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PATHOSIS (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Pathosis is a short horror film starring Luciana Faulhaber as Sam, a young woman plagued by a mental disorder who must struggle between fighting her disease and the troublesome side effects of her medication.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Mild Language, Intense
DIRECTOR: Austin Bonang
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 7:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Austin Bonang has spent the last 12 years working as a previs supervisor on over twenty of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters including Star Trek, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Days of Future Past where he earned a Visual Effects Society Award for the “Quicksilver kitchen scene.” Working with iconic directors like The Russo Brothers and Robert Rodriguez, among many others, he has honed his skills and is more than ready to make his directorial debut with Pathosis.
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PICK UP ARTIST (GERMANY)
SYNOPSIS: A guy jogs at night listening to a “how-to-pick-up-girls” tutorial. Suddenly a girl appears right in front of him also jogging…but wait…is she running?
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Adult Content
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates via Virtual Comedy Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Mario Alexander Schuster, educated in Baden-Württemberg, studied communication design and Electronic Media. Won an advancement award from the Goethe-Institut and wrote his master thesis about the strategic planning of TV series. Co-creator of a weekly writers´room in Stuttgart. He is currently developing his feature film debut „Ungeheuer“ with financial support of the German Film Fund.
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PICNIC PALS IN DREAMLAND (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A girl with paranoid FOMO discovers her two best friends had a dream-sharing experience without her. Pyschic adventure ensues.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language, Sensuality, Adult Content, Intense
DIRECTOR: David Ferino
GENRE: Comedy, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: David began his career as an intern for Martin Scorsese while studying film at NYU. After graduating he moved to Los Angeles to co-direct CURE FOR PAIN, a feature rock doc that screened at 20+ fests worldwide. The project was repped by the Gersh Agency and distributed by Cinetic. From there he entered the Wild West of video content, though he still doesn’t know exactly what “content” means. Despite these loose semantics, his clients include Google, Red Bull, Vice, P&G, and NBC-Universal. Most recently he served as a writer/producer on CLOSE UP BY E! – a daily entertainment news series for Quibi (RIP).
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POOR GLENNA (USA)
SYNOPSIS: When her mutant son develops a taste for human flesh, a timid mother must find a victim to satisfy his ravenous appetite.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense
DIRECTOR: Jean-Paul DiSciscio
GENRE: Horror, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 3rd @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Jean-Paul DiSciscio is an eclectic filmmaker from Boston, Massachusetts. He has been obsessed with filmmaking ever since he watched Jaws for the first time on VHS at the age of six. It terrified him beyond the capacity for rational thought. To deal with this emotional stress, his mother bought him a beat up copy of The Jaws Log. The impressionable boy was fascinated by the blueprints of Bruce The Shark with its mechanical guts. Jean-Paul still stayed far from the ocean, but had found his calling.
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POSIES (USA)
SYNOPSIS: As people begin to “devolve” into monsters, one woman attempts to hide her transformation by placing flowers under her skin.
RATINGS GUIDE: Langue, Sensuality, Intense
DIRECTOR: R.H. Stavis & Katherine Fisher
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 5th @ 7:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: R. H. Stavis – Co-Director / Writer R.H. Stavis is an award winning writer who began her career creating the back story for the globally loved title, Tomb Raider. Shortly after, she sold her first film to TriStar Pictures, and has been writing comics, videogames, television and film ever since: notably Something Monstrous! (with Steve Niles), Transformers: War for Cybertron (Activision), Adera: The Soul Stone (Microsoft), LIAR (Blumhouse). Her most recent work is a best selling memoir about her life as “Hollywood’s premier exorcist” (Sister of Darkness, Harper Collins). It details how she became who she is – the person most trusted by rock icons and Oscar winners to cleanse the darkness that consumes them. Now she is heading into the world of directing, bringing her unique background and vision to the screen.
KATHERINE FISHER – Co-Director / Producer Katherine Fisher made her directorial debut with the short film Proof Of Loss starring Dylan McDermott (Hollywood, American Horror Story), premiering at the 2020 HollyShorts Film Festival November 9-15. In late 2019 Katherine teamed up with writer and co-director R.H. Stavis on the short film POSIES starring Anna Diop (TITANS, US, 24:Legacy) and Andy Favreau (Single Parents, Animal Kingdom). Katherine is an Emmy nominated and Gotham, Peabody, and GLAAD award-winning producer with 15 years of experience in narrative and documentary filmmaking in the U.S., UK, Kenya, and Congo. Her work has screened at Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival (winner 2018 Special Prize), SXSW (winner 2019 Short Film Jury Award), LA Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, BlackStar Film Festival, among others. Recent producing credits include the 2019 short film Five Times A Day written by Fawzia Mirza and directed by Tchaiko Omawale, and the 2018 short films Liberty written and directed by Faren Humes, and A True Crime written and directed by Marques Green. Past credits include Ink from writer/director Rosie Haber, and the Emmy nominated series Her Story, directed by Sydney Freeland. Documentary works include One Billion Rising, and the award winning Netflix Original City of Joy. From 2004-2015 Katherine worked with V-Day, the worldwide movement to end violence against women and girls. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and is a 2018 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, a 2018 New Orleans Film Society Southern Producers Fellow, and a 2018 20th Century Fox Global Inclusion Fellow.
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PRUDENCE (USA)
SYNOPSIS: In the winter of 1893, Prudence hears strange chanting outside her cabin.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense
DIRECTOR: R.D. Womack II
GENRE: Horror, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 31st @ 9:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: R.D. Womack II is a director from Cheyenne Wyoming. Known for his gritty and artistic taste, Womack leans heavily on dramatic character pieces and dark comedy.
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RANCOUR (AUSTRALIA)
SYNOPSIS: A mother reaches out to her estranged son in a last-ditch effort to convince him to farewell his father, but we soon discover that the wayward scion is lost in the grip of something far more visceral than paternal rebellion. Something malignant.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Intense
DIRECTOR: Dane Hallett
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 31st @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: An adept concept designer, creature artist and prop maker, Dane Hallett earned a reputation for his passion, broad skill set and his interdisciplinary ability to carry a design from concept to creation. His work has been featured in Mad Max: Fury Road, which won an Academy award for production design, Hacksaw Ridge, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Aquaman, The Wolverine and Alien: Covenant, with the latter resulting in an official book of illustrations. Now, he is turning to directing, adapting Rancour, his own short film screenplay, with his fellow creative producers John Marsh & Craig Blair.
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RAZE OF THE CYBORG (TAIWAN)
SYNOPSIS: When the girlfriend of an assassin is abducted by cyborg criminals, he gets weaponized cybernetic augmentations to rescue her and kill her captives.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Brief Nudity, Sensuality, Adult Content, Intense
DIRECTOR: Young-H. Lee
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 3rd @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Young-H. Lee graduated from NYU with a masters degree and began working professionally as an actor, director and VFX artist in NYC for ten years. He continues his work in Asia currently focusing on Sci-Fi, horror and action films.
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RECEIVER (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: Sriyani, an idealistic and overtaxed Sri Lankan-Canadian social worker, is a counsellor at a telephone help line. She has built her life around helping others, but always at the expense of those closest to her. So who is going to defend Sriyani when she is hypnotized by a caller on the phone tonight?
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Language, Intense
DIRECTOR: Cavan Campbell
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 31st @ 5:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Cavan Campbell was raised on Prince Edward Island, Canada, his Island father a painter and his Sri Lankan mother a writer. Filmmaking proved the natural synthesis of these early loves. Cavan’s films have screened on four continents, and his film HANGNAIL was lauded by Academy Award®- winner Paul Haggis as “very powerful, wonderful filmmaking”.
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RED (UK)
SYNOPSIS: When an ex-soldier makes a dangerous choice to find his daughter a matching organ through unofficial channels, he awakes in a bath of ice, missing one of his own kidneys, and worse – his daughter. Discovering he’s trapped in an ‘Organ Harvesting Den’, he must fight for survival and find her before it’s too late.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Language, Nudity, Intense
DIRECTOR: David Newton
GENRE: Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates via Virtual Fantastic Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: David is an award-winning director with a strong visual style and a level headed approach to filmmaking. In 2017 he wrote and directed his first feature film ‘The Take Down’, which was the second film ever to be officially supported by the well established Raindance Film Festival, London. Whilst developing several feature films, David is always keen to hone his skills and can be found actively collaborating with diverse, passionate filmmakers on short films and commercials.
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REFLECTION (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A young woman must escape her reflection when it enters her world. Only problem: as she moves, it moves.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Heath C. Michaels
GENRE: Horror, Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Writer and Director Heath C. Michaels attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1999 and received a BFA in film direction. His first feature film, Yeardley (2010), premiered at the Santa Fe Film Festival where it was nominated for best feature. It also won best feature at the Malibu International Film Festival, best feature and actor at MBIFF, and gained worldwide distribution with DPEC Studios. In 2016, he became a semifinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and top five finalist in Final Draft’s Big Break contest, with his feature-length screenplay, Breathe.
In 2018, Michaels wrote & directed the award-winning short, The World Over, which took top prize at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. In 2019, Michaels optioned a short film script with Fox for their “Bite Size Horror”, and subsequently directed one of his un-optioned pitches, Reflection, in 2020 starring Bianca Bradey from the cult hit Wyrmwood (2014). Reflection is currently enjoying a tour in the international festival circuit.
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REKLAW (USA)
SYNOPSIS: It’s Penny’s first night stripping at an exclusive, underground club. Will she go as far as it takes to be remembered?
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Sensuality, Nudity, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Polaris Banks
GENRE: Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 30th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Polaris devotes multiple years to one single ambitious production at a time to push what he’s able to accomplish independently. He wants more than anything to give audiences the giddy thrills they felt going to the movies in their youth.
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RENAISSANCE MAN (DOC) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: With no experience, William auditions for a renaissance festival only to find the one thing he’s been missing all his life… family.
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences
DIRECTOR: Carson Hunt
GENRE: Fantasy, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates via Virtual Fantastic Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Carson Hunt is a producer at Draft, a creative agency in Knoxville, TN. He has over 20 years of experience in writing, shooting, directing, editing, and color grading. In his spare time, he performs at the TN Medieval Faire and the TN Pirate Festival with his family.
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RETURN OF THE BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE (UK)
SYNOPSIS: A couple’s quiet weekend getaway goes awry when an alien beast attacks. Or that’s what it wants them to think. Claire and Tom must escape the woods before the beast finds them but they can’t help but uncover something far more sinister.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Max Ward
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: International Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Exclusive – Screens all dates via Virtual Sci-Fi Shorts Block
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Max Ward originally hails from Des Moines, Iowa and now currently lives in London. He works between the film and video gaming sector, mixing and merging the two media types. His other work includes Press 1 for Redemption, Call of Corona, and The Cult of Discoah.
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RIVEN (NEW ZEALAND)
SYNOPSIS: Battling the demons begotten by the death of his wife, a warrior seeks redemption in bringing her back from the dead.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence
DIRECTOR: Matt Inns
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMIERE STATUS: North America Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, Nov. 2nd @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Matt Inns is a New Zealand based filmmaker. His passion for genre film began at a young age, greatly inspired by classic sci-fi and adventure films such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. His work is deeply influenced by a lifelong interest in science, history and mythology. Drawn toward themes that shine a light on the darker side of life.
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RUBY RED (USA)
SYNOPSIS: In a future where blood is currency, a woman with a rare blood type discovers she’s being followed.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language
DIRECTOR: Emily C. Chang
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 29th @ 6:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Emily C. Chang is a Los Angeles-based actor and writer for TV/film. She has co-directed award-winning short films and theater, and RUBY RED is her first solo directing effort.
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