombe, director of programming for the Big Bear Horror Film Festival in 2009 and 2010, has founded (along with Jason Lee Klinger) a new film festival: 30 Under 30.

Rather than yet another horror film festival, the 30 Under 30 Film Festival is another youth film festival. (Yes, there are others.)

According to the festival, 30 Under 30 "is committed to showcasing and promoting the works of emerging filmmakers from around the world.... Its mission is to provide a platform from which young filmmakers are encouraged to create, critique, and compete with each other in a nurturing atmosphere that stimulates growth and teaches the essential principles of filmmaking through workshops, screenings, mentor panels, and networking events."

Considering that so many film festival winners are already under 30, and that ageism is rampant in the entertainment industry, I have mixed feelings about a festival that is open only to the young.

I can understand film festivals open only to children, high schoolers, or even film students -- they're still learning. But twentysomethings are adults, already winning, and winning often. They compete on a level playing field. Actually, the professional playing field is slanted in their favor, considering Hollywood's youth-obsession.

30 Under 30 co-founder Klinger "was festival director of the Infringement Festival in Buffalo, New York for several years."

Submission deadline for 30 Under 30 is July 31, 2012.

Details at: 30Under30FilmFest.com.

==============================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, April 23, 2012

2012 Zed Fest's Call for Entries

Yet another horror film festival has opened in Los Angeles -- Zed Fest. That makes 10 horror film festivals currently operating in Los Angeles (assuming that Paranoia Fest is still extant; it may not be).

Zed Fest says that they're seeking"low budget independent and amateur" films in the "zombie, horror, science fiction, and action genres."

It's interesting that they distinguish between zombie and horror films. Does this mean that zombies films are so prevalent that they're now a genre unto themselves? Certainly not every zombie film is horror. Many are comedies. (Usually, not too funny.)

Zed Fest also has a screenplay competition.

Their first screening was in 2010. They're based in North Hollywood and their 2012 screening is set for November 3, 2012.

For details on how to enter, go to Zedfest.org.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

2012 Horrorfind Film Festival Call for Entries

The Horrorfind Weekend Convention and Film Festival is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Film Fest. This is the 14th Annual Horrorfind Weekend convention and the 3rd year with the addition of the Film Festival.

Selected films will be screened in movie theaters on the same property as the convention hotel and are open for viewing by all convention attendees at no additional charge

Dates: August 31 to September 2, 2012

Place: Gateway Gettysburg Complex

Submission details: Horrorfind Weekend

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Friday, April 13, 2012

2012 Vampire Film Festival's Call for Entries

The 2012 Vampire Film Festival is seeking films from around the world, in "any language, any format, any length," including films covering the following topics:

* Vampire films and documentaries.

* Gothic films (i.e., pertaining to gothic literature, culture, Middle Ages or Medieval, etc.).

* Witchcraft and voodoo.

* Mythic horror (e.g., werewolves, ghosts, supernatural, dark superheroes, etc.).

* Anime.

* Music videos.

The 2012 Vampire Film Festival will screen in two cities: New Orleans (July 10 to 13th, at "the brand new A Midsummer Nightmare Convention") and Los Angeles (in the Fall).

Details at VampireFilmFestival.com.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

2012 South African Horrorfest's Call for Entries

The 8th annual South African Horrorfest will come to the Labia Theatre, Cape Town, this Halloween season.

The Horrorfest will have feature and short films, documentaries, the Makabra Ensemble live movie soundtrack performance to another classic silent movie, the Bloody Parchment literary chapter, alternative market, short story competitions, a Halloween dress-up competition, audience prizes and give-aways, a linkup with the Cape Town Zombie Walk, drink specials and more.

Dates: October 24th to November 2, 2012.

Deadline for film submissions: July 21, 2012.

Details: Horrofest.info.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, April 9, 2012

2012 World Horror Con Film Festival Winners

The winners of the 2012 World Horror Convention's film festival were announced on April 1, 2012. They are as follow:

Best Feature Film ..... Down the Road (dir: Jason Christopher)
Best Short Film ..... An Evening with My Comatose Mother (dir: Jonathan Martin)
Best Director ..... Jonathan Martin (An Evening with My Comatose Mother)
Best Actor ..... Matthew Currie Holmes (Stay at Home Dad)
Best Actress ..... Sahna Foley (The Brink)
Best Screenplay ..... Charles Chiodo, Ezekiel Zabrowski (Night of the Little Dead)
Best Cinematography ..... Devin Graham (An Evening with My Comatose Mother)
Best Makeup Effects ..... Chris Hanson (An Evening with My Comatose Mother)
Best Musical Score ..... Brandon Roberts (Monstrosity)
Audience Choice Award ..... Nursery Crimes (dir: L. Whyte)


==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Horror Film Festivals Panel at 2012 World Horror Convention


The 2012 World Horror Convention -- to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah -- will host a panel on horror film festival on March 29, 2012, at 4 p.m.

Panelists will include author Thomas M. Sipos, Blake Casselman, Stephen Graham Jones, filmmaker Jonathan Martin, and Mario DeAngelis.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Crypticon Seattle 2012 -- Call for Entries


Is there a horror convention that isn't climbing aboard the film festival bandwagon?

Crypticon Seattle is now accepting entries for its first horror film festival. Yes, there's an Entry Fee, but it apparently covers all three Crypticons, and it can be waived in certain cases.

From the Crypticon Seattle website:


Crypticon films often feature exciting and controversial subjects. From
Lovecraft to Godzilla, foreign films to no-budget indies, Dracula to (gulp) Edward, films at the convention can cover every facet and nuance of horror.

Since submissions are for all three Crypticon conventions deadlines are not direct to be eligible
[sic] for the Seattle convention you must have your film to us by April 5th, 2012.

Crypticon does require a submission fee. If you have had a film at Crypticon in the past this fee will be waived. If you are a local filmmaker please contact us before submitting.

Feature length: $35.00
Short length: $25.00



Details at the Crypticon Seattle website.

There are apparently two other, affiliated Crypticons. One is in Minneapolis. I'm not sure where the third Crypticon is held.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Viscera Film Festival Seeks Bone Marrow Donors


In association with Cella Art Gallery, Femme Fatale Art Show, and City of Hope, the Viscera Film Festival will be rolling out the bloody carpet in North Hollywood, California on February 25th to host a charity bone marrow swab registration to cap off their 2012 celebration of Women in Horror Recognition Month.

Many people have life-threatening illnesses that require a bone marrow transplant for a cure. Finding a matching marrow donor is not always easy, or even possible. There aren't enough viable donors registered. Currently, only two out of ten of those suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases ever get the treatment that could save their lives.

You can help change that.

The Be The Match Registry at City of Hope is working diligently to diversify their Registry of bone marrow donors to help more patients find lifesaving bone marrow matches. When you join the Be The Match Marrow Registry, you can save a life.

Every day thousands of patients need a life-saving transplant and are in search of a donor. With only 30% finding a suitable donor within their family, the remaining 70% must reach out to unrelated donors whose tissue type matches. Even with the Registry of millions, there are still patients waiting and hoping to find that match.

That's where you can help. Come to the Viscera Marrow Event and be swabbed and registered by City of Hope. You could save a life.

This event is FREE but please RSVP to either the Facebook event page or stacy at viscerafilmfestival dot com.

There'll be a very special screening of Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest. This was the last project Hammer horror icon Ingrid Pitt made, narrating her own story for a short animated film by an 11-year-old boy, Perry Chen, under the mentorship of cartoonist Bill Plympton.

Marrow will also provide a carpet walk, food, open bar, femme fatale-inspired art, and a screening of horror films by women.

Place:

Cella Art Gallery
1135 Weddington St
North Hollywood, CA 91601

Date: Saturday, Feb 25th

Time: 6 p.m. to (roughly) 10 p.m.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Rondo Hatton Awards Nominee

My book, whose title is also the name of this blog -- Horror Film Festivals and Awards -- has been nominated for the 2012 Rondo Hatton Horror Classic Awards.

The nomination is for their (what else?) "Book of the Year" category.

The Rondos are a fan award. Anyone can vote for the winners online.

My previous book, Horror Film Aesthetics, was likewise nominated for a Rondo last year. It didn't win, and I don't expect to win this year. But as they say about every award, "It's just an honor to be nominated!"

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bryan Wolford Raising Funds for Myctophobia

Bryan Wolford, co-founder/co-director of the Drunken Zombie Film Festival, is raising money for his own short film project, Myctophobia.

In his email, Wolford tells me that Myctophobia will begin production in February, for the short film compilation, The Collective Volume 4.

The theme of all films in The Collective Volume 4 is "emotions".

Wolford was assigned fear as his film's emotion. After researching phobias, he settled on myctophobia -- fear of the dark. His script is about a myctophobia sufferer who's alone at home when the lights go out.

The Collective Volume 4 is to premiere at the Days of the Dead convention on July 6-8, 2012, in Indianapolis, Indiana.



Wolford is seeking funds through Indie Go Go so that "the cast and crew gets a little pocket change out of the experience and to help pay for some special effects for the film. All filming with be done over a weekend in late February to keep the costs low."

There are some perks for contributing, so check out the above link.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

EndTimes Theater Seeks Horror and Sci-Fi Plays


If you're reading this blog, odds are that you're mostly interested in horror filmmaking. You write screenplays, not novels, much less stage plays. Yet if you've got a horror screenplay that can be adapted into a stage play, the EndTimes theater company may have an opportunity for you!

According to their website:


EndTimes is always looking for cutting edge, challenging scripts to produce. The material we select generally has a dark, satiric bent, or falls within the sci-fi/horror genre. We produce approximately 25 short plays (50 pages or less), and two full-length plays each season.


Endtimes is located in New York City, which is the best place to a play produced, if you write plays.

Details at their website.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.

Monday, January 23, 2012

2012 Dark Carnival Film Festival's Call for Entries


The Dark Carnival International Film Festival announces that their 2012 edition will run from October 19-21, 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Founded in 2007, Dark Carnival seeks independent horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy films -- short and feature length -- plus music videos and trailers. They'll be screening at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in downtown Bloomington, located a few blocks from Indiana University.

Submission deadline: July 28, 2012.

Details at: DarkCarnivalFilmFest.com.

==================================

For a behind-the-scenes look at horror film festivals and the festival directors who manage them, see Horror Film Festivals and Awards. This book also includes a directory of over 200 horror film festivals, and a list of festival award winners from dozens of festivals over several decades.