PREVIEW: 2021 FINAL GIRLS BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

The premier German showcase for horror films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers will return for its 6th edition in 2021, marking its first iteration as an online event. The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival will run from February 4-7 and present a digital line-up consisting of five features, five short blocks, and sidebar events that include panel talks, a screenwriting workshop and special podcast episodes.

Listed as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 50 Genre Festivals in the World and named among Dread Central's Best Horror Festivals, Final Girls Berlin has firmly established itself as a leading international destination for genre fans and filmmakers alike. In 2021, festival co-directors Eli Lewy and Sara Neidorf have curated works that reflect the new world in which we find ourselves. 

“[The] program includes a number of films about loneliness, technological reliance, and confinement that reflect our present-day reality in chilling ways,” says Lewy. For Neidorf, staging a festival in a global pandemic simply presented fresh challenges. “These times are grim, but they bring an opportunity to virtually connect with an international feminist horror community that otherwise couldn’t normally make it to Berlin,” she says, “so we hope more folks will come join us!“

Three features will have their German premieres at Final Girls Berlin. Italian filmmaker Emanuela Rosi’s Buio (Darkness), featuring Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival Best Actress winner Denise Tantucci (pictured, right), presents a chilling spin on patriarchy and female empowerment set against a dystopic future world; US indie The Stylist expands upon the psychotic mindset of hairdresser Claire (a terrific Najarra Townsend; pictured, top) that director Jill Gevargizian initially explored in her acclaimed 2016 short film; and, Brea Grant’s bloody, blackly hilarious 12 Hour Shift, in which a strung-out nurse (genre favourite Angela Bettis) trading in black-market organs struggles for balance as her life spins out of control.

Screening in the German capital for the first time will be local filmmaker Sandra Mertens’ ‘70s-set dramatic thriller Fellwechselzeit (Time of Moulting), an atmospheric study in oppressive and repressed family dynamics, and Laura Casabé’s Los Que Vuelven (The Returned), an Argentinian creature feature steeped in the horrors of still birth and resurrection.

Australia’s single representative at Final Girls Berlin will be Kodie Bedford, whose short film Scout will screen in the strand ‘An Eye for An Eye’ alongside works from Spain (Carlotta Pereda’s There Will be Monsters; Amy Farjado’s The Hunt); Norway (Marja Bål Nango & Ingir Bål’s The Tongues); Indonesia (Indira Iman’s Rong); and, France (Kelsey Bollig’s The Fourth Wall). They are just a few of the huge selection of global short films on offer, with a whopping 36 works available to the global online audience (features are to be geo-blocked to German territories).

Also streaming to international audiences will be the 2021 panel strands. These include:

• WRITING YOUR FIRST HORROR SCREENPLAY: Hosted by Alison Peirse, Author and Film Academic, Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre. An interactive and supportive workshop focussing on creating horror films led by women and nonbinary characters.

• IF ROSEMARY COULD RUN: WOULD YOU KNOW IF YOU WERE IN A CULT?: Hosted by Seriina Covarrubias (pictured, right) & Susie Kahlich. An exploration of cults in horror narratives and in real life, how they actually work, and how to know if you're in one (and what to do about it).

• GHOULS TO THE FRONT: RETHINKING WOMEN’S HORROR FILMMAKING: Hosted by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Author and Film Critic, 1000 Women in Horror. Rather than presenting a singular alternate history of women’s horror filmmaking, Heller-Nicholas seeks to deconstruct the way we think about this subject, reassessing the history of horror to be more inclusive, more representative, and more fun.

• GIRLS GONE WILD: AUTONOMY, SEXUALITY, AND RESISTANCE IN REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUNG WOMEN IN HORROR FILMS: Hosted by Dr. Kate Robertson, Author and Academic, Devil’s Advocates: Trouble Every Day. An exploration of women-led horror films featuring young women who take active roles in their stories, maintaining control of their bodies, choices, and lives.

• HER HUNGER: THE LESBIAN VAMPIRE AND QUEER IMMORTALITY, SUICIDALITY, AND CODEPENDENCY: Hosted by Annie Rose Malamet. The voice of the popular podcast Girls, Guts & Giallo traces the history of the lesbian vampire in film.

In online audio content, The Gaylords of Darkness podcast will present THE NECRONOMOLOGUE, with hosts Stacie Ponder and Anthony Hudson naming their top ten Final Girls in this first-ever animated countdown video from your favorite queer feminist horror podcast. And 'the Spinsters of Horror' from the popular I Spit on Your Podcast presents SATANIC FEMINISM: EMBRACING THE DARKNESS, an exploration of the representation and importance of Satan as the image of an anti-patriarchal idol and source of empowerment for women with specific reference to the films Don't Deliver Us From Evil (1971), Alucarda (1977), Jennifer’s Body (2009), and The Witch (2016).

For full program and streaming details visit the event’s official website.

PREVIEW: BEYOND FEST 2020

Unfurling a bare-knuckle middle-finger to COVID-19 on behalf of the West Coast horror community, Beyond Fest 2020 will hold tight to the physical festival experience and present an eclectic mix of retro classics and hot-buzz current titles from October 2-8. Better still, horror and sci-fi fans will relive the golden years of genre filmgoing with the line-up screening at the iconic Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre in Montclair.

Patrons must adhere to the venue’s strict pandemic prevention conditions, of course, but organisers are certain that attendees will respect and practice all that is asked of them. The festival, which exists in partnership with American Cinematheque and Death Waltz Recording Company, has ten new features set to unspool, including three World Premieres and two US Premieres, with the program further bolstered by seven genre classics.

In a special pre-Festival event, Beyond Fest will hold the West Coast premiere of Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor Uncut (pictured, right) on September 24. Featuring a startling lead turn from Andrea Riseborough as a hitwoman who uses technology to commandeer the minds of strangers, hijacking their bodies to carry out kills, the film has already vied for Best Picture honours at L’Etrange, Sitges and Sundance festivals. It will screen in must-see double-bill with John Frankenheimer’s 1966 paranoid-cinema cult classic, Seconds, with a dynamic Rock Hudson as the Malibu artist faced with a new life and all its unforeseen consequences.

The festival proper launches with writer/director Jim Cummings’ sophomore feature, The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Having made a festival splash in 2018 with his offbeat character study, Thunder Road, Cummings stars as the small town sheriff faced with what may be an unwelcome werewolf presence. The world premiere will be followed by a repertory session of Joe Dante’s biting suburban satire The ‘Burbs, the 1989 Tom Hanks starrer that has developed a devoted cult following of its own in recent years.

October 3 will leave many festival goers dazed and confused with a David Lynch triple-bill booked to run well into the night. The fun kicks off at 7.30 with Lynch’s 1986 version of a smalltown murder mystery, Blue Velvet (pictured, right; starring Kyle McLachlan and Isabella Rossellini); from 9.30, audiences can reassess whether or not, as dubbed by BBC Culture in 2016, Mulholland Drive, with Naomi watts and Laura Harring, is the new millennium’s best film; then, from 11.55, the non-linear 1997 headscratcher classic, Lost Highway, with Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette.

In debutant director Rose Glass’ stomach-tightening Saint Maud, carer Maud (Morfydd Clark) allows a malevolent force to dictate her nursing instincts, resulting in pure terror for the terminally ill Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). In a sublime piece of programming, Beyond Fest will screen a 30th anniversary session of that other ‘insane nurse’ classic, Rob Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation, Misery, with James Caan and the brilliant Kathy Bates in her Oscar-winning performance.

From October 5, contemporary works take centre stage. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s long-delayed follow-up to The Endless will have it’s West Coast premiere. Synchronic features Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan (pictured, right) as paramedics who find the world around them engulfed in madness when a new designer drug starts to spread along the streets of New Orleans. Justin Simien’s razor-sharp satire Bad Hair utilises 70s/80s-inspired psycho-thriller vibes and sensibilities in its brutal indictment of the inherent violence of the Western gaze.

Debuting on US soil on October 6 are Bryan Bertino’s The Dark and The Wicked, a nightmarish homestead shocker steeped in dark family secrets, and Neil Marshall’s witchfinder torture vision, The Reckoning, featuring a stunning central performance from Charlotte Kirk. Next day is the World Premiere of Archenemy, from Daniel Isn’t Real director Adam Egypt Mortimer, a tale of an intergalactic hero (appropriately portrayed by larger-than-life Joe Manganiello) cast adrift on Earth sans powers, followed by Steven Kostanski’s Psycho Goreman, a bloody ode to prosthetic monsters, guts & gore, and practical effects.

Wrapping up Beyond Fest 2020 in true party fashion will be the World Premiere of the latest from Blumhouse, the serial killer body-switch horror-comedy Freaky (pictured, top), starring Vince Vaughan and Katherine Newton, from Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon. To sweeten the deal, entry is free with every ticket purchased to the repertory screening of the hillbilly romp, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, celebrating its 10th anniversary.

BEYOND FEST runs October 2-8 at the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre. Session and ticket details can be found at the festival’s official website.

THE GENRE FESTIVALS FRONTING AUSTRALIA'S CINEMA RE-EMERGENCE

Australian cinemas are only just starting to re-emerge from pandemic lockdown (Victorian exhibitors have shuttered again as a second viral outbreak takes hold). With distributors tiptoeing around release commitments, a roster of genre festivals unfurling in the final months of 2020 will be amongst the first wave of specialised programming and fresh content.

This unique situation - brought about by a combination of reworked dates, relaunched brands, reconsidered formats - represents both a huge challenge and wonderful opportunity to these science-fiction/horror/fantasy events...           

SCIFI FILM FESTIVAL
When: August 28-30
Where: Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney
What we know: As the major capital city festivals succumbed to COVID-19 conditions, organisers for the SciFi Film Festival bided their time, while admitting that options such as shifting online, postponement and cancellation were discussed. This week, with the backing of their venue partner Event Cinemas, the 8th annual program was announced, with tickets to go on sale in the days ahead. Programmers have secured some high-profile festival hits (Arati Kadav’s Cargo (pictured, right); Jeremy LaLonde’s James vs His Future Self; Erin Berry’s M.A.J.I.C.) and will be counting on savvy audiences keen to see big-screen sci-fi to turn out in support. 

MONSTER FEST 2020
When: October 1-9, Melbourne; October 29 - November 1, Sydney / Perth / Adelaide / Brisbane  / Canberra.
Where: Cinema Nova, Melbourne; Event Cinemas - Myer Centre (Qld.), Innaloo (W.A.), George Street (N.S.W.); G.U. Film House, Adelaide; Capital Cinemas, Manuka (A.C.T.)
What we know: The only truly national genre event, Monster Fest has a two-tiered roll-out schedule - early October in its hometown of Melbourne; Halloween weekend in other capitals - that has made dealing with the pandemic doubly challenging. Having committed to a presence at the recent Marche du Film virtual marketplace (where Monster Fest reps are sought out by global sales agents, eager to secure the brand’s credibility), organisers are now faced with the second coronavirus wave in Victoria. The lockdown did not mean 'shut down' for Monster Fest bosses; in recent weeks, it was announced that Monster Pictures will partner with Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) in the genre funding initiative, ISOLATION. (Pictured, right; Monster Pictures General Manager Grant Hardie, left, and the Monster team).

SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL
When: November 19-21
Where: Actors Centre Australia, Leichhardt
What we know: While very much the new kid on the block, the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival has ambitious plans for their inaugural event in November. With an eight film-strong core screening schedule, it will also feature a broader sci-fi community commitment; planned are script-reads, art exhibitions and filmmaker presentations. Patron Alex Proyas (The Crow; Dark City; Knowing; I, Robot) will present a masterclass at the Actors Centre Australia campus, a state-of-the-art facility that has itself recently undergone extensive refurbishment and upgrading. Submissions are still being received via their FilmFreeway site.    

A NIGHT OF HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
When: TBD
Where: TBD
What we know: Few festival organisers have felt the sting of the pandemic like the team behind the re-energised A Night of Horror event. Originally slated for May and with a leading inner-city venue on board, coronavirus conditions saw the finalised program mothballed (which boasts Dean Yurke's Stay Out Stay Alive, Josh Reed’s We're Not Here to F**k Spiders and Sam Curtain’s The Slaughterhouse Killers) and the exhibitor back out of the deal. Determined to bring the brand back to all its glory (the once high-profile event has been on a two-year hiatus), A Night of Horror is moving forward but treading softly-softly; organisers assure it is coming in 2020, though details are being closely guarded.  

REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL  
When: December 2-13
Where: Luna Cinemas, Leederville, Perth.
What we know: Renowned for its progressive, proactive approach to festival presentation, Perth’s Revelation event became the nation’s first ‘hybrid festival’ experience. To hold strong to their third-quarter dates in defiance of COVID-19’s impact, they launched their ‘Couched’ online screening roster; come December, the physical event will move forward at their spiritual home, Leederville’s Luna Cinema. A classic case of ‘making lemonade out of lemons’, the Revelations team have strengthened their online presence while still standing by their regular patrons.

FOOTNOTE: One of the most popular genre film gatherings, the annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, was not able to reconcile its 2020 schedule with pandemic conditions and had to cancel its physical event. The organisers will be presenting a series of virtual sessions, including the TAKE48 Film Challenge, Inhuman Screens Academic Conference and SUFF Online, a collection of short films. Donations can be made to the festival's Australian Cultural Fund campaign here.

SCREEN-SPACE editor Simon Foster is involved with the organisation of SciFi Film Festival, Monster Fest and Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival.  

FIRST WAVE OF FRONTIÈRES FUNDING HOPEFULS ANNOUNCED

The 12th Frontières Co-Production Market has unveiled the first wave of genre projects to vie for 2020 financing. For the first time, the high-level pitch sessions will take place online, with an eventual roster of 20 projects - ten from North America and ten from Europe - bidding for funding. The Montreal-based virtual film market, usually a key component of the Fantasia International Film Festival, has been repurposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and will run July 23-26.

"The submissions we received for the Frontieres Market confirmed that we needed to keep going, even virtually. We welcomed many excellent submissions and the selection was a highly difficult process, and from that we are extremely proud to feature a majority of projects directed by women in this first wave," said Frontières executive director Annick Mahnert (pictured, below) via statement, noting 70% of the titles have women directors attached. Past Frontières-funded films include Julia Ducornau’s Raw, Alexandre O. Philippe’s 78/52, Neasa Hardiman’s Sea Fever and Lorcan Finnegan’s Vivarium.

Projects announced last week include director Ashlea Wessel
's Lest We Be Devoured, a retro horror-comedy set for release on Shudder; Norwegian writer/director Kjersti Helen Rasmussen's The Nightmare; Chelsea Lupkin's Tell Them What You Saw, from the indie genre slate at Yellow Veil Pictures; and, Simon Jaquemet’s Electric Child, the first film from Switzerland to find favour with the Frontières selectors.

After festival circuit success with the offbeat alien exposè Love and Saucers (2017), director Brad Abrahams (pictured, below) will be at Frontières repping his latest feature, the unknown creatures doc Cryptozoologist. “It’s been a long road for this project, with a lot of false starts,” says Abrahams, “so Frontieres is huge for us. It is our best shot at getting this doc made and finished. We’re also proud to be the only documentary in this strong genre film lineup.”

The introduction of the online pitching process is not being taken lightly by the young director, who is approaching the digital meeting, he says, “with an incredible amount of preparation, more so than if we were doing it in person.” Abraham points out, “Video chats are inherently awkward, with even small delays negatively impact delivering lines. A pitch video is required, and we’re going to do something fun with it.” 

In the true genre filmmaking spirit, Abrahams promises nothing will be left to chance. “Our bigfoot suit may make an appearance,” he teases.

The ten first wave films announced are: 

616 (Italy) Director: Lyda Patitucci; Writer: Milo Tissone and Federica Pontremoli; Producers: Marina Marzotto, Mattia Oddone (Propaganda Italia), Simone Gandolfo (Macaia Films)

CRYPTOZOOLOGIST (USA) Director: Brad Abrahams; Writer: Matt Ralston; Producer: Matt Ralston (Yeti Films)

ELECTRIC CHILD (Switzerland, France) Director/Writer: Simon Jaquemet; Producers: Michela Pini (8horses GmbH), Didar Domerhi (Maneki Films)

ICE (United Kingdom) Director/Writer: Stéphanie Joalland (pictured, above); Producer: Sean McConville (Frenzy Films)

LEST WE BE DEVOURED (Canada) Director: Ashlea Wessel; Writer: Jim Munroe; Producers: Peter Kuplowsky, Shannon Hanmer (Low Sky Productions)

OUBLIER CHARLOTTE (Canada) Director/Writer: Chloé Cinq-Mars (pictured, left); Producer: Nicolas Comeau (1976 productions)

PERCHTEN - THE LOST WINTER (Italy) Director/Writer: Rossella De Venuto; Producers: Maurizio Antonini (Interlinea films)

TELL THEM WHAT YOU SAW (USA) Director/Writer: Chelsea Lupkin; Producers: Sarah Kalagvano, Michael Peterson (775 Media Corp), Yellow Veil Pictures

THE LAST VIDEO STORE (Canada) Director: Cody Kennedy; Writers: Tim Rutherford; Producers: Greg Jeffs (NJC Productions), Cody Kennedy & Tim Rutherford (The Last Video Store Inc.)

THE NIGHTMARE (Norway) Director/Writer: Kjersti Helen Rasmussen; Producers: John Einar Hagen (Nordisk Film Production), Einar Loftesnes (Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods)

WOMEN OF OZ HORROR ANTHOLOGY TEASED IN FIRST TRAILER

Hemlock & Cedar Films have released a teaser trailer for their horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1 ahead of the World Premiere of the film at CinefestOz on August 30.

The selection of 10 horror shorts have been directed by Australian women filmmakers, with a wraparound narrative starring Andrea Demetriades (pictured, above) as ‘Clara’ and directed by Megan Riakos binding the diverse narratives.

The overarching plot focuses on Clara, as she begins to sort through her deceased mother’s home. She discovers a mysterious heirloom, the ‘Book of Dark Whispers’, filled with chapter after chapter of strange stories. Each weird tale reveals a new facet of the twisted human, or not so human, psyche. (Pictured, right; from left, 1st AC Carina Burke, Riakos, Demetriades. Photo: Lauren Orrell)

“Our motivation for making the film was to release more wicked and wonderful stories by women into the world, much as our protagonist unleashes powerful ideas with each page she turns,” says Riakos, director of the 2015 feature Crushed and NSW chair of the industry body Women in Film and Television (WIFT). “It’s a metaphor for the darkness that lurks within us all.”

In addition to Riakos, directors contributing to the project are Angie Black, Briony Kidd, Isabel Peppard, Janine Hewitt, Jub Clerc, Kaitlin Tinker, Katrina Irawati Graham, Lucy Gouldthorpe, Madeleine Purdy and Marion Pilowsky.

A high-profile roster of Australian acting talent is on board, including Asher Keddie (X-Men Origins: Wolverine; The Hunting), Anthony LaPaglia (Lantana; Holding the Man), Tosh Greenslade (Mad As Hell), Melanie Irons (Noirhouse) and Bree Desborough (Home and Away).

Riakos and producing partner Leonie Marsh are overseeing the project, with Deadhouse Films’ Enzo Tedeschi on board as Executive Producer and Briony Kidd, co-founder of female-focussed horror film event Stranger With My Face, serving as Associate Producer. (Pictured, left; l-r, Tedeschi, Riakos and Marsh) 

It was while attending Kidd’s Hobart-based festival that Riakos found inspiration for the project. In June, she told IF.com.au, “The festival focuses on female filmmakers whose films take a unique approach to genre storytelling. I wanted to bring films like that to a wider audience.”

Following the CinefestOz launch, Dark Whispers – Volume 1 will seek further festival placement ahead of a planned 2020 theatrical season.

Dark Whispers Vol. 1 OFFICAL TEASER from Megan Riakos on Vimeo.