Horrific Film Fest Encourages Newer, Indie Filmmakers

The Horrific Film Fest in San Antonio, Texas held its 10th anniversary screening last October. That's an important milestone. Many horror film festivals arrive with a big promotional splash, only to disappear after their first year. To survive beyond two or three years is noteworthy. To attain a full decade shows admirable staying power.

While the Horrific Film Fest accepts "all kinds of horror films," shorts and features, its emphasis is on indie horror. "Our festival was created to help independent filmmakers show their films, and help them get distribution," said HFF owner George Ortiz. 

He adds that "X rated" films are not welcome.

Ortiz, who is also a filmmaker, offers the following tips to indie horror filmmakers:

* Budget for Marketing

"Many filmmakers only budget for their movies. They don't consider the marketing side and film festivals." Many film festivals charge hefty admissions fees. Make sure you've raised the money to pay for it, because Ortiz advises to "submit to as many festivals as you can" -- with the following two caveats ...

* Some Festivals Are Too Big

"Many filmmakers want to submit to bigger festivals. Nine out of ten times, they don't get in. You need to submit to the smaller festivals. Get your name out there first, before you try the big ones. That's just my personal opinion. No disrespect to anybody."

* Some Festivals Are Too Small

"Be careful with those online festivals. They are not real. They just want your money. You get nothing in return."

* Avoid YouTube

"Don't show all of your movie on YouTube. Only the trailer. You want to take your film to a festival. If it's on YouTube, nobody will come to see it at the festival."

* Meet Other Filmmakers

"Every year, I see filmmakers who just come to see their own film, and then they leave. You should want to see all the films, so you can see who you going against, and to cross promote, make friends, and ask questions of other filmmakers. Ask what kind of camera they used. Bond with actors and filmmakers, often from another country. Filmmakers who have won in past festivals have a greater understanding of film festivals, and how to take advantage of them. They know to bring posters, promotional materials, their cast. Newer filmmakers can learn from them.

Ortiz encourages newer filmmakers, and film students, to submit their works. "The Horrific Film Fest was created to help filmmakers showcase their talent and get distribution. Eight movies have been distributed from my film festival."

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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.

Wreak Havoc Wants Entertaining Horror

The Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival screened its third edition this past September, at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Festival director Dan Sellers has a simple rule for filmmakers looking to screen at Wreak Havoc: Be entertaining.

"There is no particular subgenre we look for or favor," said Sellers. "The best advice I can give to filmmakers is to simply be entertaining! We will not pick a well made film if it's boring. Don't be boring. We are willing to take very low budget films, with poor production value, if there's entertainment value."

Entertainment value is a broad and subjective criterion. However, Sellers does have some additional advice. "Have something you want to say. Or at least do something original and different."

Sellers also emphasizes the need for high quality sound. "Sound quality is often an issue with small microbudget productions. If a film looks visually interesting, but our audience can't hear what's being said, then we're not going to go with it. We're willing to forgive a lot of technical problems if a film is simply fun to watch and entertaining." But not, apparently, if the audience must strain to hear the dialog.

* Tip: Record Quality Sound.

Many film festival directors I've interviewed over the years have complained about poor sound quality among their submissions. Apparently, all too many filmmakers devote much effort toward obtaining beautiful visuals, leaving sound as a mere afterthought. Cinematographers are honored on set, while sound recordists and engineers are treated like second class citizens.

If you're planning to enter the film festival circuit, find a talented sound engineer, and treat him or her like gold. It'll give your film a winning edge.

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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.

Crypticon Seattle Welcomes Northwest Horror Filmmakers

Eric Morgret founded and managed the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival in Seattle, which ran for three years before folding. Today he runs the film festival at Crypticon Seattle, a horror convention.

I asked Morgret what lessons he learned from Maelstrom that proved useful in running Crypticon's film festival.

"The main lesson was how to sift through and present films the judges liked and we felt would appeal to our festival growers," said Morgret. "A theatrical festival is a ton of work, but we had a projectionist that I could pass the work off to, allowing me to focus on the filmmakers and festival goers.

"A convention is different. The level of work that goes into finding the films and working with the filmmakers is similar, but most conventions do not have a theater. You have to create a "theater" in the hotel. You also need to get the gear to screen the films. So for the tech side, it can be a pain."

Morgret was with Crypticon even before he founded Maelstrom. "Crypticon started about 11 years ago. I've been with the convention from year one. We were showing films on an irregular basis for the first few years. Then in 2012, I started an official film festival for Crypticon. I am the festival director.

"It's hard to say why Maelstrom folded. We did not lose money, but the festival did not grow. Due to this lack of growth, one of our top contributors left the festival. This led to us closing our doors."

Like most horror film festivals, Crypticon accepts all subgenres and styles of horror. But as it's located in Seattle, it's an especially welcoming venue for filmmakers from the region. "We love our Northwest filmmakers," said Morgret. "We have a special block dedicated to them. We had films from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Since they are local, most all of them were able to attend the convention. It creates a sense of community."

Morgret offers the following advice to filmmakers:

* Learn your voice. There are hundreds of resources to learn how to make movies and tell stories. Use them. Once you understand the language of film, you can twist and turn it. You can save that cat in your own way.

* Don't automatically follow the "rules." Learn them and use them in a way that makes your movie better. Do not feel the need to make sure this plot point happens on this page. That is a sure way to get lost and trapped in a cliché.

* Don't think you have it all figured out. Don't ignore all the help you can find in the world now. Film is the greatest collaborative art. To do it at it’s best, you need to work with a team. Find a team that you can work with but will challenge you.

* Avoid ass-kissers. Avoid people who only tell you how amazing you are. If someone reads your script and says "it's perfect" -- probably not someone you should work with.

* Avoid grinches. But on the other hand, if all they have is criticism, with no ideas on how to improve things, they may not be who you want to work with either.

* Make the sound good. Technically the biggest problem is bad sound. Your eyes can process and forgive lots of strange things, but your ears are not discerning.

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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.

San Sebastian Advises Filmmakers to be True to Their Vision

The San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival is one of Europe's oldest genre film festivals. Its 28th edition will screen from October 28th through November 3rd of this year.

"We are mainly focused on hardcore genre," reports festival director Josemi Beltran, "but sometimes we also include a wider concept of fantasy or art house movies. Extreme horror, horror mixing with comedy, the experience of watching the movie with the audience is very important for us when we select a movie for the festival."

So audience reaction is a consideration in selecting films for screening.

Beltran welcomes almost any horror subgenre, provided the film "has quality. You can say that everything is already invented, but when you find a zombie movie so entertaining as Train to Busan, you forget that you're tired of zombies. Of course, we must confess that horror 'found footage' is a sort of plague."

Thus does Beltran join a growing list of festival directors who have tired of found footage horror films. (Or at least until filmmakers put a new spin on what has become a slavishly unoriginal subgenre.)

San Sebastian welcomes films with an authentic voice. "You must be honest with your style and your idea," Beltran advises. "Don't try to make everyone happy. Don't think about a festival's criteria or commercial criteria. Then your movie will at least be sincere and authentic, no matter what kind of fantastique film you have created. Production values and money are not the most important things to be successful. If you've created what you were aiming for, there will always be somebody who will value it. No rules. Please, we need more original and independent movies."

Although San Sebastian is held in Spain, English soundtracks or subtitles are acceptable for submissions. "We'll do the Spanish or Basque subtitling if your film is accepted for screening."

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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.

Horror-on-Sea Wants Endings that Make Sense

Debuting in January 2013, Britain's Horror-on-Sea Film Festival most recently screened on January 29, 2017.

Festival director Paul Cotgrove considers his event to be a big supporter of indie horror films, adding, "We are always on the lookout for new grindhouse and cult titles, such as Zombie Women of Satan 2 and Night of Something Strange."

His advice to horror filmmakers:

1. Try and keep the film's running time down to 80 minutes.

2. Finish with a good ending. A good ending to a feature or a short, that ideally makes sense, is crucial, especially with low budget films. Many films that we view have such disappointing endings, or just leave us wondering what the film was all about."

3. The only subgenre that we are getting a bit tired of is found footage films. We are really getting fed up with films that contain shaky camerawork.

Like some other horror film festivals, Horror-on-Sea offers year-round screenings in addition to their annual festival. "We run a monthly cult/horror double bill in our small 40-seat cinema. The last double bill that we screened at our Cult Film Night was Texas Chainsaw and The Town That Dreaded Sundown."

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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.

Knoxville Horror Film Fest Seeks More Animation Films

The Knoxville Horror Film Fest, founded in 2009, screens every October, coinciding with the Halloween season.

Film Programmer & Festival Director William Mahaffey shares some tips on what to takes to be accepted into Knoxville.

* Tight, Original Stories Rule

Tightness and originality are two key elements in determining whether a film is good enough to screen at Knoxville. No padding. No clichés.

"Work on your script and make sure it's tight," says Mahaffey. "Don't be overly attached to things you shot. The films that perform the best at festivals are usually around five minutes.

"Try to be as original and inventive as you can. If you look at your story and see things that have been done before, come up with something different. Or at least take a different approach. If you recognize that it's something clichéd or overused, then I guarantee the people screening your film will."

* Production Tips

Naturally, your film should look and sound its best. Many indie filmmakers seem especially prone to neglect sound. Poor sounding films is a widespread complaint among festival directors.

"Take your time and make sure you get sound and lighting right," said Mahaffey. "Sometimes your film might have an amazing script and acting, but it's hindered by poor production values. Bad sound is super common. Sound is a pretty hard thing to deal with, but if you take the time to get it right, or hire someone that knows what they're doing, it will make your film better."

* Shortage of Horror Animation

There seems to be a festival-wide shortage of animated horror. As with Crimson Screen, Knoxville welcomes all subgenres but is short on animation.

"We used to get more animated films," said Mahaffey. "I would love it if we got more of them."

* Zombies Okay, Torture Porn Not So Much

The zombie glut continues, making for an overdone, overtired subgenre. But don't despair. Your zombie film might still get admitted into Knoxville -- provided you've breathed some originality into it.

"I personally am pretty tired of zombies," said Mahaffey. "But I am occasionally surprised with how people can still bring something fresh to that genre.

"I do still get torture porn films, and for the most part, I don't want to watch another one of those."

* Not Just an Annual Event

In addition to their big annual screenings, some horror film festivals present smaller screenings throughout the year. Knoxville is one of those.

"We do monthly screenings," said Mahaffey. "Our last screening was on June 12th. It was an annual event we do called Terror in the Woods. It takes place at Ijams Nature Center. We showed The Descent and had a local haunted house create a haunted trail at the event."

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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.

Crimson Screen Encourages Filmmakers to Attend -- and Schmooze

Founded in 2014, the Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest had its fourth event last May.

Festival founder and director Tommy Faircloth offers advice to horror filmmakers planning to submit their films for the 2018 edition, to be held in North Charleston, South Carolina.

* Films are Heard as well as Seen

Like many festival directors, Faircloth emphasizes the importance of a film's audio quality. It should be clean, crisp, the dialog easily understood by viewers -- who are also listeners.

"We do our best to make sure your film looks and sounds great," said Faircloth. "But if you had bad audio, we can’t do much for you."

* Wanted: Animated Horror

If you're working on an animated horror film, you're in luck. Competition is currently low for this particular subgenre.

"We play all types of horror films," said Faircloth, "from established to first-time filmmakers. But we would like to see more animated horror films."

* Audiences Love Horror Comedy

After a film is shown at Crimson Screen, Faircloth says that "many" elements determine whether it goes on to win an award. Films are judged not solely by artistic merit, but also by entertainment value. 

"It's not only how good the film is," said Faircloth, "but also audience reaction."

So by pleasing the audience, your film stands a greater chance of walking off with an award. Any tips on how to please an audience?

"Comedy horror is always a bit hit with audiences," said Faircloth.

The takeaway: It's not that dramatic horror films don't win at Crimson Screen. But if you want to boost your film's chances, consider tossing in some laughs.

* Slashers Face Stiff Competition

"We have seen a lot of slasher films," says Faircloth, although adding, "We love slasher films."

Is there a slasher film glut? If something's trending at one festival, it could be trending throughout the festival circuit. And because most festival directors like to schedule for variety, a slasher glut means that your slasher film must outperform other slashers to get screen time on the festival circuit. Whereas a decent enough alien abduction film, if it's the only one submitted, might be a shoe-in.

The takeaway: If you're still in pre-production, consider changing your film's monster from a slasher to a radioactive porcupine, or some other rarely filmed creature. Even better if it's a funny radioactive porcupine.

* Schmooze or Lose

Winning an award at Crimson Screen is, to some extent, a popularity contest. (Actually, that's true of most awards, including Oscar.) Filmmakers must please audiences because their reactions while seeing a film matter in the judging process. But it's also important for filmmakers to "schmooze" audiences and judges between screenings, because another factor is ... Do they like you? 

Or as Faircloth describes it, "How the filmmaker helps promote their screening and what type of person they are. Don't be a dick. Don't think your movie is the best out there. It's okay to praise others.

"Making friends and showing support to other filmmakers is something we push at Crimson Screen. The fest should not only be about seeing movies, but about making a connection with the audience and other filmmakers.

"Filmmakers should not think that getting into the festival is the end of their work. They should promote their screening in any way possible -- social media, websites, etc. Especially if they can't attend the fest. But attending the fest is key."

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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.