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CABIN FOR TWO (USA)
SYNOPSIS: An eccentric man makes a dating tape from his cabin in a post-apocalyptic future.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Sam Hoiland
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premier
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Sam Hoiland is an LA narrative director originally hailing from Portland, Oregon. His past films have shown in over 20 cities and in 2019, his short “R & Rx” received the Best Sci-Fi Film award from the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
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CARMENTIS (AUSTRALIA)
SYNOPSIS: A grief stricken miner finds himself injured on the desolate planet Carmentis and must overcome his personal demons in order to survive, but can he get there before the planet freezes?
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Adult Content
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Sci-Fi Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Carmentis is written and directed by talented filmmaker Antony Webb. Antony spent a decade of his career working in cinematography and editing before moving into writing and directing. He has worked on over 100 projects including short films, feature films, documentaries, web series, commercials, music videos and corporate videos. Antony has a solid history of industry support having won Young Filmmaker of the Year in 2009 as well as being selected for Screen Australia’s Springboard Initiative and Melbourne International Film Festival’s Directors Accelerator lab. In 2015 Antony shadowed director’s Dean White and John F. Showalter across three episodes of the Warner Bros. and CW science fiction series The 100.
Antony approaches filmmaking with a commercial sensibility however he always aims to tell genre stories with solid characters and heart. His short The Fan has won multiple awards and been in official competition at many International and National Festivals including, Palm Springs, St Kilda Short Film Festival, Flickerfest and St Louis International Film Festival. Among its accolades The Fan was nominated for a record breaking 9 West Australian Screen Awards, winning Best Director and Best Film as well as 5 nominations at the St Kilda Film Festival including Best Director and winning the Festival’s Choice Award. The Fan screened online as part of the AACTA’s Social Shorts and is available to buy on iTunes. Antony currently directs commercials while developing his feature film slate and is managed by Fictional Entity in Los Angeles.
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CENTRAL DENTAL(CANDA)
SYNOPSIS: Lewis finds himself at a sketchy 24 hour dental clinic after having his tooth knocked out.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Lindsay Thomas Robinson
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Nov. 1st @ 12:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Lindsay Thomas Robinson is a Canadian director & producer currently based in Berlin Germany. He has directed a number of music videos, 3 seasons of a documentary web series, and the short film Central Dental. Central Dental is his first narrative short film.
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CERBERUS (ESTONIA)
SYNOPSIS: Meelis, a modern countryman in search of his lost dog, comes upon a village where a mysterious crime has taken place. While trying to figure out the truth behind the strange events, a growing suspicion tempts to claim another victim.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Brief Nudity
DIRECTOR: Kaspar Ainelo
GENRE: Comedy, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Horror Shorts #2 Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Director Kaspar Ainelo’s (1991) roots are buried under the rocky soil of Hiiumaa, a small island that is constantly growing out of the Baltic Sea. For as long as Kaspar can remember, he has always been deeply fascinated by the absurdity of life. Some of it can be credited to the fact that he has been brought up in a small town called Kärdla, which sits on top of a meteorite crater. This is where he found film as a means to communicate twisted human nature with all of its pain and beauty. Last few years he has worked with production company Exitfilm to bring his ideas to the screen. “Cerberus” is Kaspar’s second short film as a director.
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CLASS (USA)
SYNOPSIS: New student Max attends his first ever acting class. He soon discovers that the lines between class and cult begin to blur as he and his fellow students are subjected to the bizarre but brilliant methods of their eccentric teacher, Adam (David Krumholtz).
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Ash McNair & Enzo Cellucci
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Comedy Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Ash McNair is a British-Indian actor and filmmaker from London. Enzo Cellucci is an American actor and filmmaker from Los Angeles, where they both began their acting careers together over a decade ago. In 2017 Ash and Enzo formed their production company, Goosemango Films in New York City. ‘Class’ is their screenwriting and directorial debut.
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CROCK POT (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Terror awaits a young couple as they fight over going to the young mans parents house the next day for thanksgiving.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Ty Jones
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 4th @ 11:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Ty Jones erupted from the womb ready to be a filmmaker. He’s been writing since he was 7, but once he started making films, he knew he had discovered the purpose for his volcanic imagination. 10 years ago, Ty picked up an 8mm camera and shot his first film. Since then, he has studied with the Hollywood Film Institute in Chicago and in Los Angeles with Dov Simmons, who also helped Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino begin their careers. Over the last 10 years, Ty has directed almost 40 short films, some of which have played around the world at film festivals. He has also worked on over 200 projects, such as commercials for NASCAR and Sprint and national television programs. Ty has held most positions in the film industry, ranging from DP to Assistant Director to Best Boy. You name it (outside of Make-up)and Ty has probably done it.
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CUTTER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A teenage cutter in recovery and her overbearing mother are haunted by a ghost who seeks to keep them at odds.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Dan Repp and Lindsay Young
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 7:30 PM
DIRECTOR’SBIO: Dan Repp is an Austin writer, director and producer. He learned to love all genres of film while studying at the University of North Texas, but there has always been a soft spot in his heart for horror and sci-fi. Since its inaugural festival in 2014, Dan has been the Senior Programmer and Event Director for the Other Worlds Film Festival.
Lindsay Young is an Austin writer particularly fond of dark comedy and horror. her first short screenplay, “Barney” was a semi-finalist in the SoCal Screenplay Short Competition in 2016.
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deMONICA (VENEZUALA/USA)
SYNOPSIS: An ex-gang member must recruit a Jesuit priest in order to save her younger sister, not only from the prostitution ring she fell into, but from the demon that’s possessing her body.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Miguel Angel Ferrer
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Miguel Ferrer is an award-winning writer and director. His feature directorial debut FFC was distributed by LionsGate, and his short film Culpa was acquired by HBO for worldwide distribution. Miguel has directed Super Bowl and national campaigns in both the North American and Hispanic markets, for clients such as NBC UNIVERSAL, PEPSICO, FORD, and CADILLAC. A former National Geographic cameraman and Warner Bros. TV Post Supervisor, Miguel has also written, produced, and directed over 50 music videos for Sony Music, Universal Music, Warners Music Group, and independent artists. His videos have been nominated for VIDEO OF THE YEAR and have reached the top of the Billboard charts and have garnered millions of hits on YouTube.
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DISEMBODIES (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A lovelorn underdog buys a novelty meteorite as part of a romantic gesture to win his ex back, but when the mysterious gift proves to have a mind of its own, he must purge himself of the parasitic entity before it consumes him.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Language
DIRECTOR: Jason Sheedy
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov.4th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Jason Sheedy is an independent film director, screenwriter, and editor. He i s a co-founder of ReturnStyle Pictures in which he has created award-winning short films, as well as the horror feature, Patient, which went on to air on Showtime. His screenplays have landed him semi-finalist and finalist awards with Screencraft, Stage 32, Film Empire, and the Finish Line Script Competition. In addition to his film work, he is also the Senior Editor for Bark Bark, a full-service commercial production company working with top brands and networks.
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DON’T BE AFRAID (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Haunted by her fears of a world rife with masks and disease, Lynn begs a neighbor to go pick up her meds for her, lest her worsening psychosis consumes her — and possibly others.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language
DIRECTOR: Daniel Beals
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: A Los Angeles transplant by way of Michigan, Daniel started creating and directing comedy shorts for himself and for brands like strike.tv, atom.tv, Defy Media, and Ubisoft before transitioning into drama and horror. His hope is to get a feature under his belt in the next few years. Daniel is a firm believer that the worlds he crafts on screen and behind the lens should reflect the real world and, thus, is a vocal advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the industry, across the board. When everyone has a seat at the table, it literally improves ALL of our stories.
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DON’T GO OUTSIDE (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A woman alone in the desert keeps getting mysterious phone call. An entirely solo project, “Don’t Go Outside” is a chill, stark, pared down and profoundly eerie study of alienation, isolation and personality breakdown.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Brief Nudity, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Natasha Halevi
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 3rd @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Natasha Halevi is an award-winning director and actress recognized for her female focused work in HORROR and SCi-FI. Her work can be found on CRYPT TV, SCREAMBOX, DUST and MIDNIGHT PULP. Halevi shares the Director’s Award for Cinematic Achievement with the 5 other female directors of Fatale Collective. Their anthology “Fatale Collective: Bleed” screened at acclaimed genre festivals including FANTASTIC FEST, OVERLOOK, BROOKLYN HORROR, FRIGHT FEST and FILMQUEST and had a 2020 online premiere with FANGORIA.
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DON’T TEXT BACK! (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: A woman seeks the help of an energy healer to rid herself of a cursed necklace that strangles her every time she doesn’t text back her bad Tinder date.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Kaye Adelaide & Mariel Sharp
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Horror Shorts #2 Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Kaye Adelaide is a writer, director, producer, and visual artist, based in Montreal QC. Kaye is always writing. Her notable accomplishments include writing four feature films, over a dozen shorts, as well as an embarrassment of existential poetry. Kaye’s writing has been supported by SODEC, WIFTV’s From Our Dark Side Program, and the Diversity of Voices Initiative at the Banff World Media Festival. Creatively, Kaye draws from her life experience as an out and fabulous transgender lesbian. With a flare for humour, Kaye tackles poignant themes facing the queer community through a genre lens.
Mariel Sharp is a producer, writer and director based in Montréal, QC. Mariel has produced six critically acclaimed short genre films which have played at over 60 international film festivals, as well as her first feature, Bleed With Me (directed by Amelia Moses). Mariel’s work has been supported by the Telefilm Talent to Watch program, the SODEC Jeunes Createurs Development program, WIFTV’s From Our Dark Side incubator program, the BANFF Diversity of Voices initiative, and the BMFF Creator’s Coven. As a producer, Mariel believes in empowering diverse voices and the unique potential of genre cinema as a vehicle for social change.
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EL TRISTE (MEXICO/USA)
SYNOPSIS: A Drama that takes place on the backstage of a marionette show. This short film follows “El Triste”, an old used ragdoll-like marionette, and his journey of self-acceptance and discovery as he decides to do all it takes to prove to himself and his fellow puppets that he is valuable and worthy of admiration.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Nudity
DIRECTOR: Manuel Del Valle
GENRE: Fantasy, Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Nov. 1st @ 12:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Manuel Del Valle is a Mexican film director and producer in his early twenties based in Los Angeles, California. Del Valle’s focus is in narrative form, primarily independent films but extends to commercials and music videos. His early but intensive education includes ArtCenter College of Design, California College of the Arts, New York Film Academy, and HBO’s sponsored workshop Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today. His narrative work is often described as bedtime stories crafted for adults where genre-blending takes center stage. His latest short films have been selected for HBO’s New York Latino Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hosted showcase titled Latinx & Hispanic Cinema- Generational Echoes.
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ESCALATION (ITALY/CHINA)
SYNOPSIS: In the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Chris, a paranoid and self-centered man, is happily avoiding all human contact, preferring to escape from reality in whatever’s on TV. When a friend reaches out to him to confront him about his past promises, Chris has to decide what kind of person he is inside, or it may just eat him…alive.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Mild Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Christian Bachini
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 4th @ 11:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Christian Bachini is an Italian filmmaker born in Parma, in the wonderful region of Emilia Romagna. His passion for filmmaking began at a very early age and action, adventure and horror soon became his favourite genres. At age 23, Christian moved to Asia in order to pursue his dream of becoming a Martial Arts actor. He established himself in Shanghai under the art name “Kang”, a word that in Chinese means “to counter and resist”. Beginning to work first as an extra and a stuntman, he went on to obtain a series of supporting actor roles, and finally he became lead actor and fight choreographer in a series of local indie productions like “Mao Pai Sha Shou/Fake Killer” and “Xia Dao Zhi Zhun/Break a Dead Lock”, becoming one of the few accomplished Mandarin-speaking foreign actors working in Shanghai.
During his Years in China he also became an advocate of Chinese-Western co-productions by working side by side with Italian Film Festivals to promote meetings between Chinese and European Producers. After many Years spent in Shanghai, Christian’s passion for the horror genre came knocking. In 2020 he decides to leave Asia behind and step behind the camera to debut as director with his short film “Escalation”, a “proof of concept” film from which he aims to kickstart a full feature film version based on the same concept.
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EVERY 75 MINUTES (SPAIN)
SYNOPSIS: While Rachel is waiting for the bus on her way into town, she meets a very special visitor…
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Borja A. Ortiz
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates Virtually via Horror Shorts #2 Block
PRODUCER’S BIO: BORJA A. ORTIZ (Seville, Spain) started with computer animation ten years ago and has worked as visual effects and 3d artist on more than a hundred films. He has participated in projects like “Game of Thrones”, “Oblivion”, “What Happened to Monday” o “Captain America: Civil War”. He also contributed to several Spanish productions such as “Zip & Zap and the Captain’s Island”, “The Plague”, “While at war”, or “30 Coins”.
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EVERY TIME WE MEET FOR ICE CREAM YOUR WHOLE FUCKING FACE EXPLODES (USA)
SYNOPSIS: The title says it all!
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DIRECTOR: Anthony Cousins
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 4th @ 11:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Anthony Cousins’ previous credits include When Susurrus Stirs, The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds and Scare Package
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EVIE (AUSTRALIA)
SYNOPSIS: In a world decimated by nuclear war, where barbaric clans and genetically modified dinosaurs roam the Australian countryside, a young girl, Evie (Melody Rom), must venture alone to a distant farmhouse to seek medical supplies for her dying father (Ben Mortley).
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Alex von Hofmann
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: North America Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Nov. 1st @ 12:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Alex von Hofmann is a US/Australian writer and director with a love of genre films. He works in Melbourne directing corporate content whilst developing features. Alex’s short films have screened at Palm Springs, Raindance, Screamfest, Flickerfest, Savannah IFF, Chicago ISFF, and have been selected four times at Vancouver IFF. His short TINGLEWOOD was AACTA nominated for best VFX. In 2021 his experimental short HOME premiered at the St Kilda Film Festival opening night. Alex won Screenwest’s Director’s Attachment program in 2014 and shadowed David Petrarca on the Netflix show MARCO POLO over six weeks in Malaysia. His feature LOCKED IN won the 2017 Shore Scripts Screenplay Competition, secured a 2-year shopping agreement and placed top five in the Monte Miller Awards in 2019. In 2020 his feature CUL DE SAC was a finalist in The Page awards, Shore Scripts and Screencraft Action Adventure competition, and is currently placed in the 2021 top 3% Red List on Coverfly.
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