2017 FESTIVAL | SCREAMFEST

FIRST WAVE OF 2017 LINE UP ANNOUNCED

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SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF 2017 LINE UP

Dominic Monaghan to Serve as Festival Ambassador

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – August 29, 2017 – America’s largest and longest running horror film festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, is proud to announce the first wave of its official 2017 film line up. In its 17th year, the festival, which will run from Oct. 10-19, 2017 at the TCL Chinese in Hollywood, has launched careers - providing a platform for filmmakers and actors to showcase their latest work to enthusiasts and general audiences. Actor and producer Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings trilogy, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, TV’s “Lost”) will serve as this year’s festival ambassador.

“I am extremely honored to serve as this year’s Screamfest ambassador,” said Monaghan. “I applaud Screamfest and its Founder and Festival Director Rachel Belofsky for embracing the work of filmmakers and actors in the horror genre. I’m a big fan of this space, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of a fest that truly acknowledges unique and creative work.”

Screamfest Horror Film Festival will offer unique access to some of the most creative forces in the horror genre through film screenings, Q&As and conversations with some of the most captivating artists working in the industry today.

“We are thrilled to partner with Dominic Monaghan at this year’s Screamfest,” said Belofsky. “He is an amazing actor and filmmaker who understands the vision of this festival. His experience in the industry alone, I am certain, will inspire other actors, filmmakers and horror film enthusiasts.”

The festival is best known for discovering Paranormal Activity in 2007. Other past premieres include 30 Days of Night, Let the Right One In, The Grudge, The Fourth Kind, The Collection, Trick ‘r’ Treat, The Human Centipede and Diary of the Dead. Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Eli Roth, James Wan, Zack Snyder, William Friedkin, John Landis and James Gunn are just some of the filmmakers who have supported the festival year after year.

Film festival badges are currently on sale at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets will be available end of September 2017. All screenings are open to the general public. Winners will receive a 24 karat gold dipped skull trophy designed by the legendary, Academy award-winning special make-up effects creator, Stan Winston, who partnered with the festival until his passing.

Screamfest Horror Film Festival is proud to announce that the following films have been admitted to the festival – the first wave of the 2017 line up.

DEAD ANT (USA) 2017
Directed by Ron Carlson
Written by Ron Carlson
Produced by Ron Carlson and Stephanie Hodos
Cast: Tom Arnold, Sean Astin, Jake Busey, Ryhs Coiro, Leisha Hailey, Cameron Richardson and Danny Woodburn
World Premiere
When the "one-hit-wonder" glam-metal band "Sonic Grave" embark on a trip to coachella in hopes of a comeback, their peyote trip pit stop in Joshua Tree incites an "unworldly" viscous attack, and they must "rock" themselves out of harms way.

LEATHERFACE (USA) 2017
Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo
Written by Seth M. Sherwood
Produced by Carl Mazzocone, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, Les Weldon
Cast: Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor, Sam Strike, Sam Coleman, Vanessa Grasse
North American Premiere
In Texas, years before the events of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the early days of the infamous Sawyer family, the youngest child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriff’s daughter dead. Ten years later, the Sawyer teen kidnaps a young nurse and escapes with three other inmates. Pursued by authorities including the deranged sheriff out to avenge his daughter’s death, Sawyer goes on a violent road trip from hell, molding him into the monster now known as Leatherface.

RUIN ME (USA) 2017
Directed by Preston DeFrancis
Written by Trysta A. Bissett, Preston DeFrancis
Produced by Rebecca G. Stone
Cast: Marcienne Dwyer, Matt Dellapina, Chris Hill, Eva Hamilton, John Odom, Cameron Gordon, Sam Ashdown
LA Premiere
Alexandra reluctantly tags along for Slasher Sleepout, an extreme event that is part camping trip, part haunted house, and part escape room. But when the fun turns deadly, Alex has to play the game if she wants to make it out alive.

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID (MEXICO) 2017
Directed by Issa López
Written by Issa López
Produced by Marco Polo Constandse
Cast: Paola Lara, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, Ianis Guerrero, Juan Ramón López
LA Premiere
We are in a Mexican City turned into a ghost town by the drug-war. Estrella is 11, and when her mother vanishes, she makes a wish: she wants her mother to come back. And mom does return—from the dead. Terrified, Estrella escapes and joins a rag-tag gang of other children orphaned by the violence, all escaping their own past. But she learns that in a city ruled by death, you can’t simply leave the ghosts behind; they walk with you wherever you go.

TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL: THE END OF THE END (CANADA) 2017
Directed by Craig David Wallace and Rich Duhaney
Written by Charles Picco, Craig David Wallace
Produced by Andrew Rosen, Sarah Timmins, Jonas Diamond
Cast: Alex House, Maggie Castle, Bill Turnbull, Melanie Leishman, Jason Mewes, Chris Leavins
U.S. Premiere
Continuing where the cult TV series left off, Todd & The Book of Pure Evil: The End of The End: The Animated Feature Film returns to Crowley Heights to find Todd, Jenny and Curtis grieving the loss of their dear friend Hannah. The three must reunite to fight evil when the Book of Pure Evil returns to Crowley High, bringing with it some familiar faces as well as some new foes. But these enemies are merely warm-ups to the final battle with their greatest nemesis yet: The New Pure Evil One.

TRAGEDY GIRLS (USA) 2017
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
Written by Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre
Produced by Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley, Anthony Holt, Edward Mokhtarian, Craig Robinson, Cameron Van Hoy
Cast: Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Kevin Durand, Jack Quaid, Craig Robinson
LA Premiere
Best friends Sadie and McKayla are on a mission to boost their social media fandom as amateur crime reporters hot on the trail of a deranged local serial killer. After they manage to capture the killer and secretly hold him hostage, they realize the best way to up get scoops on future victims would be to, you know, murder people themselves. As the @TragedyGirls become an overnight sensation and panic grips their small town, can their friendship survive the strain of national stardom? Will they get caught? Will their accounts get verified?

TRENCH 11 (CANADA) 2017
Directed by Leo Scherman
Written by Matthew Booi, Leo Scherman
Produced by Tyler Levine
Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Robert Stadlober, Charlie Carrick, Shaun Benson, Karine Vanasse
U.S. Premiere
In the final days of WWI a shell-shocked tunneller must lead an Allied team into a hidden German base...100 hundred feet below the trenches. The Germans have lost control of a highly contagious biological weapon that turns its victims into deranged killers. The Allies find themselves trapped underground with hordes of the infected, a rapidly spreading disease and a team of German Stormtroopers dispatched to clean up the mess. The only thing more terrifying than the Western Front... is what lies beneath it.

Get Social with Us:
Screamfest Official Usernames and Hashtag:
- Facebook: /Screamfest
- Twitter: @Screamfest
- Instagram: @ScreamfestLA
- Youtube: /ScreamfestLA
- Official hashtag: #ScreamfestLA

“LA’s @Screamfest #Horror #FilmFestival has announced the line-up! Oct 10-19 @ChineseTheatres #Hollywood! www.ScreamfestLA.com #ScreamfestLA”

Screamfest Announces Official Lineup

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The countdown has officially begun for Screamfest 2017 and we have dropped the official lineup. With less than two weeks before the festival kickoff, we here at Screamfest are gearing for another kick ass year of genre films from around the world. Aside from the killer American films to look forward to, we also have an especially great lineup of international films to check out. Some of our most well received films in recent years have been international titles, including last year’s Lake Bodom out of Finland. So, since it’s important not to sleep on this particular collection of international films, we have compiled you a list of some of the titles that we are particularly excited for.

The Laplace’s Demon [Italy]
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 6:00pm

“Eight people are imprisoned in a secluded mansion on an uninhabited island. After waiting in vain for the host, they find a model with eight self-propelled pawns that reproduces the movements of each group member in real time...”

“We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.”
— Pierre Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities

Directed by Giordano Giulivi, The Laplace’s Demon explores the scientific principle that, by thoroughly studying the past, you may have the ability to predict the future. But how does this apply to human beings and free will? The Laplace’s Demon explores this concept in the style of House on Haunted Hill, a film that it clearly drew inspiration from. The stylistic black & white cinematography and period aesthetic pay tribute to the classic American horror films of the 1950’s and 60’s,

For more information about the film, filmmakers, and ticketing, check it out here.

Double Date [UK]
Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 9:30pm

“Meet innocent Jim, terrified of girls, and on a reluctant quest to prove his manhood the night before he turns 30. He and his cocky friend Alex think they've hit the jackpot when they meet the beautiful siblings Kitty and Lulu, who seem up for anything on a wild party-fuelled night. But little do they know that the femmes fatales want to make Jim lose much more than just his virginity - Getting laid has never been so bloody difficult.”

If you are a fan of British dark comedies, this one is for you. Double Date is a wacky (and bloody) rollercoaster of a film. Double Date is the brainchild of Director Benjamin Barfoot and Writer Danny Morgan, whose mutual black sense of humor unites in this first feature film endeavor.
For more info and ticketing, click here.

Tigers Are Not Afraid [Mexico]
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 7:00pm

“We are in a Mexican city turned into a ghost town by the drug-war. Estrella is 11, and when her mother vanishes, she makes a wish: she wants her mother to come back. And mom does return—from the dead. Terrified, Estrella escapes and joins a rag-tag gang of other children orphaned by the violence, all escaping their own past. But she learns that in a city ruled by death, you can’t simply leave the ghosts behind; they walk with you wherever you go.”

The third feature for Writer, Director Issa López, Tigers Are Not Afraid is a brutal and fantastical tale that would be right at home in the world of Guillermo Del Toro. The film is a topical and significant window into an underworld of Mexico’s forgotten children. López has received various awards for her literary pursuits and seems to be quite the force to be reckoned with.
For more info on her and Tigers Are Not Afraid, check it out here.

Vidar the Vampire [Norway]
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 9:30pm

“Vidar Haarr is a 33 year old, sexually frustrated bachelor farmer who leads a Christian, monotonous and strenuous working life on his mother's farmstead in the Western outskirts of Norway. In a desperate attempt to break free from routine, Vidar prays to a higher power to grant him a life without boundaries. Unfortunately, his prayers are heard and Vidar wakes up one evening as the Prince of Darkness in sin city, Stavanger.”

VIdar the Vampire is the debut feature for directorial duo Thomas Aske Berg and Fredrik Waldeland, In a similar vein as the mockumentary masterpiece What We Do in The Shadows, Vidar the Vampire is a kafka-esque horror/comedy made on an impressively low budget.
To read more about the directors and more, check it out here.

Alone [France]
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 9:30pm

“Leïlais 16. She wakes up late, like any other morning. Except that today, no one is here to tell her to get moving. Where are her parents? She gets on her bike and rides through the neighborhood: it's all empty. Everybody has disappeared. Thinking she's the sole survivor of an unexplained disaster, she eventually crosses ways with four other teenagers: Dodji, Yvan, Camille and Terry. Together they will try to understand what has happened and to learn to survive in a world that has become hostile... But are they really alone?”

Based on the comic book of the same name by Fabien Vehlmann and Bruno Gazzotti, Alone is the second on this list that falls into the increasingly popular “Kid Squad” craze that has recently re-entered the zeitgeist. The nostalgic feeling of the unsupervised-kids-on-bikes-save-the-world aspect of the film is a strong draw in today’s market and it will be interesting to see how this trope translates into French culture.

Read more about Alone, here.

You can find our full festival schedule here. Screamfest 2017 kicks off on Tuesday, October 10 with our premiere of Dead Ant at 7:30pm, followed by our opening night party at 9:30pm.

Hope to see you all there!

  • @TalesfrmthCrypt

2017 FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED

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2017 SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED
“TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID” & “THE LAPACE’S DEMON” Among Top Winners
Marianne Maddalena Honored with Career Achievement Award

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Oct. 20, 2017 – America’s largest and longest running horror movie festival, Screamfest, awarded this year’s top movies, filmmakers and actors Thursday during the fest’s closing night. Screamfest, which ran from Oct. 10 – 19, 2017 at the TLC Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, has launched careers – providing a platform for filmmakers and actors to showcase their latest work to horror film enthusiasts and general audiences.

As voted on by a jury panel, TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID received the most awards of the night with five: Best Picture, Best Director – Issa López, Best Actor – Juan Ramón López, Best Actress – Paola Lara and Best Editing – Joaquim Marti. THE LAPACE’S DEMON received four awards for Best Musical Score by Duccio Giulivi, Best Visual FX by Giordano Giulivi and Alessandro Zonfrilli, Best Special FX by Giordano Giulivi and Best Cinematography by Ferdinando D’Urbano.

The closing night’s ceremony also honored Marianne Maddalena with a Career Achievement Award. A film and television producer, she often collaborated with prolific genre filmmaker Wes Craven.

Comprehensive List of Screamfest 2017 Winners:
Best Picture – Tigers Are Not Afraid
Best Horror Comedy – Dead Ant
Best Director – Issa López – Tigers Are Not Afraid
Best Actor – Juan Ramón López – Tigers Are Not Afraid
Best Actress – Paola Lara – Tigers Are Not Afraid
Career Achievement Award – Marianne Maddalena
Best Musical Score – Duccio Giulivi – The Laplace’s Demon
Best Editing – Joaquim Marti – Tigers Are Not Afraid
Best Visual FX – Giordano Giulivi & Alessandro Zonfrilli – The Laplace’s Demon
Best Special FX Giordano Giulivi – The Laplace’s Demon
Best Cinematography – Ferdinando D’Urbano – The Laplace’s Demon
Best Makeup – Creature Effects – Tragedy Girls
Best Short – Holy Fatma – Please Love Me Forever
Best Unproduced Screenplay – U-666 by Jacqueline Perez

Get Social with Us: Screamfest Official Usernames and Hashtag:
– Facebook: /Screamfest
– Twitter: @Screamfest
– Instagram: @ScreamfestLA
– Youtube: /ScreamfestLA
– Official hashtag: #ScreamfestLA

Screamfest is sponsored by Shock Top, Birns & Sawyer, European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, Dapper Cadaver, Screenplay.com, InkTip, Elma, Horror Pack,SellAScript.com, Screen Queensland and Simple DCP. Screamfest is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Screamfest is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.

ABOUT SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL: Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry. Among the numerous films that have been discovered and/or premiered at the festival include “Paranormal Activity,” “30 Days of Night,” “Trick ‘r Treat” and “The Human Centipede.” For more information, visit www.ScreamfestLA.com or email info@screamfestla.com.

The Screamfest 2017 Festival Roundup

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Another October has come and gone, which means another year in the books for the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Every year, when we reach the award ceremony and closing night party we find that it is bittersweet. Much like the last day of school, the final night of the festival is the last of a ten-day marathon of the genre’s best of the year. From filmmakers to press to festival staff, we have become a quick and happy family by the final day, and it is sad to see everyone go their separate ways.

In case you missed out on this year’s festivities or simply want to recall some fond memories, here are just a few of the incredible moments from Screamfest 2017.

All photos by the amazing Angelica Ulloa (@BabeLuck)

Maggie's Cakes & More

Ain’t no party like a Screamfest party, cause a Screamfest party has THE MOST INCREDIBLE CAKES. Created by the talented Natalie (pictured above) molded and painted this beauty, while her mother Maggie baked its delicious core. The two run Maggie’s Cakes & More, if anyone is in the market for any high quality baked goods. This one was almost too cool to eat. Cakes just taste better with edible weaponry attached.

Jake Busey

Dead Ant star, Jake Busey stopped by the party to celebrate our opening night premiere of the film.

Party goers

Issa Lopez
Tiger’s Are Not Afraid was undoubtedly a festival favorite this year. Nearly sweeping our categories, the film took home five awards, including Best Picture. Here is our festival founder Rachel Belofsky and Co-Director Karen Martin, with the supremely badass Writer/Director Issa López who was also awarded Best Director.
Tom Holland signs Chucky doll
Tom Holland and Sean Decker
Writer/Director Tom Holland dropped by for a Q&A following our Fears & Beers screening of his iconic film, Child’s Play. Led by Dread Central’s Sean Decker, the Q&A exhibited Holland’s continued love for the franchise of his creation. He recollects his experiences of developing Chucky’s POV shots and his memories of cutting and shooting this horror classic. Holland answered questions eagerly and comprehensively, with a humble charm. It’s always refreshing when the creators of the films you love are also good people, amiright?

Volunteers
Yours truly, along with the rest of the Screamfest staff and a few dedicated volunteers. I’m so grateful to be a part of this awesome family and it’s amazing to see how far this festival has come and what Rachel and the rest of the team have been able to create.
Thomas Jane
The 1922 premiere was just one of many excellent and entertaining Q& A’s we had this year. Thomas Jane arrived, sans shoes, embodying his character of Wilfred James. TJ captivated the room, giving insight to how he developed the enigmatic character of Wildred and how he based his mannerisms on his own Grandfather. James gave an electrifying and heartbreaking performance that fans of Stephen King’s original story will be very proud of. 1922 is now available for streaming on Netflix and is yet another impressive King adaptation released this year.
Craig Robinson with mask
Tragedy Girls Cast

Craig Robinson, Josh Hutcherson and the rest of the cast and crew of Tragedy Girls came out for our sold out screening of Screamfest alum Tyler MacIntyre’s newest feature. His previous film Patchwork was a hit at Screamfest 2016, taking home four awards, including Best Picture. Tragedy Girls has already garnered excellent reviews throughout the festival circuit and is another exciting accomplishment in MacIntyre’s very promising career in the genre.
Craig Robinson and Adam Scott

The traditional theater experience is important to us here at Screamfest. However, there is no denying that VR is cool as hell. This year, we had a special guest in the lobby during the festival.

VR experience

Before taking my seat on the provided hospital gurney, I was given a brief introduction by my host, dressed in hospital scrubs. He asked the usual questions before any kind of visually stimulating experience, if I had a history of epilepsy, so on and so forth. He then asked if I had ever had a near death experience. “I have not, but why do you ask?” he explained that VR taps into certain impulses in the brain that basically mimic reality, more so than if we are simply watching a movie and that this particular experience could potentially trigger PTSD in someone who had in fact experienced it. As a fan of theatrics, I thought the whole spiel was a nice touch, but did not expect anything too intense. As I made myself comfortable on the aforementioned gurney, I was told that I would be experiencing the true first hand account of a woman who had had a near death experience, and would be led through it, in her own words. I do not want to spoil the experience for anyone who might undergo it in the future, but I will say that it was a pleasant surprise. Although the images I was seeing were no more intense than your average video game, my body was noticeably reacting to what I was seeing. The whole experience was a lot of fun and made me really excited (and a little afraid) for the future of virtual reality.

Brian Collins of birth.movies.death

Kane Hodder

Birth.Movies.Death writer Brian Collins, sharing his vintage Friday the 13th magazne with the legendary Kane Hodder after the screening of the documentary To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story. To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is an incredibly moving peak into the life of a genre legend. As a long time fan of Hodder’s, it was fascinating to delve deeper into his extraordinary journey. This doc is a must see for any Hodder fans, any horror fans, or really anyone who can appreciate a meaningful and authentic story.

Screamfest Hosts

Sean Decker and Cabin Fever star Cerina Vincent teamed up to present our closing night awards, held in the historic (and historically haunted) Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd.

Holy Fatma wins Best Short
Best short Please Love me Forever

Filmmaker Holy Fatma not only won Best Short for her film Please Love Me Forever, she also won Best Reaction to Receiving an Award. We love you Holy! Congrats and thank you for your formidable rendition of “The Way You Make Me Feel”.

Marianne Maddalena

Behind most great filmmakers, is a great producer. One who recognizes and supports their vision and is willing and able to move mountains to make it a reality. For our dearly departed legend, Wes Craven, that producer was Marianne Maddalena. Ever since 1989’s Shocker, Maddalena worked alongside Wes and is responsible for some of the genre’s best films ever made. Because of her illustrious career, Maddalena was awarded the Career Achievement Award for the night.

For a full list of Screamfest 2017 Awards and Winners, check them out here.

Craigo Party

Ain’t no party like a Screamfest party, cause a Screamfest party has KARAOKE.
Karaoke
Our international friends, lovingly dubbed “The Australians” treated us to several group numbers, including the song of their people, “The Land Down Under”
Karim at the mic
The Australians
Partying
Partying into the wee hours of the night, the final stragglers just weren’t ready to say goodbye.

I just want to say thank you to everyone that came out to the 2017 Screamfest Horror Festival. We had some amazing films and guests this year, and if it weren’t for all the love and support from the fans and filmmakers alike, we would not have this amazing festival.
Keep an eye out on all of our social media pages for more photos of this year’s festival and to get updated on some of our events and screenings held throughout the year.

See you all in 2018!

  • @TalesfrmthCrypt