VISCERA ANNOUNCES ITS 2013 FILM
FESTIVAL LINE-UP
CO-PRESENTED BY AMERICAN
CINEMATHEQUE
Filmmaker Jennifer Lynch to Receive 2013 Inspiration Award at Ceremony on
July 13th
Los Angeles,
CA – June 3rd, 2013 -- Today, the Viscera Organization announced the stellar
line-up of 13 brand new short films that have been selected to screen on July
13, 2013 in a co-presentation with the American Cinematheque at the
Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Boulevard) in Hollywood for this
year's Viscera Film Festival. The festival’s gala celebration will spotlight
emerging female horror directors from around the world, including the UK,
Japan, Spain, Mexico, Canada, and the US and will serve as host to four world
premieres and two Los Angeles premieres.
This year’s
Viscera Film Festival line-up was carefully selected by an esteemed panel of industry
judges who had the difficult task of selecting winners from the record-breaking
number of entries for the 2013 festival and tour season, ultimately proving that
innovative and dynamic short-form storytelling is still alive and well within
the horror community.
"This year we had over 200 amazing entries,” says
programmer Heidi Honeycutt. “It was mind-blowing. So many new filmmakers are
taking a crack at horror and making some truly unique and amazing films.
Unfortunately, we can only program about a dozen shorts, so we have to turn
away a lot of great films. It's incredibly heartening to see so many new women
making horror films and so much enthusiasm and dedication. The 2013 lineup is
truly the best we have ever had and I can't wait to show our audiences what
women are making these days. They are going to be shocked at how good these
films are!"
This year’s
panel of judges for the prestigious 2013 Viscera Film Festival includes Rachel
Talalay (FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE), Jeffrey Reddick (FINAL
DESTINATION series), Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Trent Haaga
(CHEAP THRILLS), Anthony Masi (HIS NAME WAS JASON), Brea Grant (“Dexter”),
Andrew van den Houten (Lucky McKee’s THE WOMAN), Elizabeth Stanley (TRAILERS
FROM HELL), Anthony DiBlasi (DREAD), Shade Rupe (“Dark Stars Rising”), Jim
VanBebber (THE MANSON FAMILY), Drew Daywalt (LEPRECHAUN’S REVENGE), Kier-La
Janisse (“House of Psychotic Women”), Chris Alexander (BLOOD FOR IRINA), John
Skipp (legendary splatterpunk author), David DeCoteau (SORORITY BABES IN THE
SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA), Alan Spencer (SLEDGEHAMMER), Barbara Peeters (HUMANOIDS
FROM THE DEEP), Jennifer Thym (Viscera Winner 2012, Best Cinematography for
BLOODTRAFFICK) and Mae Catt (Viscera Winner 2011, Best Director for
12-15-96).
Also serving
as a judge this year is pioneering female filmmaker Jennifer Lynch (CHAINED,
SURVEILLANCE) who will receive the 2013 Inspiration Award during the festival
on July 13th.
Barbara
Stepansky, the Viscera Organization’s newly named Chief Operations Officer
says, "I'm thrilled to have joined the Viscera Organization as the new
COO. I've been a part of the festival in the past as a filmmaker, and it’s an
honor to now be a part of the organization as a key staff member. I’m really
looking forward to the 2013 festival, we have a fantastic line-up and it’s
really exciting to see how rapidly Viscera is expanding in its ways of
supporting our genre fans and filmmakers alike.”
Those
that attend Viscera Film Festival will experience films created by many of the
most original and dynamic voices in independent filmmaking today as well as a
star-studded carpet ceremony (www.facebook.com/events/553487211357304)
and an after party (www.facebook.com/events/453050628119448)
to be held directly following the festival at the legendary Hollywood hot spot
and VFF sponsor, Cat & Fiddle (6530 W Sunset Blvd.). For
those interested, they may return to the scene of the VFF after party for a
special "recovery" brunch where fans and filmmakers alike are
encouraged to come out, drink some coffee and work off those hangovers together
at the Cat & Fiddle on Sunday at 11 am (www.facebook.com/events/181999185291813).
The Viscera
Film Festival will also be kicking off an international tour for the selected
short films as well as a handful of tour selections that aren’t screening at
the premiere event. This past year, the Viscera Tour landed at over 20 venues
around the world ranging from independent movie houses to universities,
screening an eclectic program of shorts that have been curated by the Viscera
Organization since 2007. The tour provides an outlet for up-and-coming female
filmmakers around the world to have their work shown on the big screen and to
industry professionals.
"This
year's incredible line-up proves, yet again, that women are equal to men in
every facet of storytelling, particularly in horror,” said Lori Bowen,
Viscera’s Director of Operations. “It's so wonderful to see so many women at
the helm, putting their stories up on the screen and sharing their unique
visions with the rest of the world. I'm honored to be a small part of the
Viscera Organization's hugely important mission to help get their voices
heard."
The 2013
Viscera Film Festival Official Selections:
Anniversary
Dinner - USA
Directed
by Jessi Gotta
Synopsis: A
survivor of the zombie apocalypse is about to discover that 'Til Death Do Us
Part' was just the beginning.
Dead
Crossing - LOS ANGELES PREMIERE - Canada/Mexico
Directed
by Gigi Saul Guerrero
Synopsis:
A Mexican family attempting to cross the border with a group of immigrants
encounter a vicious and terrifying secret involving the way the United States
deals with illegal immigration.
Eternal
Springs - WORLD PREMIERE - USA
Directed
by Kate Rhamey, Allison Rohm
Synopsis:
Erma, a deranged old woman who thinks she's eleven years old, captures young
women to be her dolls.
Halloween
Bash - WORLD PREMIERE - USA
Directed
by Jenn Wexler
Synopsis:
A mean girl bent on playing tricks receives a mysterious Halloween treat.
In
the Dark - USA
Directed
by Helen Truong
Synopsis:
As the only survivor of a psychological experiment that killed her fellow
participants, a woman must find the courage to face a terrifying truth -- one
that will finally set her free or trap her forever.
My
Brother’s Keeper - UK
Directed
by Jen Moss
Synopsis:
Holed up at the end of the world with her well-meaning but dim-witted
brother Jo (Alex Esmail), Jess (April Pearson) isn’t sure what will destroy her
will to live first: the zombies or Jo’s incessant optimism.
No
Place Like Home - WORLD PREMIERE - Japan
Directed
by Nicholas Humphries
Produced
by Mai Nakanishi, Christine DeJoy
Synopsis:
What happens when Dorothy's desperate wish to go home faces a most
unexpected turn where she finds herself in zombie apocalyptic Kansas?
Orange
County Hill Killers - USA
Directed
by Katie Downer
Synopsis:
Storytelling and reality are blurred when four teenagers enter the infamous
Blackstar Canyon.
Outbreak
- LOS
ANGELES PREMIERE - USA
Directed
by Maddison Lopez
Synopsis:
A toxic plant explosion releases a fume that does strange things to nearby high
school students. Everyone's trying to get out alive.
Phantom
Limb - WORLD PREMIERE - USA
Directed
by Lark O. Arrowood
Synopsis:
Jeffery has always suspected that something was wrong with his body. We find
him in the eye of the storm, on the verge of collapse. He is disheveled and
beginning to suspect that he has made a grave error.
Self-Portrait
- Canada
Directed
by Jovanka Vuckovic
Synopsis:
In the process of taking off her make-up, a young woman reveals her true
face.
Slumber
Party - USA
Directed
by Jenn Wexler
Synopsis:
A dark wish becomes a nightmarish reality when best friends play a game of
Bloody Mary.
The
Meeting - US Premiere - Canada
Directed
by Karen Lam
Synopsis:
In a weekly meet-up, four serial killers confess their sins and hope for
redemption. But all hell breaks loose when a newcomer pops in, and threatens to
join the group...
**This
film was made by a member of the Viscera Staff.**
Other
films that will be joining the 2013 Viscera Tour include:
Estigma
- Spain
Directed
by Sara Ibáñez Mayor
Synopsis:
A girl commits murder in a bath, but the crime may not be over...
still.
Fashion
Victim - Canada
Directed
by Caroline Trudel
Synopsis:
A woman awakens in her party dress & heels. The sounds of distress
she hears make it clear she needs to find a way out fast. Will her attire
impede her ability to escape? Will she be fashion’s latest victim?
Racist
Zombies - USA
Directed
by Jennifer Treuting
Synopsis:
The only thing worse than zombies is racist zombies. A comedy short by The
Charlies.
Shelter
- USA
Directed
Eve Edelson
Synopsis:
A battered woman finds an unusual way out of a very unusual relationship in
a night of cosmic justice in an animal shelter.
This
year's award ceremony is sponsored by Vincent Damyanovich of SoulFX Studio, www.soulfxstudio.com;
the 2013 Viscera Film Festival poster was designed by Irene Langholm with
photography by Joshua Hoffine.
The
Viscera Film Festival is a co-presentation of the Viscera Organization and the
American Cinematheque in Hollywood, California. Both organizations are 501(c)3
not-for-profits.
Official
sponsors for the 2013 Viscera Film Festival include Cat & Fiddle, The
Redbury, Diabolique Magazine, Final Draft, Fangoria Magazine, Western Digital, Evil
Supply Company, Too Fast Brand Alternative Apparel, Mago's Magic Shoppe, The House of Mirthquake, Joshua Hoffine, Irene Langholm,
The Homicidal Homemaker, Laughing Vixen Lounge, Deep Midnight Perfumes, Fangtastic
Cards, The Art of Kamille Freske, Solocosmo: Art by Jessica Grundy, NikytaGaia Photography, The Shoggoth
Assembly Special Effects, SoulFX Studio, Jungle Software, Sony Creative Suites,
and The Poisoned Apple.