Year: 2024

Filmmaker Grant M. Varner (WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREND)

festreviews Uncategorized

WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD, 5min,. USA
Directed by Grant M Varner
In late 1900’s New Orleans, a man’s ailing daughter is losing her fight with an undisclosed illness. Our narrator “The Fiend”, succumbing to the injuries of a mysterious attack of his own, shows us the monsters which ravage the mind of the little girl’s father.

https://www.instagram.com/cultaffectionshtx/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The biggest motivator for me was the fact that today, despite social media potentially being your best friend, someone will only spend mere seconds consuming you with their eyes and ears as they shuffle through hundreds of bits of content. So I felt it was only necessary to do something ridiculously big in order to break through all the noise. Although it definitely became a bit bigger of a bite than I could maybe chew at times.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Right at about nearly 4 and a half years believe it or not. Mainly due to so many waiting periods for various aspects of production, covid restrictions and budget.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Cult Affections

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Not to sound melodramatic, but honestly constant self doubts that the amount of work towards this project couldn’t possibly be worth the end results.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was extremely pleased to hear that certain messages that were taken away from the video were exactly what I was attempting to convey. So it thrilled me to hear that my story telling was effective in that sense.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I was in middle school I became a huge fan of Steven Spielberg, he and his movies were such a huge inspiration to me. As a kid I always found myself desperately yearning to be a part of those worlds. Then the consideration that I could create my own worlds dawned upon me. That was the advent for my passion for film.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

1987 Lost Boys with Kiefer Sutherland and Cory Feldman. To me that’s the most perfect 80’s movie for the Alt genre. It’s absolutely my favorite ever!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I’d say yall are doing a great job as it is! Y’all have a very unique and valuable way of going about things which is extremely helpful to independent filmmakers like myself. I’d say the one note I have is to maybe not make us buy our own trophies hahah.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

It was pretty good! Lots of festivals I’d never even heard of before that I’ve gotten to check out and travel too. It’s allowed me to meet some new and amazing people. Those submission fees get crazy though. I’ve never paid so much to get rejected from something.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Probably my Nonna’s homemade spaghetti. Never tasted anything like it. My Mom’s pasta comes extremely close though. Other than that, I’d say pasta with Pesto and Salmon. I could eat those 9 times a week.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Film wise, I’ve got a couple other music videos for my band up my sleeve. Ultimately though, I really want to play shows and take the band on tour. Internally, filmmaking is a big passion, but I’m really hoping these sorts of projects will entice people to come out to some shows. So who knows, we’ll see!

Filmmaker Jacob Hamblin (TILL DEATH DO US PART)

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TILL DEATH DO US PART, 24min., USA
Directed by Jacob Hamblin
Desperate to marry the love of his life, an Undertaker’s apprentice digs up the grave of a mysteriously murdered bride in an attempt to rob her corpse of its ring.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

What really motivated me to make this film was my love and passion for older cinema. I remember my father showing me old black-and-white monster movies, and I absolutely loved them. The idea of creating something familiar, yet no longer commonly seen, excited me and our crew as we dove into making this film.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

It took about two years from when I first started writing it to when we completed the final edit.

3. How would you describe your film in two words?

Nostalgic, unsettling.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest challenge was finding the right style of animation for the film’s opening. We spent a lot of time brainstorming and experimenting, but nothing felt quite right. Then, during a film competition for a video game, we stumbled across an unbelievable animated film made in the exact style we wanted. After tracking down the creator, we discovered he was a young college student from Lithuania studying graphic design. The video we saw was his first-ever attempt at animation, and ours became his second. Once we connected with him via email, the collaboration was amazing, and he brought our vision to life beautifully.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talk about your film in the feedback video?

It was GREAT! After working on the film for so long, and with this being early in our festival run, it’s been incredibly gratifying to hear the positive responses to our hard work. Hearing that we successfully captured the old-school Universal monster look and feel has been particularly rewarding.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I feel like I’ve always wanted to tell stories and make films, but I used to think you had to be rich or live in Hollywood to do it—and I had neither. It wasn’t until high school, when I took a film class, that I realized anyone could make films. That class changed everything for me and inspired me to fully pursue filmmaking.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

The Back to the Future trilogy, without a doubt. They’re my comfort movies. Most of my films are period pieces, and I love the concept of going back in time. I originally planned to pursue a career in history, so these movies combine two of my favorite things: history and storytelling.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

What you’re doing is already fantastic! Just being able to receive feedback is huge—so many festivals don’t offer that, and it’s incredibly refreshing. If I had one suggestion, it would be to provide even more feedback. I’d happily watch a full hour of feedback if it were available. It’s invaluable to hear what’s working and what might not be.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the platform?

I love FilmFreeway—always have, always will. No complaints.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Steak and lobster.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Yes, we’re currently working on our first feature film!

Filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner (SOLVENT)

festreviews Festival Interview, interviews

SOLVENT, 94min,. Austria
Directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner
While searching for Nazi documents in an Austrian farmhouse, a team of experts uncovers a hidden secret buried in its bowels. American expatriate Gunner S. Holbrook becomes obsessed with solving the mystery, and as his sanity wanes, he must confront an insatiable evil. Can he find redemption before it drains the life out of him?

http://monochrom.at/solvent
https://www.facebook.com/solvent.film/
https://www.instagram.com/monochrom.film/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

“Solvent” was born out of a need to confront and dissect Austria’s historical baggage, but not in a traditional or sanitized way. The farmhouse setting, tied to my own family history, became a metaphorical stage for exploring guilt, complicity, and the grotesque ways the past seeps into our present. I’ve always been fascinated (and horrified) by how easily we fall into patterns of denial and silence. This film is my attempt to scream into that silence, to mix surreal horror and black humor into a narrative that forces us to face uncomfortable truths. The past isn’t dead. It’s a festering wound we carry, and I wanted to visualize that.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The production timeline was chaos in the best possible way. We, of course, wanted to shoot in my grandfather’s derelict farmhouse, but the mold situation was far worse than anticipated—it was spreading into neighboring houses. With health department issues looming, we had just two months to shoot on-site before we had to completely empty the place of furniture, old clothes, and papers. Act 1 was filmed while Ben Roberts and I were still figuring out Acts 2 and 3. We had a rough arc in mind, but the details (and even characters) emerged organically. For instance, Bartholdi’s entire plot only materialized after we had already shot chunks of footage. The whole process felt like molding clay while the potter’s wheel tried to electrocute us.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Demon piss.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

You mean besides financing this madness? Balancing historical authenticity with the surreal, comical, absurdist elements was a constant tightrope walk. I wanted to explore Austria’s cultural and historical trauma without reducing it to a simplistic caricature of Nazi horror. And then, of course, there were the technical challenges. The goddamn puke machine we built wouldn’t work, and some of the shots in the wine cellar were ridiculously hard to pull off because of how narrow the space was. My cinematographer, Florian Hofer, was incredible—he carried that heavy camera rig on his head the whole time. One day, he was so exhausted, he literally couldn’t lift his head off the ground anymore. And then there was the editing. Anton Paievski is a wizard at his craft, but we spent long, grueling days together assembling this puzzle of a film, often without a clear picture of how it should look. That’s when the movie truly came to life—through trial, error, and a shared willingness to embrace the chaos.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Oh, it was great, really. There were plenty of comments that echoed things I’d heard from other reviewers and journalists, but also some surprising insights that hadn’t come up before. One of the feedback videos focused heavily on body parts (eyes, genitals) and really dug into the body horror aspects of the film. That level of detail was refreshing because, usually, reviewers either gloss over those elements or make a quick side joke. To hear the audience engage so directly with the visceral, grotesque elements of Solvent felt like validation for embracing those uncomfortable, raw aspects of the story.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

It wasn’t a single “aha” moment, but rather a slow accumulation of tiny rebellions. As a teenager, I was hacking together camcorders and creating absurdist little flicks—short films have been a constant throughout my life. But I came to feature-length films relatively late, making my first feature documentary only about 10 years ago. Before that, my creative energy was spread across a range of mediums: interactive media, theater, performance art, and hacking cultural tropes with my art collective monochrom. Filmmaking became the ultimate synthesis of all these influences, letting me explore narrative, technology, absurdity, and politics on a grand scale. And let’s face it: artists just want a pat on the back—but never know what to do with it when they get one.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

That’s hard to say! After making Masking Threshold, I was invited by Letterboxd to create a list of films that influenced me. I welcomed the challenge. I am a nerd for “lists.” But when I sat down, it was pretty overwhelming. Every movie I’ve ever watched has shaped how I view film and the world. Some films are, for various reasons, enormously present in my memory. Poltergeist, for example, because I first saw it when I was 9, alone on late-night television in our dark living room while my parents and friends had a BBQ outside. I felt I was dying of fear throughout the entire experience. Or RoboCop, because as a 12 year old nerd in a shabby theater in my Austrian hometown, it kindled my interest in politics, technology, and toxic waste that melts your face off. I didn’t include those films (and moments) in my compilation because they feel too big and too dominating. I decided instead to choose films that, for whatever biochemical reason, my brain goes back to when it is wandering, digesting, and scheming.

https://letterboxd.com/horrorville/story/johannes-grenzfurthner-the-films-that-inspired/

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I’d love to see festivals embrace more unconventional programming—films that blur genres, push boundaries, or make people deeply uncomfortable in the best way. Offering spaces for filmmakers to connect in informal, chaotic ways—like a drunken roundtable or a “roast your film” session—could be fun.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the festival platform site?

Not too shabby! FilmFreeway feels like an online dating site for filmmakers—it’s streamlined, efficient, and takes a lot of the soul-crushing bureaucracy out of the process. That said, it could use a bit more personality. Imagine rejection emails that came with a personalized insult or a cryptic haiku—it would at least make “thanks but no thanks” a little more fun. Maybe they should lean into the drama of the rejection process—filmmakers are used to theatrics, after all.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Wiener Schnitzel with a side of existential crisis. There’s something comforting about the simplicity of a Schnitzel—especially when paired with a debate about whether the universe is inherently meaningless.
Comfort food!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

There are ideas, definitely. But if I told you, I’d have to lock you into a cellar—the good old Austrian way. Stay tuned, but keep your cellar door locked, just in case.

Filmmaker John Anthony (RUN)

festreviews Uncategorized

RUN, 4min., USA
Directed by John Anthony
A young woman tries to enjoy a late night run

https://www.instagram.com/jdafilm34

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Just thought it would be fun to write a horror film, this was my very first horror film written.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

About a month, all said and done.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Unexpected Thriller 🙂

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Finding the right costume for the clown.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talk about your film in the feedback video?

It was very humbling, and very honored that they enjoyed it.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

About 8 years ago, after taking acting classes and writing scenes for class.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

MY favorite of all time ” Rocky” 1976

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

You guys were top notch, truly blessed and honored to have won for best Micro short, just a great festival that you guys put on and run.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Very good, FilmFreeway does a great job with all their festival information.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Plain pasta and grilled chicken breast!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Working on two new films another Horror film and a comedy.

Watch Today’s Film Festival: Best of WILDsound Shorts December

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Watch the Film Festival HERE:  https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/best-of-wildsound-december

Go to the Daily Film Festival Platform http://www.wildsound.ca and sign up for the free 7 day trial to watch a new and original festival every single day.

Go to the festival page directly and watch dozens of films:
https://www.wildsound.ca/todays-film-festival/

See the full lineup of films:

HONORABLE, 16min., USA
Directed by Zachary Scott Clark, Mariah L. Richardson
Two months after he denounces the Nation of Islam and nine months before his assassination, MALCOLM X SHABAZZ has a chance encounter with his estranged brother and mentee MUHAMMAD ALI.

https://linktr.ee/Honorablefilm
https://www.facebook.com/Honorablefilm
https://www.instagram.com/honorablefilm/

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-honorable


ALISHER’S GIFT, 16min,. USA
Directed by J Matt Wallace
An Uzbek and Kyrgyz blended family learns there are more than ethnic issues behind their historic misfortune. The recent death of their uncle Alisher prompts the delivery of gifts to a nephew and niece who learn important truths about both their recent and ancient past.

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-alishers-gift

HEALING FOR THE NATIONS, 3min., Canada
Directed by Christopher Angus
An animated vignette built on dreams and visions for the nation of Canada.

http://www.attic-films.ca/https://twitter.com/attic_films

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-healing-for-the-nations


HOME SWEET HOME, 31min., USA
Directed by Stephan Looney
30 minute short-film documenting a group of close friends traveling to the director’s home state of West Virginia. An intimate and nostalgic look into friendship and roots.

https://www.youtube.com/@jpegstephan
https://instagram.com/jpegstephan

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-home-sweet-home

TRUE ROMANCE, 29min., Canada
Directed by Katherine Costal
A lovesick teenager tries to rekindle her relationship with a past boyfriend by inviting him to a surprise party, only to discover the harsh truth behind their romance and the love lives of the guests.

https://www.instagram.com/kat_costal/

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-true-romance

GROCERY SHOPPING, 38min., USA
Directed by Harry Roseman
I am at the grocery store three to five times a week. It has become a ritual, picking out the items, going over the shopping list, interacting with the same people year after year. It seems to me, an important aspect of my and many other people’s lives. Something utterly familiar. Though filmed it becomes somewhat mysterious, seen anew, to be rethought about.

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-grocery-shopping

Today’s Novel Deadline: WOMEN’S FICTION Festival

festreviews Novel Festival Deadline, novels

Submit your WOMEN’S FICTION Book by the deadline.

Submit on the submission page here: https://femalefilmfestival.com/womens-fiction-novel-festival/

Women’s fiction is a broad term for books that center on women’s experiences and are marketed to female readers.

Get FULL FEEDBACK on either the 1st chapter or entire novel book from our committee of professional writers and writing consultants. Get your novel performed by a professional actor at the festival.

NEW OPTION: Or, just submit for an actor performance reading transcript of your novel (any 5 pages of your book). Great way to promote the sales of your book if you’re already published. (see examples on the video playlist below.)

SUBMIT your novel now (both your 1st chapter or full novel accepted) To be eligible for our Writing Festival Events. Submissions take 3-5 weeks for evaluation.

Submit a novel book and get it seen by the world.

A great way to get your words out there, obtain the agent you’re looking for, or just get your story seen by more people. If you win, your story will be seen by 100,000s of people when it’s read online using a top professional actor. It’s a rush you’ll never experience in your life seeing it come to life that way.

Today’s Screenplay Deadline: BLACK Screenwriters Festival

festreviews screenplay festival, Screenplay of the Day

Submit your screenplay that’s written by a black writer and/or the main character(s) are black, to the festival.

Submit your screenplay here: https://blackfeedbackfilmfestival.com/black-screenwriters-festival/

FULL FEEDBACK on your screenplay from our committee of Professional Screenwriters, Production Heads and Script Consultants. Get your entire script performed at the writing festival.

SUBMIT your FEATURE, TV PILOT or SHORT SCREENPLAY.

Submissions take 3-5 weeks for evaluation. Looking for screenplays from all over the world.

This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.)

1st Tier: FULL FEEDBACK on your screenplay (all submissions)

2nd Tier: Accepted scripts (25% on average of submitted entries) get the best scene of their screenplay performed by professional actors and made into a promotional video.

3rd Tier: We will send you a list of questions to answer for our blog interview that will promote you and your film.

4th Tier: Then we will set up a podcast interview on our popular ITunes show where we will promote the winning writer and script./p>

(BONUS: 5th Tier. A winning screenwriter’s WhatsApp group has just been formed. Over 50 writers to date. Great way to share ideas and contacts with people in the industry.)

Today’s Podcast: EP. 1389 – Screenwriters Drew Henriksen, Ken Hewski (BOZ: Bikers of Oz)

festreviews PODCASTS

Watch the 1st scene script reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urypTjeGVRY

After a twister rips a biker bar from its foundation, two rival biker gangs crash land in the mythical land of L. Frank Baum’s tales. Thinking they know the story, the two foes quickly unite, but encounter forces that they don’t know as well as they thought. In this Adult Swim style animated show, think of Sons of Anarchy surviving the twisted land of Oz. May also be live action.


Subscribe to the podcast:

https://twitter.com/wildsoundpod

https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod/

https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod