DOWN TO ONE, 3min., USA
Directed by Tyler Jensen
A Joint Slay from
Typical Films (Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street) and Monster Makeup Productions (Death Drop Grogeous, Saint Drogo)
Starring Bright Light Bright Light

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Working with Rod on this video was a dream come true – we share a mutual love of horror and dark comedy classics like Clue, April Fool’s Day, and the stylishly dark world of Italian giallos.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? We storyboarded for a few weeks before renting a house and shooting over a weekend last fall. The video was edited and had its debut two weeks later on Friday The 13th.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The most difficult scene to shoot was the bathtub death. We used an iPhone in a waterproof bag that I had to hold down in the tub while Chris was being drowned.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
That was such a charming, happy video to watch! I was not expecting that.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I saw Natural Born Killers at a 7th grade sleepover and my entire life changed. How could they make such a movie that was extremely unrealistic and stylized. I knew from then on, that’s the kinda job I wanted.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Clueless – It only gets better with every viewing.

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

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It has been excellent, no notes

10. What is your favorite meal?
There’s no better taste than celluloid.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
A new indie family comedy about a wayward uncle coming home to care for a pack of nasty children.

Submit to the HORROR Underground Film Festival:

HIGH LIGHT, 4min., USA
Directed by Anthony Orlando
A young man musters the courage to face an alien lifeform rooting through his garage.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Answer: As I saw my peers in the film industry sharing their new projects and getting laurels for their work, I knew I had to direct a new movie to promote myself so I could move forward in my career as a filmmaker. It had been a few years since I directed my last short, so I knew I had to create something new to showcase all the knowledge and experience in filmmaking I had gained since then. Also, since the short is based on a screenplay I have been working on, I hoped this film would act as a proof of concept that I could pitch to executives and hopefully get it made into a feature-length film.

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

Answer: Since the film is based on a scene from another script, it only took me a couple of days to iron out the kinks and make it a standalone story. Production took about three days, and I spent a week or two editing the film.

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

Answer: Skin-crawling suspense

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

Answer: I think my biggest obstacle was filming the scenes in my garage, as it was such a dark, cramped space. It was tough for my lead actor, Ryan, since we were shooting in the winter with such little resources. I tried to make the film as good as it could be, but for his sake, I tried not to push things too far. Still, I owed him a nice dinner after I what I put him through.

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

Answer: I was overjoyed to hear the audience liked my film so much. I’m always open to constructive criticism, but hearing how much everyone enjoyed it and left it with almost nothing but praise made me feel great about how far I’ve come as a filmmaker.

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

Answer: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved writing stories. But I realized I wanted to tell stories through film when I was in high school. After I watched “The Shining” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” for the first time, I knew I wanted to make those kinds of visual stories that have impacted so many audiences on such a deep level.

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

Answer: Probably “Finding Nemo”. It’s always been a favorite within my family, and we never get sick of watching it.

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

Answer: Personally, I love how when festivals allow the audience to share their thoughts with the filmmakers, as it provides them with the constructive feedback and positive reinforcement they need to keep pursuing their passion. I also really like being able to connect with other filmmakers I meet at these festivals so we can pick each other’s brains or help each other find new work opportunities. If there’s one thing I learned about this industry, it’s all about who you know.

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

Answer: My experience with FilmFreeway has been very good. I used it to submit my last horror short “The Shadows” to a bunch of festivals, and with the laurels I received, it was a great introduction to the festival circuit.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Answer: Pasta bolognese. No one makes it quite like my mom.

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

Answer: I have a lot of projects on my plate right now. I’m currently focusing on writing an epic science-fantasy pilot. However, I also plan on sharing “High Light” online, where it will hopefully go viral, so stay tuned!

Submit to the HORROR Underground Film Festival:

DAKINI, 43min., Nepal
Directed by Arniko Kumar Singh
When darkness holds the light, the thin line between good and evil becomes an illusion. Unravel the captivating journey between perception and reality.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

– I always wanted to make a movie based on folklore and bring originality to the screen. Hence, this movie was the best way for me to showcase my ideas and interests.

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

– From the inception of the idea to making this movie, in the entirety it took me about 3 years.

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

– Honest effort!

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

– As a first time filmmaker, I faced a lot of challenges. The biggest one I would say would be not surrounding myself with competent and professional individuals around me. That was a huge lesson that I learned.

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

– I was very excited but also very nervous.

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

– Since I was 14 years old.

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

– I have seen all kinds of films throughout my life. I would watch any language, any genre and any kind of movie. Each and every movie has something unique about it.

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 think you folks are doing a fantastic job.

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

– It was great.

10. What is your favorite meal?

– Anything I eat when I am hungry is my favorite meal.

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

– Hopefully, I will get to make another movie. If I can make my hobby my profession, then I would be the happiest individual on this planet.

AWAITING WONDER, 12min., Cyprus
Directed by Eleana Theophilou
A poetic exploration of a love story, of a widower that is going through the lonely journey of coming to terms with the sudden loss of his wife.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The core of the inspiration for the film lays in a time when my husband was rushed to the hospital after an accident.

The phone call from the hospital, the drive to the hospital and the few hours that I had to wait to find out whether he was going to survive the injuries created temporarily a very subjective sense of time and was saturated with emotions of love, memories, things unsaid, fear of loss and thoughts of loneliness. During the pandemic, a couple of years after the incident, these emotions resurfaced together with the need to make the film. The emotion of loneliness was a worldwide spread, loneliness related to loss or fear of loss of loved ones was spreading as much as the viral outbreak. In addition, I have been exploring the emotion of loneliness though my creative writing for some time before I commenced the film and I wanted to see them through the perspective of a filmmaking process.

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

A couple of years

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

Intriguing and contemplative.

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

There were a couple of mountains that I felt that I had to overcome and thankfully were surpassed. I went through pregnancy and labour during the production and post-production stage which was during the pandemic.

Consequently, you can imagine I was not always able to go to shooting locations and being worried about having a crew with me I found myself being a person of do it all behind and in front of the camera and had to find the balance between constantly babysitting and making the film. Thankfully my husband was very supportive through this process. In addition, when the film was reaching completion of the postproduction stage I was rushed to the hospital and at that point I thought I would never complete it but I managed to return home and I edited the film with final small touches and with a new perspective.

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

Immersed in beautiful feelings. It was nice to hear the different aspects and concepts people connected with the film which reflected my research and process into making the film but also gave me moments of a different perspective.

The feedback was also food for thought for further development as a filmmaker and further motivation for future filmmaking adventures.

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

I was in my first year as a student in the fine arts which was in my late 30s, during which time I wanted to explore video making because I felt I wanted the images to move and tell stories. I undertook an experimental filmmaking course as a taster and that was it, I fell in love with it, the film medium strongly felt as an expression tool and I eventually transferred my studies to concentrate on filmmaking.

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

In general, I love watching black and white films. I would say Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, I probably watched it a few times over.

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 think the festival covered my needs as a filmmaker; the feedback on my film, a platform of promotion and a place to initiate communication with other filmmakers and receiving the above benefits without having to leave your working space and its commitments is important.

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

I am very pleased with the platform because there is enough information and it is organised enough to make the process easy and smooth.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I don’t know if it is the meal or what surrounds the meal but I do like a barbeque with meat and vegetables, people and laugher with it.

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

I am currently working on a family documentary and I am at a very early pre-production stage. I started with an exploration of the bond between my father and I but I slowly see it moving into other family members. Off course creative writing including poetry is part of the process of making this film.

Submit to the Experimental, Dance, Music Festival

FR:AGILITY, 8min., Singapore
Directed by Amanda Tan
The film lenses the body and its form as sculpture; its undulating curves and slopes as landscape; and the skin we live in and shed as texture.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I was motivated by the desire to explore a dance film outside the confines of literal representations of movement. I wanted to make a film that withdraws from the constraints of a mere visual depiction of choreography on camera; looking at dance and movement as gestural markings instead.

I was also keen on exploring different visual textures. These textures were a means to transform the human form into a canvas, giving it new meaning and evoking different visceral sensations from the viewer.

The film envisioned was a collision between dance, lensing, and make-up artistry; blending different art forms to create a journey revealing the body in its new skin — one that is beautifully fragile yet undeniably agile.

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

About 6 months start to finish, but not non-stop.

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

FRAGILE/AGILE.

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

Translating the make-up and textures onto skin and having it be malleable enough to move with the dancer without falling apart was the biggest obstacle. We did material tests before the shoot to make sure our looks would withstand the heavy movement of the dancer on set.

However, some unexpected things happened on the day of shoot. For instance, it rained the night before, meaning the sand which we were applying to skin for one of the looks, had moistened from humidity and condensation, so it was extremely difficult to work with and get on the skin. We used headlamps to dry it and to heat up our very cold dancer, but this then caused it to overharden and crack. We pushed through and adapted the look and movement language to the situation, but yes this was one of the bigger creative obstacles.

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

It was really awesome watching these reactions. To see people kind of take away things like vulnerability in the performance was really good to see. I am glad that evoked the intended sensation and emotion. It’s also interesting to be able to see and reflect on the reactions of people halfway around the world. Film really brings us together.

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

I don’t think there was ever a eureka moment. I currently would describe myself as an artist before a filmmaker, and film as just one of my mediums. For me, making lensed work was always a natural inclination, it was a way to capture humanity and performance. It started with me dabbling with photography as a teenager and then deciding to add the fourth dimension of time to my practice as an undergrad. Film was a way to put something kinetic on the flat surface of a screen. That’s what enticed me to it.

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

As in what film have a viewed repeatedly? I would say Fountain by Darren Aronofsky. It’s so visually extra, I just can’t help review it over and over.

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 am actually really grateful for the interaction you guys have provided in this festival, the feedback, Q&A, etc has been a really great experience. I think one of the other things would be a way to reach online publications or platforms and have them look at the film. For example, for movement based work, getting eyeballs on NOWNESS or VIMEO would be great, but it’s often hard to get the attention of those platforms. Festivals could play a role in connecting filmmakers with sites such as these.

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

Always good! Been using it for years.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I literally cannot choose because I eat literally everything. Food is a means of understanding culture to me. But I do like uni a lot.

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

I am currently working on a multi-screen installation for an upcoming exhibition. I will be manipulating live action to make this piece, using microscopic lensing, thermal heat cameras and some fun lighting techniques. So yeah, currently in pre-production for this! Still a long way to go.

Submit to the Experimental, Dance, Music Festival

HEART WORN OUT & AGAINST THE WALL, 6min., Romania
Directed by Izabella Sandra Alda, Ovidiu Claudiu Moldovan
This short “Heart Worn Out & Against The Wall” is a short movie about loneliness and fear. Fear of losing a loved one, of being superficial, of being unlovable. About the struggles of filling a void that can never be filled and mannerisms used to cope with these feelings. About wanting affection but not being able to deal with human interactions. About feeling disconnected, but never allowing this to be seen, and thus, constantly having to deal with the inauthenticity.

https://www.facebook.com/midoristarsmidore
https://twitter.com/midoristars24
https://www.instagram.com/midoristars/

Get to know director/singer Izabella Sandra Alda:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Ren’s music video for “Hi Ren” ahaha. When I saw his video, it really gave me the confidence to make a similar music video, as I already had a piano version of “Against The Wall” and the “Heart Worn Out” spoken word poetry. It was meant to be something really simple, a one-shot type of video filmed from different angles, but while working on the script, it naturally shifted into what it is now.

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

What took the most was making a studio version of the song, so a couple of months for this, then a few weeks for finalizing the script, and at least another month for location scouting, costumes, and gathering all the props. So, all in all, I’d say it’s safe to round it up to around half a year.

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

RAW and THEATRICAL.

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

Finding a spiraled staircase and a round bathtub that wasn’t made for jacuzzi. Originally, the bathtub scene was meant to be filmed with water in it. We found a bathroom based on our needs, but a few days before the filming day, we found out that we could not use it with water. So, we had to start looking for alternatives. Since we didn’t find a good alternative, we adapted the script to the new conditions we had, and honestly, I fancied this version more than the original one with water.
Sometimes, scarce resources can lead to the best ideas.

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

I got so emotional, to be honest, and I eventually started crying. The reactions felt so appreciative but also honest. Things like these make you feel that all the effort was not in vain.

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

When I was a teenager, my dream was to become a movie actress. I studied theater/acting at University, but after graduating, I returned to my initial passion, music. I’m currently an independent musician (actually the first artist in Romania, my country, who composes and sings in Japanese), and I co-write and co-direct all my music videos. Although I prefer being on the screen rather than behind it, writing and directing my music videos allows me to do both.

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

“I’m Not There”, directed by Todd Haynes, and an anime movie called “Kimi no na wa” (tr: Your Name), directed by Makoto Shinkai.

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

It would be nice for the participants to be able to attend the festivals in person. Apart from this, some financial compensation would be appreciated, as many filmmakers probably work independently with limited funds.

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

I’m submitting my second project via FilmFreeway, and I find it easy to search for and apply to the appropriate festivals. The platform makes the work of the artists so much easier.

10. What is your favorite meal?

With the risk of sounding basic, I’ll say French fries, haha. And anything Japanese, as long as it’s vegan.

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

I am currently in the studio, working on my next original song in Japanese, for which we will definitely make a video/short movie once it’s done.

Submit to the Experimental, Dance, Music Festival