SCHEDULE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
_____________________
TERRIBLE THINGS (IRELAND)
SYNOPSIS: Amidst the dead uninhabitable world of the future, the refuge of a forgotten country cottage affords a lone wanderer opportunity to acknowledge the lingering strands of her own humanity.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Ciarán Hickey
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Virtual Horror Shorts #1 Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Ciarán Hickey is an emerging and award-winning film director/writer based in Co. Kildare, Ireland. A First Class Honours graduate of the esteemed National Film School IADT, his work has shown all over the world at various prestigious film festivals hosted in the likes of Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, Chicago, Poland and across his native Ireland. His graduate short film – The Boy Murder, a dark dramatic thriller – had its festival premiere at the renowned Camerimage Film Festival in 2015 and would go on to secure him Best Student Director at the first inaugural CPI & ICAD Young Directors Awards (now the Emerging Directors Awards) in Dublin, 2016.
A year later, he – in partnership with Bear Print Media – received funding through Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to realise the fantasy short film The Lighthouse. About this time, production completed on a separate short film of his, drama Just Fine. Both shorts would enjoy successful festival runs, with Just Fine being selected for the RTÉ Player in 2020 and The Lighthouse being nominated for Best Cinematography at the Fastnet Film Festival in 2019.
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE ANNIVERSARY (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A housewife prepares dinner for her anniversary, but not everything is as normal as it seems.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: N/A
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
THE CENOZOIC ERA (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A young couple spends an afternoon waiting around for a repairman to show up.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language
DIRECTOR: Justin Giegerich
GENRE: Sci-Fi, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Justin Giegerich is a NYC based writer, director, and actor. His films include The Cenozoic Era, The King of East 85th Street, Gap Year, and Neither, the latter of which premiered at the Morelia International Film Festival. When he is not making films, Justin can be found reading, enjoying a baseball game, or working with kids. He holds a BFA in Acting from Pace University’s School of Performing Arts, and is currently an MFA Film Candidate at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE DANGEROUS TYPE (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A mechanic in a small midwestern town would do anything to leave her boring life behind.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Tipper Newton
GENRE: Fantastic The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 4:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Tipper Newton is an actor, filmmaker and musician living in Los Angeles. She’s had recurring roles on The Mindy Project and The Guest Book. When she’s not busy acting she’s the front woman for her power-pop band Color TV.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE DEAD COLLECTORS (UK)
SYNOPSIS: During a pandemic in an alternate reality, two men have the job of collecting the deceased.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Brendan Cleaves
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Nov.1st @ 9:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Brendan Cleaves is a director from the UK. His focus is creating worlds and characters different form normality, but highlighting human misgivings and difficulties. His ideas are sometime weird, sometimes dark, but always fun and entertaining.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE FOURTH WALL (FRANCE / USA)
SYNOPSIS: Chloe is a struggling actress on the streets of Paris, preparing for one last performance. This will be her finest performance yet.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Mild Language, Sensuality, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Kelsey Bollig
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 7:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Kelsey Bollig is an award-winning writer-director currently based out of LA. Bollig is a fresh yet commanding face in the world of Horror, and entered this industry with a BANG as she landed her first Best Screenplay Award at the tender age of 12, for her Feature, ‘Big Kids Play Manslaughter’ at the Hollywood Shriekfest Film Festival. Years later, she would only garner more acclaim for her first short ‘Asking for a Friend’ which has won 18 awards to date including Best Director at the NOLA Horror Film festival and Best Horror Comedy at the famous Women in Horror Film Festival.
‘Asking for a Friend’ paved the way for Bollig’s second short ‘The Fourth Wall’ starring Lizzie Brochere ‘American Horror Story Asylum’, Jean-Marc Barr ‘Nymphomaniac Vol II, The Big Blue’, and Roby Schinasi ‘Gossip Girl’ which premiered at Fantasia and has already won Best Horror Film at Nightmares Film Festival, Best Horror at the Academy Award qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at the lauded Festival de Cine de Terror de Molins de Rei in Spain. ‘The Fourth Wall’ is currently featured on AMC’s streaming platform Shudder as a part of the prestigious Etheria Film Festival. The festival selects 9 filmmakers out of hundreds of submissions to showcase. Bollig’s critical foresight brings to light cultural relevancies using high octane visuals and ambitious storytelling.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE FUZZIES (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A man wakes up locked in a strange bathroom where something is lurking behind the walls.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Josh Funk
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Josh Funk is a filmmaker and animator from Northern California. His work blends various forms of puppetry and animation with live-action footage. He has worked with stop-motion, 2D, and experimental animated processes for independent films, music videos, stage performances, and feature films.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
THE MAD SHAGGER (UK)
SYNOPSIS: A woman searches for a missing loved one who, unknown to her, has been afflicted with a terrible curse.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language, Brief Nudity, Sensuality, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Ciaran Lyons
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Nov. 1st @ 12:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Ciaran Lyons is a Scottish writer-director based in Glasgow.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE NIGHT COURIER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A single night offers a suffocating glimpse into the life of a woman whose occupation is feeding people to monsters. When one of her victims escapes, the story escalates into a hellish cat and mouse chase.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Mason McDonald
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 2nd @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: After attending film school in Oklahoma, Mason McDonald moved to Asheville, NC to pursue filmmaking at an independent level. There he started two production companies with his partner Tabitha, and worked on films of all shapes and sizes. During these endeavors, he found a voice in horror after making a successful short on a Goodwill budget, and knew that horror was where he wanted to be. Mason and Tabitha recently completed The Night Courier which is now being developed into a feature.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE OFFER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A mysterious offer overshadows two sisters’ last weekend together in the mountains.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language
DIRECTOR: Sam Shapson
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 29th @ 6:00 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Sam Shapson is a Writer-Director and 1st Assistant Director whose work explores the human experience when confronted by the unknown. In 2012 his short film THE TREEHOUSE played at festivals around the world, and in 2015 his short film REFUGE was acknowledged as the world’s first narrative film lit exclusively by natural moonlight by VICE, Gizmodo, Indiewire, & No Film School. Sam works as a full time 1st Assistant Director in Los Angeles on projects that have premiered at Sundance, Tribeca, Netflix, and SXSW.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE OTHER SIDE (SOUTH AFRICA)
SYNOPSIS: A young woman and her pursuer are transported into an alternate dimension that challenges their view on reality. After coming into contact with an ancient being, their lives are transformed forever.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: John DeVries
GENRE: Sci-Fi, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 4th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: John DeVries is a director / writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. He believes in the transformative and culture-shaping power of film and as such, has spent much of his career as a documentary filmmaker in conflict zones. He strives to use his experiences in these environments to tell narrative stories that are engaging, thought-provoking and inspire change in the world around him.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR (UK)
SYNOPSIS: A fearless young woman with a rare brain condition participates in a series of increasingly bizarre experiments with two ethically compromised neurologists.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Daniel Mendelle
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 3rd @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: At six years old, Daniel ran screaming from the room during his first viewing of ‘Jaws’ and was physically sick encountering ‘Alien’ aged twelve. The potency of those two films ignited a passion for all things fearsome and filmic, and he is aching to one day inflict the same glorious trauma on viewers. Although British and frustratingly useless at the German language, Daniel currently lives in Berlin with his wife and their two young children (neither of whom have yet seen ‘Jaws’).
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
THE PEY (USA)
SYNOPSIS: After sharing a mysterious GIF online, a social media obsessed teenager is hunted by a terrifying monster known as The Pey
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Ramone Menon
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Ramone Menon is a South Asian Filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He loves working primarily in the Horror genre. His previous works include the feature film The Black Tape and the award winning short film Once Upon a Time in a Haunted House. Ramone is originally from Bangalore, India.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE RECIPIENTS (USA)
SYNOPSIS: After her husband’s long awaited heart transplant, Ava’s life finally seems back on track. That is until a call from their cardiologist reveals that Lincoln’s new heart might be corrupted and connected to the donor’s other organs in a sinister way. Lincoln might not be Lincoln anymore.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Chad Cunningham
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Chad is an award winning writer/director based in TN. His credits include 230+ episodes of national television, mostly in the true crime genre.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
THE RELIC (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A group of adventurers in search of a mythological object get more than they bargained for when they discover the legend foretelling the end of all life in the universe could actually be true.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: J.M. Logan
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: J.M. Logan — All Josh has ever wanted to do is make movies with his friends, and after more than a hundred feature films — there’s still nothing he’d rather be doing.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE RICKETY MAN (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A dark horror tale that tells the story of Edward, a distant widower discovering his children are grieving their mother’s death in their own terrifying way, after having met a mysterious entity in the woods.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Cameron Gallagher
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Horror Shorts #1 Block
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Cameron was raised in Upstate New York, where his passion for filmmaking began with a VHS camcorder creating short skits with his brother, Grant. During Highschool and beyond, Cameron has made hundreds of skits, shorts, commercials, and wedding videos since then, including Crypt TV’s “The Forgotten” & “The Alive” under his production company with producing partner Zack Porlier. The whole team coming together, helped Cameron step up for the biggest short to date, The Rickety Man.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE SILENT LAY STEADY (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: A woman finds herself alone with the body after a funeral in her 1860’s farmhouse.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Travis Laidlaw
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 2nd @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Travis Laidlaw is a Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. His last short film, DEAD HOUSE, premiered at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and now lives on the horror streamer ALTER with over 120k views. Travis has directed, produced and lead post production for some of Canada’s top music talent including Sam Roberts Band, The Darcys, Lights and Dragonette. Travis is working towards directing his first feature film.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE WISHFLOWER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A gothic fairy tale.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Tom Albanese
GENRE: Fantasy, Horror, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 4th @ 12:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Tom’s films have played at festivals including Cleveland, Brussels Fantastic, Virginia, HollyShorts, Brooklyn, Rhode Island, LA Shorts and have won awards including “Best After Hours Short” at the 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival, “Best Short Film” at Germany’s 33rd Fantasy Filmfest & “Best Screenplay” at FilmQuest.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE SILENCE (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Erin’s new hearing aids are picking up strange voices she’s unable to explain– today is the day she confronts those voices.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Mike Castro
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: A Media Production major from Quinnipiac University, Mike Castro graduated in 2008 with no job or life ambitions. He briefly planned to move to Austin, Texas to pursue music with his rock band– but these plans fell through and brought Mike back to square one. After his first paycheck at a salaried customer service job, he purchased the Canon 7D. Excited to join the DSLR revolution, he set out to film some shorts with his Brooklyn roommates. No one else knew how filming worked, so by default Mike became “the director”. It wasn’t long before this title stuck, and Mike started referring to himself as a “filmmaker.”
His filmmaking skills proved to be transferrable when the CEO of his customer service job created a Video Producer position for him within the company. This started Mike down a career path of shooting videos for tech companies and start-ups. He currently works for Squarespace as a Senior Video Producer and uses his paychecks to fund the short films he makes on weekends with Journey’s End.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
TODAY (AUSTRALIA)
SYNOPSIS: Today is November 19th, 1969, and this young successful couple find themselves in a vicious cycle, trapped within an impenetrable void. How can they distinguish one day from another?
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Andy Jacksch
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Sci-Fi Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: I’m Andy Jaksch, a young filmmaker starting my film ‘career’ at a mature age. Having studied photography and being involved in various independent films over the years I reached a point where I desperately wanted to explore my own creative urges. I’m so happy I did. I love this. Naturally I’m still finding my way as a director, but it’s become apparent to me that I love open ended, offbeat stories. The stories I’m developing all seem to be Sci Fi so I’m sticking with it for now. TODAY is my second film. I love the collaborative nature of the filmmaking process. It will be fun to see which of the currents projects in development grows legs first.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
TOGETHER TILL THE END (MEXICO)
SYNOPSIS: When Elena and Joaquín are about to break up, something gets in their way: the zombie apocalypse has started.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Salvador Medina
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, Salvador Medina studied Latin American Literature before majoring in Communications. At Universidad Iberoamericana, he wrote, produced, or directed at least a dozen short films. After graduating, he’s worked for Postal Pictures, Milenio Diario, and founded Pulp Films & Media, a media production company and ad agency based in Mexico City. He has directed several nationwide commercials, as well as multiple social media marketing campaigns. He’s a UCLA professional program in screenwriting alumni. A feature film based on his award-winning short Together Till The End will be shot this year with Salvador directing again.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
TRUE NORTH (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A drifter receives a mysterious voicemail from his soon-to-be ex-wife, who has gone missing. As he searches for her, he uncovers the sinister nature of her disappearance.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Brian Mitchell & Ian Start
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 4:30 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: After growing up together in Sacramento, CA, Brian Mitchell & Ian Start moved south to Los Angeles in pursuit of creating stories together. Film school at CSU Northridge led to a string of directing and producing for brands such as Tyler, The Creator’s Golf Media, Skybound Entertainment’s The Walking Dead, Mattel’s Barbie & Hot Wheels, and many others. With an obsessive love for the horror genre and over 10 years of collaboration, their award winning short films Helix (licensed by CryptTV) and most recent work, True North, are the beginning of their journey into genre filmmaking.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: N/A
_____________________
tx-reverse (AUSTRIA)
SYNOPSIS: What happens in a cinema when you reverse space and time?
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences / Family Friendly
DIRECTOR: Martin Reinhart & Virgil Widrich
GENRE: Fantastic, The Beyond, Experimental
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Fantastic Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Martin Reinhart, film historian, filmmaker and film technician, born 1967 in Vienna, lives and works in Vienna. He studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Co-founder of the company Indiecam, which was a pioneer of digital film and developed the CinemaDNG standard together with Adobe. His innovative works and films have been presented at numerous international exhibitions and festivals, including the “tx-transform” film technique developed by him.
Virgil Widrich, screenwriter, film director, multimedia artist and professor for “Art & Science” at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. His works have been awarded with more than 150 international prizes so far. His most recent feature film is “Night of a 1000 Hours” (2016). His first music video “Nena & Dave Stewart: Be my Rebel” was released in 2018. www.widrichfilm.com
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
