Film4 FrightFest 2015 has expanded its Short Film Showcase event, with three strands and over thirty shorts from around the world, including eleven World Premieres and seven European Premieres. With films from thirteen countries, this is the most diverse and exciting shorts event yet programmed.
Highlights include the London premiere of actress Karen Gillan’s intense directorial debut COWARD, and the UK premiere of SHEVENGE, a darkly funny tale of revenge, directed by BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER alum Amber Benson. Local FrightFest alumni will also be returning: screenwriter and director James Moran is back with screams and laughter in GHOSTING, and Dan Auty brings us nostalgia and magic children in his new short PARTY 85. We will also be featuring the World premiere of SURGERY, the frightening new short by The Clemens Bros, sons of legendary UK screenwriter Brian Clemens, as well as the world premieres of THE ALPHA INVENTION, a chilling sci-fi short starring Billy Boyd and DARK.NET starring Johnny Vegas. Additional highlights include Mike Williamson (IN THE WALL) returning to FrightFest with the World Premiere of his new short DEATHLY, featuring a score by composer Clint Mansell (MOON/ REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) and THE LAKE directed by 14 year old Nathan Ambrosioni, who also has his feature HOSTILE playing in our Discovery Strand.
Spain features prominently with five shorts in the selection, including multi-award-winning TUNING OSCAR, a twisted romantic comedy by Mikel Alvariño, the experimental dance-horror YOU WILL FALL AGAIN, and DISCO INFERNO, the Giallo-inspired fever dream by Alice Waddington.
This year’s selection also features a record nine shorts directed by women, including the hilarious VINTAGE BLOOD by Abigail Blackmore (starring Indira Varma), the disturbing SEND IN THE CLOWNS by Kate Shenton, the side-splitting A FAVOUR by Izzy Lee, and the creepy thriller TWO MISSING by Claire Fowler.
PLUS!
For the first time ever, this year Film4 FrightFest will premiere six horror –themed short films from the brand new All4, which replaces 4OD.
The series, entitled A Moment of Horror, consists of six individual episodes and will premiere throughout the festival. All films will then be available exclusively on All 4 at www.all4.com/shorts.
The creepy encounters in the series include the tale of a young mother who discovers she feeds something much more sinister than her own baby; a janitor who notices the doors he closes on his nightshift never remain shut; and an anxiety sufferer whose troubles take a physical form during a bath-time black out. A Moment of Horror will disturb your perception of the mundane, and plant images in your head that will make you think twice before turning off the light at night…
FrightFest Short Film Programmer Shelagh Rowan-Legg said today “We are thrilled with the short films programmed this year, with 31 titles from Europe, North America and the Middle East. These films show the incredible diversity of fantastic genre cinema, from gory horror to creepy thrillers to chilling science fiction to moody experimental, with films that are both live action featuring amazing actors, and stunning stop-motion animation. FrightFest audiences have the opportunity to see emerging talents as well as regular favourites.”
Full line-up:
SATURDAY AUG 29 – DISCOVERY AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA
from 11:15
INVADERS (UK Premiere)
Director: Jason Kupfer. Cast: Ricky Wayne, Jordan Woods-Robinson. USA 2014. 6 mins.
It’s Thanksgiving, and two would-be robbers are planning a quick heist. But they might get more than they bargained for.
A FAVOUR (European Premiere)
Director: Izzy Lee. Cast: Shaun Callaghan, Diana Porter, Jose Gons Alves. USA 2015. 10 mins.
Jackson just wants to watch the big game, but his best friend Liz needs help … again …
THEY’RE CLOSING IN (World Premiere)
Director: Jarret Blinkhorn. Cast: Michael A. LoCicero, Susan T. Travers. USA 2015. 6 mins.
The monsters are closing in, and a husband and wife argue about how to fight back. But fighting back might not be the answer.
DARK_NET (World Premiere)
Director: Tom Marshall. Cast: Johnny Vegas, Perry Fitzpatrick. UK 2015.12 mins.
Alan’s girlfriend has dumped him, but he has a plan to get back at her and her new beau, with the help of dark_net.
THE ALPHA INVENTION (World Premiere)
Director: Mark Towers. Cast: Billy Boyd, William Hope. UK 2014. 15 mins.
A computer programmer has developed a method for creating artificial intelligence, and a potential buyer wants in. But who is the mysterious buyer, and who is the programmer?
YOU WILL FALL AGAIN (UK Premiere)
Director: Alex Pachón. Cast: Joan Català. Spain/Hong Kong 2015. 6 mins.
A locked room. A man in a wheelchair. A crack in the ceiling. An escape attempt comes at a damaging price.
SHEVENGE (UK Premiere)
Director; Amber Benson. Cast: Emma Rylan, Jessica Sherif, Megan Lee Joy. USA 2015. 11 mins.
Three women are a little frustrated with their boyfriends, and imagine ways to exact their vengeance.
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (World Premiere)
Conor McMahon. Cast: Michael Hough, Niamh Algar, Nora Relihan. Ireland 2015. 12 mins.
Poor grandma: a banshee has come to take to the next world. Can she count on her grandson’s charms to distract the monster?
OSCILLATION (World Premiere)
Director: Dídac Gimeno. Cast: Vekí G. Vellila, Igor Luna, Helena Puig, Jorge Lora. Spain 2015. 8 mins.
A young woman works in a lighting store, where a projector transports her to a strange world of dangers and desires.
BAD GUY #2 (London Premiere)
Chris McInroy. Cast: Kirk Johnson. USA 2014.10 mins.
He’s working hard and climbing up the criminal underworld ladder; but does he have the skills to be the best bad guy?
TUNING OSCAR (UK Premiere)
Director: Mikel Alvariño. Cast: Julián Lópz, Bárbara Goenaga, Bárbara Santa-Cruz. Spain 2014. 22 mins.
Oscar meets Ana, a beautiful woman who wants him. But his promise to another woman means he must delay, or dire consequences await him.
SUNDAY AUG 30 – PHOENIX ARTIST CLUB SCREEN from 16:15
SEND IN THE CLOWNS (World Premiere)
Director: Kate Shenton. Cast: David Wayman, Niahm Walsh. UK 2014.11 mins.
David has a dream: to be the scariest clown in the world. But it’s not easy on a budget.
VINTAGE BLOOD (World Premiere)
Director: Abigail Blackmore. Cast: Indira Varma, Sophie Thompson, Michael Rosen, Tracy Whitwell. UK 2015 14 mins.
At a quirky vintage shop, owner Izzy must cope with a curse that threatens her boyfriend’s life.
CROW HAND!! (UK Premiere)
Director: Brian Lonano. Cast: Jason Vail, Caitlin McPhail. USA 2014. 3 mins.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No it’s a bird! Maybe???
IN THE TALL GRASS (UK Premiere)
Director: Alexii Multoof. Cast: Alexii Multoff, Nadia Dubijansky, Federico Lusthaus. Israel 2014. 8 mins.
Joseph keeps to himself in his flat, haunted by images of unfocused and unknown violence that torture his mind.
DEATHLY (World Premiere)
Director: Mike Williamson. Cast: Alan Ruck. Kathleen Wilhoite. USA 2015.13 mins.
A man has lost his wife under seemingly accidental circumstances; but the truth might come back to haunt him.
UMBRA (European Ptremiere)
Director: Bryn Tilly. Cast: Fraser Gray, Charlotte Antonievich, Melissa Snater. Australia/New Zealand 2014. 5 mins.
A mortal woman is seduced and transformed into a vampire, which sets off a surreal and deadly nightmare.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS (UK Premiere)
Director: Alexia Muiñós Ruiz. Cast: Helena Miquel, Alex Brull. Spain 2015. 14 mins.
A chance meeting leads to a sexual encounter that will hold more than a few surprises.
SURGERY (World Premiere)
Directors: The Clemens Bros. Cast: Nicholas Ball, Jamie Lee, Laura Lemon, Sam Clemens. UK 2015.11 mins.
A man is rescued after being tortured by a psychopath. But the cure might be worse than the disease.
EL GIGANTE (UK Premiere)
Director: Gigi Saul Guerrero. Cast: Edwin Perez, David Forts, Mathias Retamal, Nisreen Slim. Canada/Mexico 2014.14 mins.
Searching for a better life, Armando instead finds himself at the mercy of a sadistic family, where he must fight for his life against a monster.
MONDAY AUG 31 – DISCOVERY AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA
from 17:50
BABYSITTING STORY (UK Premiere)
Director: Vincent Smitz. Cast: Sophie Breyer, Pauline Brisy, Julie Dacquin, Pierre Nisse, Bernard Eylenbosch. Belgium, 2014. 20 mins.
Two teenagers take a last-minute babysitting job; one has an interesting story to tell, one perhaps too strange to be fiction.
TWO MISSING (London Premiere)
Director: Claire Fowler. Cast: Sophie Kennedy Clark, Morfydd Clark, Ben Dilloway. UK 2014. 16 mins.
Two young women must ask for help from a stranger when their car breaks down in a lonely wood.
GHOSTING (World Premiere)
Director: James Moran. Cast: Francesca Fowler. UK 2015. 8 mins.
Just a routine check of a haunted house that will likely be a waste of time. Except for the evil spirit.
THE SHUTTERBUG MAN (UK Premiere)
Director: Chris Walsh. Cast: Barbara Steele. Canada 2014. 5 mins.
A strange man takes even stranger photographers in this stop-motion horror short narrated by Barbara Steele.
COWARD (London Premiere)
Director: Karen Gillan. Cast: Rose McIver, Catherine Telford, James Ransone. USA 2014. 11 mins.
Sparkle, a young actress suffering from insomnia, has a late-night conversation with a former soldier about murder.
DISCO INFERNO (European Premiere)
Director: Alice Waddington. Cast: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Ana Rujas. Spain 2015. 12 mins.
A strange coven, a mysterious leader, a girl for sacrifice, and a masked intruder: all come together in an isolated house of danger and lust.
NIGHT OF THE SLASHER (Preview)
Director: Shant Hamassian. Cast: Lily Berlina, Scott Javore, Adam Lesar. USA 2015. 11 mins.
Every slasher has rules for selecting his prey. But tonight’s prey might have the upper hand.
THE LAKE (World Premiere)
Director: Nathan Ambrosioni. Cast: Ines Duhard, Rémy Jobert, Jason Koubi, Luna Belan. France 2015. 11 mins.
Two couples go for a walk in the woods, but a mysterious stranger might threaten their tranquility.
L’ERRORE (European Premiere)
Director: Brando De Sica. Cast: Catrinel Marlon. Italy 2015. 9 mins.
A mysterious woman comes to an isolated restaurant in the countryside, where the destitute owners might do more than serve her a meal.
IRIS (European Premiere)
Director: Richard Karpala. Cast: Luke Sorge. USA/UK 2015.12 mins.
Dean has a dirty job to do, but his companion, Iris, might spoil his plans before nightfall.
PARTY 85 (World Premiere)
Director: Dan Auty. Cast: Annemarie Cancienne, Chris Huebner, Michael McVey. UK 2015. 5 mins.
A young boy and his baby sister are put to bed so their parents can have a crazy summer party. But the children just won’t go to sleep.
A MOMENT OF HORROR LINE-UP
NIGHT FEED by Christian James
A young mum is woken in the middle of the night by her hungry, crying baby. In the dark and half conscious, she autopilots her way through the nightly routine… but tonight, something else is waiting.
Christian James’ budget zombie comedy, “Stalled”, premiered at Film4 FrightFest 2013 and won the Melies de Argent at LIFF before its 2014 worldwide release. “Night Feed” unites Christian with “Stalled” writer, Dan Palmer.
BATH TIME by Rose Glass
Every night before she goes to bed, Evy listens to a self-help tape that aims to tackle her crippling anxiety disorder. But while having a bath, her anxieties take on a horribly physical form…
Rose Glass graduated from the NFTS with her film “Room 55” which was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2015. She recently directed a short film for Giorgio Armani, as part of the prestigious international project “Films of City Frames”.
THE DOORKEEPER by Weronika Tofilska
A janitor walks through a long, dark corridor at night, closing a number of doors on his way. But the job is not as easy as it seems, since someone… or something is intent on keeping them open.
Weronika Tofilska is a London based writer / director and a graduate of the NFTS. In 2014 she won FrightFest’s ‘666 Short Cuts to Hell’ competition with her film “Pink & Blue”.
BEHIND YOU by Lee Lennox
A little girl’s favourite bed-time read is a creepy 19th century spectral illusions book, which hides a nasty surprise for the girl’s babysitter.
Lee Lennox is an animator and established director of music videos and commercials. As one half of the Lennox Brothers, Lee co-wrote and co-directed his debut feature “AmStarDam”.
WHAT THE DOG SAW by Andrew Brand
All Linda wants to do is sleep but her dog Max won’t stop barking. If only she knew what the dog saw…
Andrew has made six short films including the award-winning “Where There’s Smoke”, “Things We Leave Behind”, and “Something for Nothing” which was selected for the BFI London Film Festival. Andrew is also a Co-Director of 3D animation company Bad Studio.
KILLING TIME by Michelle Fox
A rebellious intern wastes time at work on her mobile phone and discovers a vengeful boss is a force to be reckoned with.
Michelle is a writer / director based in Newcastle upon Tyne and has directed numerous short films, including “Zominic”, which was broadcast on Channel 4 Random Acts and premiered at Film4 FrightFest 2013.
Day passes and single tickets are now on sale.
Festival passes, Saturday & Sunday Day passes are sold out
Screens 5, 6 & 7 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Screens 3 & 8. The Discovery at The Prince Charles cinema strand will be in Screen 1.
For full programme details go to: www.frightfest.co.uk
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