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TA-DA! (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A mediocre magician saves the best trick for last.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Howe
GENRE: Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 29th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: After six years of writing (and occasionally producing) screenplays, Jeffrey thought it would be useful as a writer to experience first-hand the decision-making that happens after the words are set down. The concrete result is all three minutes and twentyish seconds of “Ta-Da!”
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TANK FAIRY (TAIWAN)
SYNOPSIS: Once upon a time, the magical Tank Fairy delivered tanks of gas (with plenty of sass) to the home of young Jojo, a lonely dreamer in need of a glittery godmother…
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences
GENRE: Fantasy, Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 2nd @ 8:00 PM (w/ “Gibe Me an A”)
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Erich Rettstadt is a queer American filmmaker and theater artist whose work emphasizes inclusivity and escapism. He obtained his BFA in Film Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MFA in Writing for Screen & TV from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. TANK FAIRY premiered at SXSW (Audience Award) and is an Official Selection at 80+ festivals in 20+ countries.
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THE BABY NEXT DOOR (USA)
SYNOPSIS: The cries of a baby drive a man going through a breakup into drug-fueled madness.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sensuality, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Alec Gibbons
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 28th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Alec has directed two short films, the first receiving award nominations and distribution via Bloody Disgusting, FilmShortage, and Shorts TV. He’s also a writer with placements at Austin Film Festival, Nichols and many more.
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THE BIG RED BASTARD (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A grizzled cop must bring to justice a deadly and mysterious menace who has left his city in ruins and his life in chaos.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Mild Language, All Audiences
DIRECTOR: Tom Horvath
GENRE: Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 31st @ 10:00 PM (w/ “Murder, Anyone?”)
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Tom Horvath is a Los Angeles based filmmaker. He graduated from the College for creative studies in Detroit, Michigan where he earned a bachelors degree in film and animation.
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THE BLOOD OF THE DINOSAURS (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Uncle Bobbo teaches children where oil comes from.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Mild Language, Strong Sensuality, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Joe Badon
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 2nd @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Born and raised in a very poor home in Slidell, Louisiana. At the age of 39, Joe self financed his first film, ‘The God Inside My Ear’ in 2018. After an award winning festival run, ‘The God Inside My Ear’ secured worldwide distribution through Gravitas Ventures. In 2019, Joe ran a successful kickstarter to fund his second feature film ‘Sister Tempest’ which had an even more successful festival run and is being distributed through Darkside Releasing. In 2022, Joe wrote and directed his latest short film, ‘The Blood of the Dinosaurs’ which has played at such festivals as Fantasia, HollyShorts and BUFF!
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THE BOTTOM (USA)
SYNOPSIS: At the edge of a mysterious lake, a reckoning between friends becomes a fight for life – as one man’s mind games threatens the other’s grip on reality.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Morgan Ruaidhrí O’Sullivan & James Kautz
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 3rd @ 4:00PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Together, James & Morgan are the founders of RED SEED FILMS, an independent film production company whose stories focus on personal transformation, gender, and identity. Their inaugural short, FRANKIE, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival and has been selected by dozens of other prestigious fests, including Raindance and deadCenter. FRANKIE has won several “Best of” awards, including Best Narrative Short at Tallgrass. Their second short, THE BOTTOM is currently making its way through the festival circuit and it’s a genuine honor to be at FilmQuest!
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THE BREAKDOWN PARABLES (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Over the course of five vignettes, a handful of actors unravel to reveal their truest selves in a purgatorial casting office.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Emil Benjamin
GENRE: Comedy, The Beyond
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 5th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Emil Benjamin is a writer, director, producer, cinematographer and editor based out of New York. His feature documentary, OYATE, premiered at Big Sky 2022 and is currently running the festival circuit. Emil holds an MFA in Film Directing & Screenwriting from Columbia University, where he now serves as adjunct faculty.
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THE COUPON (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A woman finds herself embroiled in a Kafkaesque legal nightmare when her husband gives away the cutesy romantic coupon she made for him to a stranger, and that stranger shows up on her doorstep demanding she honor it.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Language, Sensuality, Adult Conent
DIRECTOR: Laura Seay
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 2nd @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Bi-coastal between LA and NY, Laura writes, acts, and directs for money and compliments. On-camera credits include Superbad, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and NCIS. Catch her doing stand-up at The Comedy Store & The Laugh Factory. Laura’s excited to share The Coupon and hopes it doesn’t get her canceled.
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THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTERS (USA)
SYNOPSIS: When their mother’s (the first female Satan!) 10,000 year term is up, sisters Lucy (Kayla Compton) and Ivy (Carlye Tamaren) must collect 666 souls in 6 days time before they are allowed to take over Hell. But hey, if they’re going to be stuck on Earth, they’re going to have a great f*cking time!
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Carlye Tamaren
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: USA Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 5th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: CARLYE TAMAREN is a director, actor, writer, producer, editor, dancer, singer, songwriter and martial artist. Prior to the shut down, she could be seen nightly performing in ROCK OF AGES HOLLYWOOD. She has worked steadily as an actor and dancer in film, TV, commercials, theatre, print ads, music videos and voice overs. She shadowed directors on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Emily in Paris. Her latest short film-slash-pandemic baby, The Devil’s Daughters premiered at Academy Awards Qualifying, LA Shorts International Film Festival this July, and was a quarter finalist for Stage 23’s Shorts Competition.
She also created her own alliance of female-identifying directors called Not Your Daddy’s Films, which includes a networking and screening series and information sharing that does not require money or DGA status to be a part of. Carlye developed a passion for martial arts seven years ago after getting attacked and nearly kidnapped in West Hollywood — I mean, what better way to rehab her mind and body, right? She is now a master of Capoeira and Krav Maga and hopes to spread the message of feminine strength and power through her art. This skillset also landed her the role of performing the motion capture for all the female characters in CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS IV. She graduated from one of the top Musical Theatre programs in the country, the University of Michigan, studies acting in LA with Lesly Kahn and dances at The Playground LA.
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THE FOLLOWING YEAR (SPAIN)
SYNOPSIS: The day of his anniversary, a widow farmer receives the clone of the woman he lost years ago under tragic circumstances.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Miguel Campaña
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 5th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Miguel Campaña (Madrid, 1980) has been directing commercials worldwide for over a decade. With a degree in film direction in ECAM Madrid Film School, his global campaigns have been awarded multiple times at Cannes, Fiap and Clio Festivals. The Following Year is his latest fiction project as a director, based on a script by himself and long time collaborator Luis López Carrasco.
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THE FORE-MEN (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: Weeks after a mysterious time-compression event violently splices environments from the past into the present, two survivors encounter the foreboding figures responsible for the event and experience firsthand their sinister nature.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 30th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Adrian Bobb has been drawing and writing about robots, aliens, and monsters, for as long as he can remember. Armed with an ever-increasing skillset and toolset to match, Adrian’s enthusiasm to create and design worlds and tell unique stories within them has remained consistent throughout his career. In the past decade, he has worked at companies such as Ubisoft, Digital Dimension, Rocket Science VFX, Jam Filled Animation, Mr. X, and MARZ VFX, as a matte painter, concept artist, 3D modeler, and Art Director.
Through Exocentric Productions, his independent film production company, Adrian has written, produced, and directed short films such as The Carrier (Written/Directed/Produced), a full-length feature entitled Redshift (Written/Produced), a short proof-of-concept film entitled E-X-T (Written/Directed) and another proof-of-concept short scifi horror entitled, “The Fore-men” which debuted at Fantasia in the summer of 2022. In short whether its with a pencil, a stylus, or a camera, Adrian Bobb is a visual storyteller at heart with a deep drive to share new and engaging stories with audiences of all ages.
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THE FOURTH (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Eager to celebrate the 4th of July, a group of young black and Latino friends experience a police encounter that shatters the meaning of the holiday.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Johnny Kirk
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 29th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Johnny Kirk is a California State University, Los Angeles graduate originally born in Chattanooga, TN. He has directed several short films. He is now the creative director and founder of Dark Blu Productions, a digital film production company that has produced several local projects. He is passionate about helping youth and his community. Kirk created a community-based group that works with local teens to help them find their voice through acting. Kirk is currently writing several scripts revolving around social issues.
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THE GIFT (USA)
SYNOPSIS: No one knows why the aliens came or why they never made contact. But when their true intentions are revealed, unspeakable tragedy unfolds..
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Farbod Ardebili
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 28th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Farbod Ardebili was born and raised in Tehran/Iran but was blacklisted by the Iranian government in 2010 after releasing the first Persian language Metal album. After many years of struggling with the Iranian government, he decided to secretly shoot his first short film, “Ellipsis,” in a vast desert, hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest police station. Thanks to the film’s international success, he was able to move to the United States, and since then, he has won over 27 awards for screenwriting and filmmaking.
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THE LAST CHRISTMAS (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: A mischievous 8-year-old girl unleashes a twisted Christmas nightmare, when her plans to capture Santa Claus go horribly wrong.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Mild Language
DIRECTOR: Ryan Port
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 29th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Born in Hitchin, England, Ryan spent his formative years with spells residing in both Canada and the United Kingdom. A graduate of the University of Lincoln’s Film & Television program in 2004, Ryan discovered his love for film at just 8-years-old when some friends introduced him to horror classics, The Lost Boys (1987), The Monster Squad (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Now a 1st Assistant Director with over 15 years of experience working alongside a variety of celebrated international filmmakers, Ryan makes his directorial debut with the comedy/horror short film The Last Christmas (2021), a homage to the classic 80s and 90s horror movies that inspired him as an artist and as an individual.
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THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL (SOUTH AFRICA)
SYNOPSIS: An adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s famous short story by the same title, The Little Match Girl. A sad tale of a young girl who tries to sell matches to feed her homeless family, but is neglected and dies alone on the cold streets of Cape Town.
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences
DIRECTOR: Ashleigh Jarratt
GENRE: Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: International Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday Oct. 28th @ 2:00PM (w/ “A Life on the Farm”)
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THE LIVING (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A vampire finds a therapist to help him kick his blood habit.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Cleo Handler
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 2nd @ 2:00 PM (w/ “Living With Chucky”)
DIRECTOR’S BIO: N/A
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THE MAGES OF RAGE AND THE DESECRATION OF THE HOUSE OF MIMICRY (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A loud ass punk band faces off with a demonic mime intent on stopping them from finishing their music video.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content, Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Jason Sheedy
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Nov. 3rd @ 11:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Jason Sheedy is an independent film director, screenwriter, and editor who has created award-winning short films, as well as the horror feature, Patient, which went on to air with Showtime. His screenplays have landed him various placements with Killer Shorts, Screencraft, Stage 32, Film Empire, Scriptapalooza, Slamdance, and the Finish Line Script Competition. In addition to his film work, he is also the Senior Editor for Bark Bark, a full-service production company working with top brands and networks.
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THE MALFUNCTION (USA)
SYNOPSIS: In the future, a businessman discovers that the primary mode of travel is not what it seems.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Tom Festo
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Nov. 4th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Tom Festo is a Brooklyn based filmmaker and lifetime sci-fi lover. His technical background in lighting and cinematography strongly informs his creative choices as a director. To get in touch, visit www.tomfesto.com
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THE MARTYR (UK)
SYNOPSIS: There is only one thing Margot Juby cares about more than poisonous plants and doll-collecting, and that’s seeing her life’s work completed: the exoneration of the world’s oldest serial killer and gothic supervillain, Gilles de Rais. Armed with fresh evidence, she won’t rest until everyone knows: de Rais was a medieval hero, and the most handsome man in the world.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense Imagery
DIRECTOR: Edmund Stenson
GENRE: Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 28th @ 2:00 PM (w/”A Life on the Farm”)
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Edmund Stenson’s work as director, producer and editor spans both documentary and fiction, and focuses on social issues, loners and nomads. Most recently, he was an associate editor on Sundance award winner, Navalny (2022), a documentary-thriller about the Russian dissident’s poisoning, as well as MRC’s forthcoming Sweepstakes Hero. In 2018, he directed the award-winning Finding Fukue, the viral CBC success which has amassed over 13 million views online, and in 2021, The Martyr, a gothic fairytale about medieval super villain Gilles de Rais, which premiered at Flickers Rhode Island, and won Best Short at Atlanta Shortsfest.
He has also cut award-winning documentary features, shorts and TV series in English, French, and Japanese: most notably, Canadian Screen Award winner Being Black in Toronto (2020) Ciao Plastique (2020), Ghosts of Our Forest (2017), Ma vie Made in Canada (2017), Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal, and Retour aux sources/The Roots Remain (2015). He is currently in late development on an authorized biodoc of cult musician Lee Hazlewood, entitled Cowboy in Sweden.
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