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Grimmfest, Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film, will be returning to its regular venue, Manchester’s Odeon Great Northern, on the 3 – 6 October for four ferociously full-on days of the best in genre cinema. Following on from the recent announcement of the features line-up, the Grimmfest Team are delighted to reveal the rest of this year’s festival programme.  As part of this year’s Preview Night on October 3rd, Grimmfest are thrilled to announce an exclusive European Premiere screening of three episodes of  TALES FROM THE VOID . Inspired by the most viral and haunting stories from the r/NoSleep community, a Reddit forum, where independent authors share short form horror stories, the series mixes pointed contemporary social commentary with classic genre tropes and knowing homages to much loved cult film and TV favourites, and features some of the hottest talents in the field: The arrival of a mysterious floating black square on a rundown housing estate stokes buried resentments and tensions to boiling point in  INTO THE UNKNOWN , directed by  Joe Lynch  ( SUITABLE FLESH ).  A teenage prank leads to an unforeseen threat that William Castle would be proud of, in  FIXED FREQUENCY , directed by  Francesco Loschiavo .  A young woman confronts terrifying repressed memories, following the death of her drug addict mother, in  PLASTIC SMILE , directed by  John Adams and Toby Poser  ( HELLBENDER ). Grimmfest’s Shorts Programmes this year features four World Premieres, one International Premiere, three European Premieres, six UK Premieres, one English Premiere, four Regional Premieres, one North West Premiere, and two Greater Manchester Premieres: METAMORPHOSES  offers tales of transformation and deformation, evolution and devolution, mutation and mutability, anxiety and alienation given physical form, and all of the horrors and pleasures of the all-too-fragile flesh… A telephone call brings unexpected terrors, in  James Longman’s quietly unsettling  SUFFOCATE (Greater Manchester Premiere). A young father starts to feel increasingly displaced by his newborn baby, in  Aaron Murtagh ‘s  MAN BABY (North West Premiere) .  Kafka plays out on a Parisian housing estate, in  COLEOPTERE ,  Martin Gouzou ‘s social (sur)realist spin on  METAMORPHOSIS (English Premiere) . A gender-flipped Dorian Gray for the age of social media, in  Giulio Manicardi’ s unexpectedly poignant  SELFIE (UK Premiere) .  A neglected woman turns to her favourite house plant for the connection she desires, in  Rebecca Thomson ‘s macabre and mordantly funny  A GREEN AFFAIR (European Premiere) .  Two sisters forced to care for their catatonic grandma start to realise that she’s not quite herself any more…  Gigi Zumbado  ( THE PRICE WE PAY ), and her sister  Carmela  star in  CARNIVORA ,  Felipe Vargas ‘ queasy study of familial obligation and loss of self  (European Premiere) .  An actress’s opening night nerves take on terrifying physical form in Jano Pita’s nightmarish study of social anxiety and self-harm,  APOTEMNOFILIA (UK Premiere) . And a sensation-seeking man’s midlife crisis leads to fatal temptation in   Simret Cheema-Innis ‘s polymorphously perverse cyberpunk body horror,  FROM ME TO YOU (UK Premiere) . Sometimes, it all just gets too much: family, peer groups, work, unemployment, relationships, sexual performance, imminent parenthood, bereavement, environment, your own late night paranoia. So much pressure… in the  TENSIONS  programme: A young woman is awoken by something going bump in the night, in  Mikel Iriarte  and  Jack Downs ‘  DEAD OF NIGHT (Regional Premiere) .  A bucket holds unexpected mysteries in  Axel Zeltser ‘s mischievous  EMBRACE (Regional Premiere) .  A young woman battles for her life, and the future of her relationship against a relentless masked killer, in  David Yorke ‘s blackly comic  SAFE (Regional Premiere) . A young cleaning lady working in a deserted office complex experiences an unexpected threat while working in  Jasper ten Hoor  and  Ivan Hidayat ‘s  PASPOCALYPSE (World Premiere) .  A flustered young man running late for a job interview finds himself faced with an unexpected obstacle in  Daniel Noblom ‘s claustrophobic  PARASOMNIA (World Premiere) .  An underpaid office worker discovers that sometimes a moment’s break is hard earned, in Sebastian Ganschow’s visually stunning THE INFINITE BREAK ROOM  (World Premiere) .  An ambient sleeping aid app holds unexpected dangers in   Ethan Evans ‘ nightmarish  OUTSIDE NOISE (Greater Manchester Premiere) .   There’s a uniquely… colourful antidote to toxic masculinity in  Yfke van Berckelaer ‘s uproarious  IZZY (UK Premiere) .  Two Grimmfest alumni make a welcome return, as  Jeremiah Kipp  ( SLAPFACE ) offers an uncomfortable illustration of that old maxim, “be careful what you wish for”, in the enigmatic and unsettling  DARK ROADS (European Premiere) , while  Nicholas Payne Santos  ( IT CUTS DEEP ) explores the nature of grief and the unwillingness to let go of our loved ones, in the eerie and mournful  STRANGE CREATURES (UK Premiere) .  Simón Bucher, Claudia Saldivia and Amanda Rivera  present a viscerally uncomfortable study of self-destructive greed in  THE FEAST (Regional Premiere) .  A young woman’s conviction that her husband has been replaced by an alien doppelganger leads to savage violence, in  Shane Day ‘s troubling take on the classic Bodysnatchers trope,  THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AT THE END OF THE WORLD (International Premiere) .  And a father-to-be’s fears prove all-too-terrifyingly justified, in  Robert Franz ‘s gleefully gory study of misogynous male paranoia,  AMBROSIA (World Premiere) .  There are also a couple of short films this year screening alongside feature films.  Sam Fox  ( FCK’N NUTS ) makes a welcome return to Grimmfest with  THE BLUE DIAMOND , a high-camp retro-80s take on toxic mother-daughter relationships, self-help therapy groups, and apres-ski, starring a deadpan  Desiree Staples  and the incomparable  Barbara Crampton . The film will screen with  DEAD MAIL  and is a  UK Premiere . And screening with Robyn August’s  KILLHER  will be the first of August’s  NIGHT WALKS, EDITH AND THE EMPTY (UK Premiere , a droll and deftly observed homage to such much-loved 60s supernatural shows as THE TWILIGHT ZONE, in which an enthusiastic cook meets her match at last in an insatiable entity. Full and day passes and individual tickets are available at  https://www.grimmfest.com/festival/

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Great to speak with you Cal. Where in the world are you right now? The pleasure is all mine! I’m currently based in London, my favorite city in the world. I’ve lived here for so many years that it feels like my permanent home. London is truly a special hub for creatives—whether it’s filmmakers, actors, musicians, or artists. The city offers incredible networking opportunities and has a unique vibe that constantly inspires me. You have a new short film in the festival circuit, SOMN. What's the film about? 'SOMN' is about a boy trapped in a horrific, cyclical dream-like state with no hope of escape. It’s my most ambitious short yet, combining everything I’ve learned and studied over the years. The project was designed from the ground up to work specifically as a short film, making full use of the format. My hope is that viewers find 'SOMN' immersive, unsettling, and a compelling horror experience. It’s unconventional in its approach, but I believe it’s highly engaging. Could you elaborate further on what you mean by ‘unconventional but still highly compelling?’ Absolutely. Without giving too much away, since 'SOMN' is meant to be open to interpretation, the film has a unique tempo and editing style that aims to emulate the disjointed nature of a dream. When we shot the film, we only had a one-page outline—a rough story that left room for improvisation. As a matter of fact, many of the scenes we initially planned either weren’t filmed or were cut in the editing process. The final version of 'SOMN' is just over 4 minutes, including credits. Early cuts were closer to 7 minutes and included additional scenes that provided more context and backstory. However, I decided to trim anything that didn’t heighten the tension or felt too expository. Much like real dreams, 'SOMN' jumps between scenes with little logic connecting them, yet it was crucial to maintain some sense of coherence to keep the audience engaged. The editing process was all about finding that balance. Sound design played a huge role in shaping the final edit, often sparking new ideas and directions for the film. We also did extensive test screenings to gather feedback and refine what worked. Even in its brief runtime, 'SOMN' packs a lot in, and not everything is entirely clear by design. My hope is that it leaves viewers intrigued, making them ponder what they’ve just witnessed in the best possible way. Why did you decide the make SOMN? There were two main reasons. First, I believe horror is one of the best genres for a short film to stand out. Horror movies naturally draw an audience because we love the thrill of being scared, knowing we're safe. Additionally, horror is budget-friendly and encourages creative problem-solving. I saw this as an opportunity to apply all the filmmaking techniques I’ve learned over the years and from my previous shorts to create a lean, intense horror film that keeps viewers engaged from start to finish. The second reason is my frustration with modern horror, particularly horror shorts. To me, modern horror sacrifices so much atmosphere to exposition and cheap scares. A good horror premise can be ruined as everything is given a clear explanation and one final jump-scare or shocking reveal. ’SOMN’ draws heavily from 90s Japanese horror and the work of David Lynch. There’s a certain magic in how those films created an immersive, intoxicating atmosphere without relying on excessive exposition, jump scares, or gore. They focused on immersing the audience in a world that was bizarre and unsettling, which made the horror all the more effective. Often times, audiences would leave uncertain of what just occurred and they had to fill the intentional gaps with their own theories, which I think makes it all the more scary. I wanted to pay homage to that style, which is why 'SOMN' has a very specific visual aesthetic—a dirty, grainy look rather than the polished, clean imagery of modern films. Our colorist, Alexander Reinholdsson, did an incredible job capturing that atmosphere. I’d also like to add that when it comes to more modern horror, David Robert Mitchell’s ‘It Follows’, released in 2014, really what I love in a horror film. A perfectly immersive, terrifying film that left you with more questions than answers by the end. What challenges were there in getting this made and out there? Without a doubt, the editing phase was the most challenging. The shooting and pre-production were so freeform that when I first looked at all the footage, especially in the initial edit, I thought, ‘I don’t know what any of this is supposed to mean or be.’ But that was part of the plan all along. Working on a super indie, low-budget project meant I had all these fantastic, disjointed pieces of a puzzle that needed to be put together. The storyline went through several iterations, from a cursed protagonist to a more traditional haunted house narrative. Eventually, however, this experiment evolved into the current narrative—a kind of mundane cosmic horror. We don’t know why these events are happening to the main character, we don’t even fully understand what’s happening, or what the eponymous ‘SOMN’ is. In fact, we never really get to know who the main character is, as, small spoiler alert, they themselves don’t know who they are anymore, since it is revealed their whole identity was erased in the dream. This puts the audience in the same position as the protagonist: trapped in a repeating nightmare, unaware of how they got there or why it’s happening. My hope is that, despite the ambiguity, the fear is palpable. Our lead actor, Karn Na Tarlang, did a tremendous job portraying a character who is vulnerable and terrified, which I believe will help audiences connect with his plight. I’m aware this approach might be controversial, but I stand by my decision to focus less on the bigger picture and more on the moment-to-moment experience. I’m confident that audiences will engage with the film and, hopefully, come up with their own theories about what’s really happening in 'SOMN'. The few spoken lines are also in Thai and the incomprehensible voice of the SOMN, which for a production made in England could perhaps prove divisive, but it is all subtitled of course in a style that compliments the short. How have you evolved as a filmmaker since your previous film, Neon Heart? The most significant evolution for me has been my focus on sound. In your fantastic review of Neon Heart, I appreciated the compliments on the visuals and acting—those are areas I’m passionate about, especially working with actors and helping them showcase their talents. However, the sound quality, particularly the poorly recorded dialogue, was a major downfall. That experience taught me that sound is just as crucial as the visuals and performances, if not more so. This focus on sound was a driving force behind SOMN. We shot the film on an iPhone 14, partly out of convenience but also as a challenge to myself. I wanted to see how we could use framing, sound design, and editing to create a cinematic and gripping picture, even with the most minimal equipment. Another key lesson has been the value of a talented crew and the importance of collaboration. Bringing skilled individuals onto a project is one of the most magical aspects of filmmaking, especially when they are given the freedom to contribute their own ideas and perspectives. As a director, my role is to ensure consistency so that the final product isn’t disjointed, but beyond that, I trust my crew completely. When everyone is connected to the material, the best ideas flow naturally, and I’m committed to fostering this creative environment in all my future projects. You mentioned earlier all spoken lines are in Thai, why is that? Well the main actor himself is Thai, so I wanted his lines to be in his home language as it was very important to feel authentic. This also works thematically, as I want what he goes through in the short to feel universal, plus my ethos as a filmmaker is to show diverse and underrepresented voices in all of my projects, to give a fresh perspective to audiences. How can people get to see SOMN? I'm currently planning the distribution strategy, as I want to ensure SOMN finds the right platform and audience. Rather than simply releasing it on YouTube, where it might get lost in the crowd, I'm focusing on entering the festival circuit first. My goal is to connect with short film distributors who can help bring SOMN to a wider audience. Online channels like 'Alter' could also be a great fit for the film. We’ve put together a brief trailer to generate interest, and I’m hopeful that word of mouth will play a key role in building awareness for SOMN. Why do you make movies? I truly believe at this point it is what I am meant to do. I’ve always had such a passion for cinema and filmmaking, the creative process, collaborating on a set with like-minded individuals and how satisfying the challenges are. And more importantly , the fact that with movies, we can reach out to people. Like any art form, film can make us look within ourselves and help us develop as humans. I aim to do that as well, whichever the genre I work in, that those who watch will leave with something they didn’t have before seeing my films. What's next for you after this movie? I’m currently working hard on ensuring SOMN is the best quality possible and we can show it at festivals so me and the team can create new experiences as soon as possible. Filmmaking is quite expensive, but I have enough interesting ideas that I hope will get financed so we can show them to the world. #ChrisOlson #FilmmakerInterview

Film Feature by Jason Knight #6 - Line of Sight ★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Jamie B-Brown Starring: Bertie Taylor Smith, Holly Ashman A lonely man is obsessed with a young woman. Francis (Smith) is a socially awkward young man who appears to fancy Erica (Ashman), a friendly girl who works at a cinema. He follows her around and takes pictures of her without her knowing. Finally, he decides to approach her, however, things will take a dramatic turn. This short is kind of a stalker thriller that is seen from the perspective of an unusual individual. Initially, it is not clear whether he is a good or a bad person. He secretly follows and photographs a person, yet his intentions appear to be harmless, as he seems to want to be in a relationship with her. Smith delivers a convincing performance as an isolated individual who has difficulties socialising. His love for photography appears to be a way for him to view and experience the world. Ashman is great in her role as a cheerful cinema worker. The filmmakers make effective use of slow motion and the dramatic music helps create the appropriate atmosphere. This is a dramatic story and one that explores themes of obsession and loneliness. It raises awareness of autism and presents challenges that people with social difficulties have to face. #5 - April ★★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Jamie B-Brown, Spencer Anderson Starring: Ruby Rae, Oscar King, Cara Kealy In a hostile, post-apocalyptic world, a man escorts his daughter to a place called 'The Vale'. This short science fiction drama introduces the viewer to a world where danger seems to be constant. The story is told from the perspective of a family, whose members are forced to try to survive in that place. These people are Jordan, the father (King), Natalie, the mother (Kealy) and April, the daughter (Rae), who possesses extraordinary abilities. The three of them live in a hidden location in the wilderness and one day, Jordan and April set off to locate a group of people, who will hopefully be able to help April control her powers. Although the screenplay does a decent job in terms of setting up a post-apocalyptic world, it does not explain how it happened, which is not a bad thing, however, it would have helped if there was some form of explanation. The main focus is the relationship between the father and his daughter. The two of them have their differences, however, it becomes obvious that they care deeply for each other. The performances are great, and the three protagonists are convincing in their roles as good-hearted individuals attempting to survive in a harsh world. The film benefits from a beautiful and sentimental score and a special mention goes to Renato Solca for the visual effects. This short is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi that is a story about a journey that is filled with emotion and explores themes of parenting, survival and self-discovery. #4 - Super-Being ★★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Spencer Anderson, Dale Dandridge, Jamie B-Brown, Moyo Taylor Starring: Zachary Coleman, Juke Hardy, Nate Barker, Issie Caird An individual who has supernatural powers is being pursued by sinister people. This science-fiction thriller explores the life of a person with otherworldly abilities. The nonlinear narrative travels through time between scenes that show the protagonist as a young man and scenes that show him as a child. The audience sees the passing of his mother, his attempts to live a normal life and the efforts he makes in order to deal with the people who are after him. There is drama, shooting, life-threatening situations and the sense of an individual who is lost, who seems to be unable to find peace. Much of the story is accompanied by narration by the main character, as he talks about his life and his words are emotional and sound philosophical. Jermaine Wills and Filipas Proskurinas do an amazing job with the cinematography and the atmospheric score is a big plus. Although this is interesting viewing, it might have benefited if the hero's powers were explained more effectively. Nevertheless, this short is an emotional and tense ride about loss and self-discovery. #3 - Satellites ★★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Spencer Anderson Starring: Tamzin Murray An astronaut is by herself, on another planet. This beautiful and emotional short focuses on a young woman (Murray), who has found herself on an uncharted planet and attempts to navigate through it on foot. The mise-en-scene in this drama effectively brings the viewer into the science fiction genre. The protagonist wears a spacesuit, there is a spaceship and she is on a distant, unknown planet. Regarding the narrative, there is not much of that and it is the images and narration that keep the audience engaged. The viewer observes the woman as she walks through the planet, wearing her spacesuit. She is the only person in the film and there is a strong feeling of isolation. Her voice-over refers to issues about life and the meaning of existence and listening to her is quite thought-provoking. Ben Hardy worked on the cinematography and editing and does a great job. The decision to utilise the track Surrender It by Delectatio was excellent as it is a wonderful and very calming peace that creates a peaceful atmosphere. This is a story that focuses on one person's philosophical perspective regarding life. On the surface it is a sci-fi, however it is more than that and explores themes of isolation and self-discovery. #2 - Rock-a-Bye ★★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Jamie Bhagwat-Brown, Spencer Anderson Starring: Yazzmin Newell, Samuel Lawrence A young woman makes a crucial decision on the day she and her partner are about to commit a crime. An intriguing short film that works as a crime thriller and also as a story about self-reflection. As a crime film, it has a plot that revolves around the idea of a couple being outlaws. According to director Anderson, this short was made with Western-era influences that involve films such as Blood Simple and Badlands and that is evident considering the storyline and atmosphere. Plus, part of the filming was done at the Burnout BBQ Diner in Summertown, Oxford, giving the film a sort of Americanised look. What is going on is not clear from the beginning, making the viewer to put the pieces together as the story unfolds and what is discovered is that the couple are about to do something very vile. As a film about self-reflection, that theme is explored through Carla (a great performance by Newell), who makes a vital last-minute discovery and makes a crucial decision. Newell is terrific in her role; however Lawrence is arguably the one who steals the show as Clay, Carla's partner, an aggressive and controlling man. With his sixth short, Anderson creates an expertly directed film that contains a great deal of suspense and with terrific performances by the two leads, a dramatic and tense score by Reg Length and beautiful cinematography by Jermaine Wills, this is an achievement that deserves recognition. #1 - Fallen ★★★★★ Directed by: Spencer Anderson Written by: Spencer Anderson Starring: Zachary Coleman, Michael Watts This short drama was inspired by the reminiscences of Gilbert Bradley, who was a British soldier who exchanged letters with his male partner while he was fighting World War II. Through a nonlinear narrative, this emotional war film tells the story of a forbidden romantic relationship and how these two people tried to keep in touch during the war. Approximately the first half consists of the reading of a letter that was written by one man and addressed to the other and the second half is the opposite. Both contents of the letters are told through a voice-over that comes from the one who wrote it. Their words are passionate and full of emotion, clearly indicating the love that they feel for each other. The narration is accompanied by many brief scenes that depict the lives of the two partners, including one man in a library, reading a letter, scenes of combat, a bonfire and the two men together. The scenes and the voice-over make it all a rather moving watch. With its narrative structure, the film almost feels like a ten-minute-long trailer, which is not a negative element but a rather interesting storytelling technique. Jermaine Will provides wonderful cinematography and the emotional score goes very well with the scenes and voice-over. The mise-en-scene also deserves a lot of praise as it effectively creates a Second World War atmosphere. This is an emotional ride that is very heavy on emotions and explores a romance that is being torn apart by war. It is a beautiful story about love, separation and war and it deserves recognition. #JasonKnight

Grimmfest, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film is delighted to announce the full feature film line-up for 2024.   The festival will be returning to the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester, 3rd-6th October, to showcase the very best in new genre cinema. Four fear-filled days that include an array of feature film premieres, including three World premieres, six International premieres, one European premiere, seven UK premieres, one English premiere, and four Northern UK premieres (Short films premieres all be announced soon).   Festival directors Simeon Halligan and Rachel Richardson-Jones are back at the wheel once more, after a one-year sabbatical, ready to floor the accelerator for a white-knuckle ride into the dark. Indeed, nightmarish journeys are on the menu this year, as Grimmfest celebrates its love of vehicle-based cinema, with the FEAR ON FOUR WHEELS strand.    Launching the strand, and opening this year's festival, the World Premiere of Shudder’s  BLACK CAB ,  a slippery mix of claustrophobic psycho-thriller with a touch of supernatural directed by  Bruce Goodison.  Dark secrets are revealed when a bickering couple make the mistake of accepting a ride with Nick Frost's unnervingly over-friendly taxi driver .  It's man versus machine, as a debt-ridden and desperate delivery driver finds himself in a life-or-death confrontation with a deranged Snow Plow driver, in DELIVERY RUN , Joey Palmroos ' inventive Winter-based riff on a much-loved genre classic, another Grimmfest World Premiere.  A cash-strapped cabbie finds himself out of his depth when he downloads a mysterious App, promising high-paying, but increasingly dangerous driving jobs, in  Michael Pierro 's Fantasia festival-winning gritty neo-noir, SELF DRIVER , which has its European Premiere.  A sleep-deprived taxi driver, plagued by terrifying nightmarish visions is forced by a maverick psychiatrist to confront repressed memories and long-buried guilt, in writer-director-star Nick Cheung 's dazzling and disorientating surrealist psychodrama  PEG O' MY HEART, a UK Premiere. And to complete our FEAR ON FOUR WHEELS strand, A young Latina petty thief driving cross country finds herself the target of a devious, psychopathic, redneck sheriff, who views his badge as a licence to prey on vulnerable young women, in  Lawrence Jacomelli's  gritty and gruelling desert noir road movie,  BLOOD STAR , a Grimmfest UK Premiere.   Meanwhile, the woods are eerie, dark, and deep, in our TERROR IN THE TREES strand.    Oppressive patriarchal puritanism collides with a far older faith in Didier Konings' ferocious period set feminist Folk Horror fable, HERESY . Recalling Bergman at his most unflinching, but with a wild psychedelic edge all its own, the film is a UK premiere.   A weekend camping trip goes badly and bloodily wrong, as tensions are exposed, friendships betrayed, and psychopathologies unleashed, in Robyn August 's satiric slasher, KILLHER, a crowd-pleasing call back to old school 80s slashers, and another international premiere.    A young boy is forced to leave the safety of his forest home, and cross a desolate, plague-riddled landscape in search of what remains of civilisation, in  Vardan Tozija's heart breaking, emotionally brutal post-apocalyptic fairy tale , M, a UK Premiere.    Guilt and emotional damage collide with local legend and a treacherous forest landscape in  Philip W. de Silva 's FROM DARKNESS , a visually stunning fusion of Scandi-noir, Swedish mythology, and the supernatural, receiving its Northern UK premiere.   The camera, they say, never lies. But it doesn't always tell the whole truth in our IN CAMERA Strand.   STRANGE HARVEST , the latest film from Stuart Ortiz (GRAVE ENCOUNTERS) sees “The Call of Cthulhu” recast as a True Crime documentary, chronicling the hunt for a terrifying serial killer with a uniquely bizarre agenda. This brilliantly realised pastiche receives its UK Premiere.   A frustrated new father is catfished by a camgirl with a secret far deadlier than he could ever imagine, in R.J. Daniel Hanna 's outrageous, genre-smashing shocker, SUCCUBUS . With an all-star cast that includes Rosanna Arquette and Ron Perlman , the film has its International Premiere at Grimmfest.    Aaron Fradkin (VAL) makes a welcome return with the international premiere of BEEZEL , a terrifying chronicle of a New England house over a fifty year period, and the influence of an ancient evil upon several generations of the same family; an unreliable narrative, captured on a series of equally unreliable recording formats.    Pierre Tsigaridis (TWO WITCHES) makes a welcome return, with TRAUMATIKA ; a wild tale of demonic possession, incestuous abuse, and an unstoppable killer. Combining elements of “found footage”, slasher, giallo, and Satanic Panic,  it's a love letter to horror cinema, and  a Northern UK premiere.   Other Grimmfest World premieres....   Andrew Bell  offers an extraordinary contemporary spin on vampirism, in BLEEDING . A stark, grim, utterly unsentimental exploration of the nature of addiction and teenage desperation, it's harrowing, horrifying, and emotionally brutal.   Other Grimmfest International Premieres include…   A newly-wed couple find their relationship under strain when their honeymoon is hijacked by a manic inventor and his cynical wife in search of funding for their improbable project, in Chris Skotchdopole 's CRUMB CATCHER ; a pitch-black comedy of social discomfort that turns into a violent life or death conflict.   A city is faced with the thirty-minute countdown to a nuclear strike, and the instinct for survival overrides every other consideration, in Loïs Dols de Jong 's suffocatingly tense AMSTERDAM ALERT. A masterclass of white-knuckle cinema verité storytelling.   Having their UK Premiere at Grimmfest...   Can Evrenol (BASKIN) pulls no punches with SAYARA , a brutal exploration of the nature of revenge, which also hammers home some sharply observed points about racism, misogyny and corruption in Turkish society. This is not a film for the faint-hearted.   EARLY BIRDS , Michael Steiner 's stylish and kinetic neo-noir chase movie, about two mismatched and desperate women on the run from a brutal drug gang is both a heart-rending thriller, and a gripping tale of female friendship and self-determination.    An egotistical scientist meets his match in  Stimson Snead 's high-concept time-bending head-spinning sci-fi comedy,  TIM TRAVERS & THE TIME TRAVELER'S PARADOX. Featuring a brilliant central performance, by Samuel Dunning , and scene-stealing support from such cult film icons as Keith David , Danny Trejo, Felica Day and Joel McHale .   TERRIFIER's Lauren Lavera stars as an ambitious art restorer, enlisted by a sinister baroness to salvage a damaged family portrait, only to discover demonic activities down below in THE WELL , Frederico Zampaglione 's (SHADOW) homage to classic italian horror has it's English premiere at Grimmfest.   And having their Northern UK Premieres...   DEAD MAIL , A twisted, darkly funny tale of a hapless synthesizer developer held hostage by his increasingly deranged sponsor, and the efforts of a dead letter investigator to find him in Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy’s  wonderful thriller.    THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN , Justin and Dominic Hardy’s poignant documentary which combines fascinating new details about the production of the classic film, with an unflinching and moving study of two grieving sons coming to terms with the legacy of their father. The full screening schedule, along with day passes and individual film tickets will be released on Monday 19th Aug.   Full festival passes are available now at  https://www.grimmfest.com/festival

★★★ Written & Directed by # RichardJMoir Starring # JamesSobolKelly # JohnSmeathers # SarahGordon Film Review  by: Lawrence Bennie Prolific, award-winning filmmaker Richard J Moir is the real artist behind the lens of In The Moonlight , a familiar yet atmospheric and spooky short film which is a virtual one-man show.   The equally versatile James Sobol Kelly is ideally cast and, along with cinematographer Nicholas Peel, the trio execute an unsurprising but overall effective supernatural drama with some genuinely unsettling moments.   In a vast, ornate countryside manor, an artist named Arthur (Kelly) works on the portrait of an indistinct, faceless woman.   Slowly, he soon finds himself stalked by supernatural forces within and around his home, seemingly triggered by his discovery of a gold bracelet in a nearby field.   Returning to his craft, Arthur becomes increasingly sabotaged by the sinister intrusions, pushing him to breaking point. In The Moonlight certainly has a striking beginning.   A section of Schubert’s setting of the Stabat Mater heralds out imposingly during the opening credits, played out against a jet-black screen.   We cut to a long shot of a large, opulent living room.   On an easel, stands the featureless image of a grey-haired woman; clearly a work in progress.   To the left, a ghostly veil of penetrating blue-tinted light and a gleam of sunlight streak across the floor to illuminate the darkness.   It’s an intriguing, mysterious and wonderfully ominous opening.   As the film continues, we follow the solitary figure of Arthur through his day-to-day life during and in-between his time spent painting.   Gradually, odd occurrences begin.   A peculiar bump from upstairs, which Arthur initially attributes to his cat.   An obscure, dark figure appearing in the near distance.   An inexplicable crash from somewhere inside the home and eerie, unearthly whispers of his name.   Moir’s contiguity of the habitual setting of Arthur’s daily life with the increasing extramundane intrusions clearly echo Jonathan Miller’s classic 1968 version of Whistle and I’ll Come to You - most notably with Arthur’s retrieval of the bracelet and the appearance of the strange watching figure which is an almost direct retread of the plot of the latter.   There’s even a dream sequence akin to Miller’s film, pinpointing the character’s descent into psychological turmoil.   Indeed, Moir seems to be consciously, at points, evoking both Miller’s original and its 2005 remake with John Hurt (particularly at the film’s climax).   The parallels are certainly interesting and, as a homage to the two BBC adaptations of M.R. James' ghost story, In The Moonlight certainly works.   However, it does mean that we can - perhaps once too often - see (or, at least, get a sense of) what’s coming and one wishes for perhaps some more originality and freshness in the piece as a whole. Another similarity between Moir's film and its predecessors (which is a strength, however) is its restraint.   The inevitable jump shocks are few and far between and, when they do come, they’re deservedly effective.   For the most part, Moir - like Miller - is more interested in the suggestion of a supernatural world disrupting his character’s familiarity with his own world, rather than bombarding the viewer with an overload of sensory scares.   In fact, Moir departs from a stock clichéd horror-shock ending altogether and, whilst something of an abrupt departure, it at least brings in an unexpected turn before the story’s closure. #LawrenceBennie

★★★★ Directed by # TaraAghdashloo Written by # GemmaBarnett Starring # GemmaBarnett, # BiancaBeckles, # PaulineTomlin Film Review by: Lawrence Bennie Booking a doctor’s appointment, or simply just being able to get through to speak to a doctor, has tragically become an all-too familiar obstacle across the country and beyond, pre- and post-pandemic.  In Bridge , the debut short film from writer and star Gemma Barnett, the audience are placed in the middle of such a situation; only for things to take a surprising turn. A co-production from BBC Films and Kusini Productions, Bridge is also the second short from Iran-born filmmaker Tara Aghdashloo.  Interestingly, Aghdashloo’s film has its origins in Gemma Barnett’s own award-winning poem which later formed the springboard for the script written by both Aghdashloo and Barnett herself.   Working through the daily barrage of surgery calls, Greenfield Gardens receptionist Bridget (Barnett) takes a call from Kirsty Taylor (Bianca Beckles).  Struggling to breath normally at home, and endlessly stuck in a queue on the phone, Kirsty eagerly wants to speak to a doctor.  Unexpectedly, Bridget becomes confidant to Kirsty when the pair recall they went to the same school and, against the endless tide of cold, clinical calls, they gradually establish a connection.   The talented team of writer and director begin their story with the striking shot of an elderly-looking couple gracefully dancing through a swirling mist, only for it to be shattered by the sudden appearance of a somewhat ominous figure and the irritating clanging of a phone’s alarm clock.  Here, we find Bridget – disinterested and disconnected from the world around her.  Kudos here to Director of Photography Kia Fern Little who creates a marvellous image of light blue brightly beaming through Bridget’s bedroom window as she lies demotivated before slowly rising to begin another day of monotony and despondency.  The world outside is far from dark, but Bridget is lost in an unhappy realm of her own, only underlined further when an abrasive cyclist (Charlie Atkins) snaps at her over a near-collision.  Arriving at work, Bridget is pounced on before the clock even strikes 8am.  Her only form of connection appears to with her colleague Jenny (Pauline Tomlin) who nonetheless forebodes that the day is going to be “a busy one”.  Bridget then mans the torrent of demanding phone calls, whilst Jenny deals with the stream of walk-ups.   The strength of Bridge  film lies in its realism and Aghdashloo lends these scenes a real sense of credibility and marked understatement.  Even when things are abruptly disrupted by Kirsty’s call, the script doesn’t slip into melodramatics.  Instead, Aghdashloo keeps it simple and real throughout and it really is here where the performances of Barnett and Beckles bring the piece to life as their relationship unfolds.  Notably, Aghdashloo and Barnett choose to integrate Kirsty directly into the story.  She remains not just a disembodied voice over the telephone but becomes a secondary character as we cut away to see her anxiously struggling but, somehow, holding it all together at home.  By contrast, we are then also brought closer into Bridget’s own psychological world through a series of flashbacks depicting the failed relationship between Bridget and her disappointed boyfriend (Sam Landon).  Again, Aghdashloo retains the admirable simplicity throughout and it’s convincingly effective.   By the story’s end, Bridget has begun to reconnect with her life and the world around her thanks to her chance encounter with Kirsty.  Of course, it is not an unfamiliar narrative, but Barnett’s story is told with subtlety and sincerity by her director and the performances of each of the cast bring a believability to its beats.  # LawrenceBennie

★★★★ Directed by # BrianFollmer Written by # BrianFollmer Starring # KerriRomeo # AdamLeotta # BrianFollmer Film Review  by: Lawrence Bennie Writer-director Brian Follmer brings a unique, atmospheric erotic drama to the screen with Little Deaths.  A winner at 2023’s Canadian Cinematography Awards and MiraBanART Music and Design Festival, Follmer’s daring film boasts two outstanding performances from Kerri Romeo and Adam Leotta.   Admist the outbreak of a catastrophic pandemic and political revolution, young American couple Emily (Romeo) and David (Leotta) flee their homes to enjoy solace, companionship and ecstasy whilst the outside world is torn apart by violence and disease.  When the inevitable becomes clear to them, Emily and David make the ultimate decision that will give them control of their own fates and happiness.   With its familiar story of near-apocalyptic survival, Little Deaths  could easily fall into cliché and a run of standard generic troupes.  However, much like Emily and David’s choice and pursuit of pleasure, Follmer takes us down a very different and often very surprising route.  The result is a piece which will incite some controversey, but at the very least is compellingly fresh and original.  Here, we have very much a story about different worlds.  There is the world of the relationship between Emily and David, where an instant spark quickly leads to a deeply intense physical connection between the couple.  Then, there is the physical world itself which they look to escape from them but ultimately, and perhaps paradoxically, brings them closer together than ever before.  Finally, there is the sensual world between Emily and David.  It is here where the couple yearn to lose themselves and stay, escaping from the grim realities slowly ravaging society and which threaten to come between them.    The result is an absorbing romantic drama built around a series of intensely erotic love scenes.  These surely will prove controversial for some, but one can’t overlook the courageousness of Romeo and Leotta’s performances; all their scenes together, intimately and not, are extremely authentic and the various worlds of the story crafted by Follmer are always believable and compelling.  It’s also a credit to the skills of Romeo and Leotta that we completely buy into their relationship and that we’re drawn into their world with them.   Yet, for all Little Deaths’ highly charged   eroticism, it is the scenes away from the bedroom which are the most effective.  Most notably, there is a harrowing moment where Emily and David witness a friend perilously ill in a church, later followed up with the powerful scene where David discovers his own fate.  Here, Leotta is heart-breaking.  It is the film’s best scene.   As Emily, Romeo’s performance is equally impressive.  As David is slowly eroded by his illness, Emily remains committed to their vow to seek ultimate pleasure.  Rather than succumbing to the disease, she instigates the idyllic alternative of the couple dying whilst making love.  Consequently, the film’s final sex scene cannot fail but to be underlined by an air of irony as Emily almost ruthlessly demands her desires at the expense of the ailing David – is this an act of pure love or selfish lust?  It makes for sensual yet, at the same time, uncomfortable viewing as Emily’s morality (intentional or not) sharply comes into question at this point.  It is a testament to the talents of Follmer, Romeo and Leotta that Little Deaths offers more than a string of meaningless sex scenes; there is a depth, ironic, and even haunting, quality to them.  And, indeed, to Follmer’s film as a whole. # LawrenceBennie

Film Feature by James Learoyd There is an argument to be made that Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is the most important filmmaker living today. His work is not just innovative and groundbreaking in technical terms, but the images him and his team have created have transcended their cinematic roots. Characters at his hand have become staples of Japanese culture and loving obsessions of children and adults around the world, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of My Neighbour Totoro - Studio Ghibli's mascot for over three decades. So, who is Totoro? Well, he's a big, round, furry spirit creature with disconcertingly large teeth... but he is, of course, much more than that. Totoro, among other things, represents kindness, security and adventure; an escape from the children's uncomfortable reality in which their mother has taken seriously ill. It's as simple as a story can be; two kids stumble into a magical world of fantastical creatures. And yet, in 1988, this fairytale would change animation and cinema forever. It's a landmark of filmmaking for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is this filmic simplicity. Quaint and beautiful, it genuinely places you in the mindset of the young sisters Satsuki and Mei even if you're watching as a grown-up. Like most of Miyazaki’s work, a lot of the poetry comes from the nuanced nature of the fantasy world and its fully formed ideas, and this leads to deeply emotional moments. Think, for instance, of the motif of the moonlit Totoro playing a note from his flute while perched on a tree branch; or, it goes without saying, the bus stop scene in the rain - one of the most iconic images in Ghibli's history. With moments like these, it comes as delightful news that My Neighbour Totoro is returning to cinemas in the UK and ROI (hence ‘Neighbour’ and not ‘Neighbor’) so that devoted enthusiasts and the newly initiated alike can witness the classic on a proper screen. With this exciting news coming but a year after his Oscar winning masterwork The Boy and the Heron, it's safe to say that it's a good time to be a Miyazaki fan. To celebrate, let us remind ourselves of Hayao Miyazaki's unmatched body of work and three of the most stunning moments from his movies -- these are moments which utilise storytelling and animation as an art form at its purest; to move the viewer in often unexplainable, sensory ways. This is something Miyazaki became more and more adept at doing, unlike any other director of children's films, over time. Some of the following analysis I wrote for an unpublished piece on Miyazaki composed a few years ago. Additionally, I have quoted from his two books STARTING POINT: 1979-1996 (VIZ MEDIA, 1996) and TURNING POINT: 1997-2008 (VIZ MEDIA, 2008) – two terrific and comprehensive collections of essays, interviews and lectures by Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Beth Cary and Frederik L. Schodt. The Simple Joys of Kiki’s Delivery Service This is my personal favourite of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies and a film I’m comfortable calling my favourite of all time (it’s between that and Robert Altman’s Nashville). Kiki represents optimism in a world so often composed of the opposite. As a young witch going out into the world on the witchy ritual of a full moon, she leaves her home with a stumble, a smile and a spring in her step - ingeniously setting her character up for how she’ll respond to all the hardships found in her year away from home. On her journey in the new village, she encounters humans who take her in and provide her opportunities; however, she also encounters people who dismiss her (with dismissal and a lack of compassion being the greatest of evils within this story). The most wonderfully crafted example of this is that of the old woman wishing to bake a pie for her granddaughter. Practically an entire act of the film is devoted to Kiki showing enough kindness to assist with the preparation of this gift, and the most subtle yet heart-wrenching element of the encounter becomes the indifferent reaction of the recipient. The secondhand shock and disappointment Kiki experiences at the granddaughter’s response to a loving sentiment is something that pains her in ways she can’t understand and is never resolved. It’s the most upsetting the film gets, and the maturity of Kiki’s sadness is something so subtle and true that even adults must find its lesson to be cripplingly real. It teaches empathy and compassion, but - on a slightly bitter note - it demonstrates how unfair the world can be. Kiki learns that all she can do is be kind; that you can’t control the feelings and actions of others, and she becomes all the stronger because of it. - This in a kid’s film! During production of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Miyazaki wrote a short essay in which he explains that “our goal in completing this film is to send an expression of solidarity to young viewers who find themselves torn between dependence and independence.” (1988) Clearly part of coming to terms with this transition for Miyazaki is understanding that people are often incomprehensible or even unkind. Growing Up in Spirited Away One of the most effective audience surrogates in the entire canon of Miyazaki’s work, Chihiro is introduced to a strange world which is grounded in the realistic struggles of contemporary living. The society and system depicted in Spirited Away proves to be quite harsh: the first thing that Chihiro is instructed to do is attain a job scrubbing in the great bathhouse, otherwise she may cease to exist (not your average fairytale task). As the story progresses, she begins to adapt well to the domineering Yubaba’s social system through the guidance of her friend Haku, but at the film’s end when Chihiro remembers Haku’s non-spirit name, setting him free, a sequence so painfully beautiful and oddly specific is formed. As the two fall from the night sky, they grasp each other’s hands and float through the air; Chihiro cries tears of joy and exclaims her gratitude, having now remembered that his non-human form was that of a river that inexplicably saved her as a child (to those of you who haven’t seen the film, I realise that this is practically impossible to explain). Joe Hisaishi’s euphoric score swoons as the film reaches its emotional heights, creating a moment that feels as if all the colour and drama is spilling through the screen. It’s vivid, overwhelming and the detail of Chihiro’s tears floating upwards into the sky is simply unbelievable. Discovering (or Rediscovering) the World with My Neighbour Totoro Hayao Miyazaki wrote the following in his original project plan for the film: “ My Neighbor Totoro aims to be a happy and heartwarming film, a film that lets the audience go home with pleasant, glad feelings. Lovers will feel each other to be more precious, parents will fondly recall their childhoods, and children will start exploring the thickets behind shrines and climbing trees to find a totoro. This is the kind of film I want to make.” (1986) - and if almost forty years of merchandise, artwork and repeat family viewings across generations have demonstrated anything, it’s that he succeeded in this ambitious idea. On my most recent viewing of the film, I was struck by how much it doesn’t care to differentiate between what is real and what is fantasy; perhaps because, in the mind of a child, there is nothing to differentiate between - no reason to make rational what is inherently otherworldly. And that is what this movie offers which few others do: a fairytale narrative, viewed through the perspective of a child, which need not overexplain its filmic universe, despite being filled with wonderful little details placed there almost for the sake of fun and play (the fascinating design of the cat bus conflicting with the sheer absurdity of a cat being a bus, for example). “It was a dream, but it wasn’t a dream! It was a dream, but it wasn’t a dream!” These are words exclaimed by sisters Mei and Satsuki during one of the most captivating moments in the movie. Following a day of Mei wishing her seeds to grow with no luck, the children enter the fantasy world wherein Totoro and his spirit buddies magically turn the seeds into a ginormous, majestic tree. The next morning, instead of being upset that the tree is no longer there, they are thrilled that the plants have grown but a few inches... It was a dream, but it wasn’t a dream! - because who cares, it’s all one big adventure! The characters are filled with excitement about the natural world (not necessarily fantasy), and thus the audience are encouraged to reconsider their own world with that very same excitement. It's a pleasure to discuss one of my favourite artists, and tracking the evolution of the work's themes and craft is a deeply fascinating experience, especially when that work is as rich and layered as this. I haven’t even discussed The Wind Rises – the only film of his which effectively takes place in the real world, and one of his crowning achievements as far as I’m concerned; or the delightful Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro – Miyazaki's first feature (made before Ghibli formed) which demonstrates that, while his artistic sensibilities have changed, he is a born storyteller. What better time than now to watch or revisit these gems; what better time than now to re-release such a comfort as Totoro. In our oversaturated landscape of children's media, we realise that what the films by Hayao Miyazaki and his hardworking team have provided are refined, imaginative and often deeply reflective pieces that embrace the freedom of imagination and encourage empathy. My Neighbour Totoro - a movie as visually awe-inspiring as it is life-affirming - is no exception. So, do yourself a favour and go see it on the big screen. It's not an experience to be missed. Thanks to Elysian Film Group and Anonymous Content, both subtitled and dubbed versions of the film will be available in cinemas from August 2nd in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Totoro will be there waiting... sitting on his branch, playing his flute...

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Hi Federica, thanks for speaking with us. Where in the world do we find you right now? At the moment I'm speaking from London, UK, but I'm from Milan, Italy. In 2020 you wrote & directed the short film, The Monster's Club. For those that don't know, what's the film about? The Monster's Club is a proof of concept (linked in my bio on Instagram) for a bigger project, a TV series, it's set in 1999. Our main characters are three teenage friends, Jackson, the boss, Colin the brain, and Erik aka Dumpster, called like that because he constantly eats, but manages to stay skinny, who is also very unquestioning and the puppy of the trio, decide to organize a prank to be on TV and earn a cash prize, but things turn deadly for one of them. 20 years later the past comes back to haunt who's left, revenge is only the beginning of this story. Why did you want to tell this particular story? When I was a teenager, I used to play (very innocent) pranks with my group of friends, one of them fell from a tree to scare one of us and broke his leg, I always wondered what would have happened if something bigger happened, what would the consequences be? It was the early 2000s and now we have social media with challenges, the unhealthy rise to fame, followers, hashtags..and it already happened, and still does, that to follow these trends, people unfortunately have died. It's not only about these (initially) harmless "shenanigans'', but the deeper point of view is about coming of age. We all grow up and see people for what they really are, we've all been there for friends that decided to step back when we needed them the most. Growing up also means losing friends, having your first heartbreak (friendship wise in this case), stepping back from a relationship and understanding what's best for you as an individual is part of the journey. Events like this one, ending with tragedy, open your eyes and you learn that all those fairy tales with happy endings are not telling the truth about life, that the prince won't always save the princess, and that sometimes the princess has to save herself. It's a story that can help teenagers see life as it actually is, no sugarcoating. To be honest I think it would be a great story to any kind of audience. You now have plans to pitch this as a TV show. How do you feel that format will benefit the story? Yes, I'm pitching it, I feel like a short is not enough to tell this story. Everyone who watched the short said they wanted more, and I feel like they're right, we need to know their relationship better, not just between them, but with their families, classmates, teachers and we also need to know what happens after the tragedy: how did the school react to it? And what about the students? How did they behave towards the boys that survived the accident? And what happens once they become adults? In my proof of concept one of them receives the VHS with the prank, but also with how things actually went vs the version that was told to the police, this can ruin someone's life, who sent the VHS? And why? At the end of the proof of concept is very clear, we want to know what happens next and how the situation ends. I'm being vague, because if the readers want to see the short, I don't want to spoil anything. What (if anything) do you plan to change for The Monster's Club for a TV audience? I don't plan to change the story in the TV series, I plan to expand this universe. My proof of concept is just the tip of the iceberg, I want to explore the dynamics between them, for example, Colin and Jackson know each other since kindergarten, their friendship is solid and they are basically brothers, Dumpster moved to Severdeen (a fictional city in California) when he was 12, he is younger than Jackson and Colin, they are 16 and Dumpster is 15. I want to introduce their families, in the proof of concept we just meet Jackson's mother, Cassandra, she is a Colombian woman who got pregnant when she was 17, her boyfriend left her and she had to raise Jackson by herself, she spoiled him, and it shows in his behaviours as he is used to get whatever he wants. Colin comes from an African-American family of Nigerian descent, his family had to sacrifice everything to succeed, his mother is a lawyer and his father is a surgeon, they are very strict regarding Colin and his siblings' education, Colin is the smartest and his thirst for knowledge was inherited from his parents. Erik aka Dumpster, was adopted along with his twin sister, Alice, from South Korea, his adoptive mother couldn't conceive kids, her husband and her love Erik and Alice more than anything in the world. They are not among the coolest kids at school, but not even amongst the losers, you'll know the rest once I get an approval, but basically I want you to know more about them, their crushes, their relationships with others and between them, and I feel like a TV series is the right format, as these character's journey is complex, it's dramatic, not only because of puberty, but also because of the tragedy that they experience in this story. What advice would you give to new filmmakers? This path is hard, it looks fun once you start to create and experiment with your friends, and I definitely suggest doing that, but it gets harder once you start to work properly. You need to find a team to trust with your ideas, that is willing to participate and help on set, people that stimulate you and that you can count on. It seems easy, but it is not. Once you find your people, and I highly suggest finding someone outside of your friends' circle (because of DRAMA and lost friendships) you've done most of the work. Filmmaking has become accessible nowadays, when I started, You Tube was barely a platform for vlogs and short skits, now it's a platform for tutorials, indie filmmakers, influencers and creators, which is great, but there's a lot of competition, so try to be your unique self, don't conform to the idea of filmmaking, learn the rules and break them if necessary, and mostly, think outside the box, be unpredictable. What's next for you? I'm currently attending an acting course to improve my acting skills, but also to be the best version of myself, personally and professionally, aside from pitching The Monster's Club, and aside from my directing path, I'm also a casting director and I feel like directing and casting wise it will help me communicate better with my actors. I'm also a writer, I have other projects to produce soon, so follow me on Instagram @federica.alice.carlino for casting calls and more infos, because more things are coming and I'm very excited about it! I'm always on the move, so I don't know if I'll still be in London or somewhere else, but I'll definitely keep you posted! Watch The Monster's Club below: #ChrisOlson #FilmmakerInterview

PRESS RELEASE: MANCHESTER UK’S FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILM, UNVEILS FIRST TITLES FOR 2024. Grimmfest, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film is delighted to announce the first tranche of titles for 2024. The festival will be returning to its regular venue, The Odeon Great Northern on October 3rd–6th, for four high-impact, fear-filled days of the very best in new genre cinema. The full line-up of features, shorts, guests, and associated events remain a closely guarded secret, as the team continue to finalise and fine-tune the programme. But, by way of an astringent appetiser, Grimmfest offers the first sinister salvo of selected films. Guilt, emotional damage and fear of the dark collide with local legend, a treacherous landscape, and an unseen threat, as a park ranger and her former partner search for a missing woman in a vast and dangerous nature reserve, in FROM DARKNESS, Philip W. de Silva's engrossing, harrowing and visually stunning fusion of Scandi-noir, Swedish mythology, and the supernatural, which has its Northern UK Premiere at Grimmfest. A weekend hen party camping trip goes badly and bloodily wrong, as tensions are exposed, friendships betrayed, and psychopathologies unleashed, in Robyn August's smart and surprisingly savage satiric slasher, KILL HER. Boasting spectacularly splattery practical effects, cartoonishly cruel carnage, and anchored by a star-making lead performance by M. C. Huff, this is a crowd-pleasing call back to old-school 80s slashers, which finds unnerving new life in classic genre tropes. The film has its International Premiere at Grimmfest. Aaron Fradkin, director of VAL, makes a welcome return to Grimmfest with the International premiere of BEEZEL, an enigmatic and unsettling chronicle of the increasingly sinister legends and dark history surrounding a suburban New England house over a fifty-year period. A portmanteau of narratively interlinked vignettes exploring the influence of an ancient evil upon several generations of the same family, the film presents stories across generations and multiple formats, not simply to suggest the passage of time, but also to produce a record of overlapping experiences that slowly reveal the true identity and intentions of the evil haunting the family house. Federico Zampaglione (SHADOW) channels the classic era of Italian Gothic horror cinema in the full-bloodied and ferocious fable, THE WELL. TERRIFIER 2's Lauren Lavera stars as an ambitious young art restorer, enlisted by a sinister Baroness to salvage a fire-damaged family portrait, only to discover demonic activities down in the cellar. Conjuring up the baroque bizarreness of Argento, the gleeful grotesquery of Fulci, and the sly satire of Farina, the film unleashes its horrors with an admirably straight face and considerable visual panache. THE WELL will have its English Premiere at Grimmfest. And, in the generation-traumatising tradition of Peter Watkins' THE WAR GAME and Mick Jackson's THREADS, Grimmfest is delighted to present the International Premiere of Loïs Dols de Jong's suffocatingly tense, emotionally brutal, and utterly unflinching AMSTERDAM ALERT; a masterclass of white-knuckle cinema verité storytelling, in which the city of Amsterdam is faced with the thirty-minute countdown to a nuclear strike, and the instinct for survival overrides every other consideration. In the current global political climate, it's a film that feels all-too-terrifyingly real. Festival Director, Simeon Halligan, said; ‘That’s just a taster of the incredible movie premieres we are lining up for Grimmfest 2024. We don’t want to give too much away at this stage and there is still a whole body of premieres to be announced in late Summer. We can’t wait to reveal more amazing movie exclusives for Grimmfest fans, over the coming months, keep your eyes peeled for further news!’ Grimmfest 2024 Full Festival Passes are available now, from: www.grimmfest.com

★★★★★ Directed by: #RadheyaJegatheva Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Bird Drone is a love story between an injured seagull and a human-operated drone with a short battery life. This short animation focuses on the theme of unrequited love and moving forward when relationships crumble, the idea of picking yourself back up and starting again. This can often be the best thing not only for your mental wellbeing but also fate, as you never know what is around the corner. The film also comments on the connection between humans and technology and highlights how the advancement within technology can sometimes take away from the actual experiences we have, as we lose what it means to be human by lacking that connection with both people and nature. Director Radheya Jegatheva is an Oscar-qualified and AACTA-nominated filmmaker from Perth and spent 3 years creating the animation Bird Drone, and this is certainly reflected with the level of detail, from the characters and their appearance to the narrative itself, a heartwarming but also bittersweet tale of love. The animation begins with a lonely seagull with a defective eye, looking longingly at the other seagulls who have found their mate for life. Wishing to find that connection too, the seagull seeks out a partnership with a drone that happens to be flying over and its camera looks very similar to the gull’s own eye injury! With a common bond found, the pair fly off into the sky overlooking the crystal-clear sea and sharing beautiful moments together. Unfortunately, this friendship quickly diminishes as the drone begins to lose power and plummets into the ocean. As the story transpires, the bird learns that all is not as it seems when confronted with the controller of the drone.  The narrative includes the highs and lows that comes with relationships and navigating our way through hard times. It’s clear that Jegatheva focuses on the full scope of emotions, as well as the aftereffects of the relationship. It was fascinating to see that without a single word of dialogue the audience can relate and connect with the seagull and witness the development of a newfound friendship. The imagery and colours used within this animation were mesmerising and allowed the viewer to become completely swept away within the tale. It was an exceptionally moving short film and rather nostalgic in a way, especially for those that enjoy the classic Pixar animations, I would very much liken this piece to that standard and quality. Director Radheya Jegatheva’s innovative imagination shines through and it is apparent that his dedication to the cause has paid off with such a beautiful film that can appeal to those of all ages.

★★★ Directed by: #VikiYoung Starring: #MichelleDowd Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Ain’t My Vibe is a music video starring Michelle Dowd as lead singer. The video begins with a ‘f**k you’ to all the men that have never loved her back, a strong message to start with and sets the audience up for the overall tone of the video and song. The meaning of the song speaks to a lot of single women and men and the difficulties of journeying through the dating world. With access to lots of dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, many people use today, this song becomes extremely relatable as we jump on an endless cycle of dates that seem to go nowhere. Many single people everywhere have been a very similar position as we attempt to build a relationship and date others but sadly, they sometimes become cut short as we quickly learn they may not be ‘our vibe’ or values just are not able to align. The song itself is catchy, relatable and can speak to the masses, especially avid daters. The video was down to earth, in that it showed Michelle Dowd in her own home, texting and reaching out to her potential date but is left unread. There is a big juxtaposition in terms of the aesthetic of the video as at first the audience see Michelle in her own home in dark clothing, singing and some cut shots to her in a bathtub fully clothed but in black and white which did create a mysterious feel and made for some emotional scenes. However, the scenes also included very bright locations and Michelle in a colourful outfit which took away from the overall theme of the song, it made the video look a bit disjointed and clunky as the moving back and forth between these scenes did not match up and created an almost amateurish feel. With a music video like this, I believe it’s important to have consistency throughout to keep the message clear and focus on the lyrics. Of course, diverse scenes are apparent, however, they do need to maintain a similar feel to avoid losing that powerful message. This was a good song that can be a voice for many, the video that accompanies it can be improved with some tweaks here and there so that lead singer Michelle Dowd and her words are seen as the main focal point allowing the audience to absorb but also feel the lyrics and have that connection with her, and as a character we can all relate to.