Unspool Hollywood

The 29th Pan African Film Festival Announces Competition Selections

Global Black Film Festival to Feature Over 65 World Premiere Titles

For Immediate Release: February 5, 2021

Media Contact: press@paff.org

LOS ANGELES - The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) announced today film nominations in its prestigious juried competition. The Pan African Film Festival is America's largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, the PAFF screens more than 200 films made by and/or about people of African descent from around the world. PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animation short films. The 29th Pan African Film Festival will take place virtually from February 28 – March 14.

This year, the competitions will include over 65 World premiere titles and over 29 US premieres.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 29th Pan African Film Festival will run February 28 – March 14 on-line and on-demand only. The virtual component allows this year’s Festival to reach a global audience. More information can be found at www.paff.org.

Best Narrative Feature Competition

Back of the Moon (South Africa)
Director: Angus Gibson

Caged Birds (US)
Director: Fredrick Leach

Poppie Nongena (South Africa)
Director: Christiaan Olwagen

Red Pill (US)
Director: Tonya Pinkins

The Fisherman's Diary (Cameroon)
Director: Enah Johnscott

The Ghost and the House of Truth (Nigeria)
Director: Akin Omotoso

The Milkmaid (Nigeria)
Director: Desmond Ovbiagele

Best Documentary Competition

City On the Hill (US)
Director: Xavier Underwood

Disruptor Conductor (Canada, US)
Director: Sharon Lewis

Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra (Australia)
Director: Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin

Fresh Guide To Florence with Fab 5 Freddy (Italy, US, UK)
Director: David Shulman

Lake Women (Rwanda, Germany)
Director: Deve Shema

Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend (US)
Director: Ryan Matthew Polomski, Dean Prator

Through the Night (US)
Director: Loira Limbal

Uprooted - The Journey of Jazz Dance (Canada, France, UK, US)
Director: Khadifa Wong

Best First Feature - Director Competition

Narratives
African America (South Africa, US)
Director: Muzi Mthembu

Caged Birds (US)
Director: Fredrick Leach

Executive Order (Brazil)
Director: Lázaro Ramos

Love Like Winter (US)
Director: Artel Great

Shaina (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Director: Beautie Masvaure Alt

Documentaries

Finding Sally (Ethiopia, Canada)
Director: Tamara Dawit

Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story (US)
Director: Royal Kennedy Rodgers, Kathy McCampbell Vance

Softie (Kenya, US)
Director: Sam Soko

The Letter (Kenya)
Director: Maia Lekow, Christopher King

The Patterson: Another Bronx Tale (US)
Director: Bahati Adrien Best

Who is Gatsby Randolph (US)
Director: Kobie Randolph

Best Short Narrative (Animation or Live Action)

#WeAreDyingHere (South Africa)
Director: Shane Vermooten

Antivirus (Greece)
Director: Anastasia Sima

Guillermina (Cuba)
Director: Aida Esther Bueno Sarduy

Junebug (US)
Director: Winter Dunn

Junior (US)
Director: Jehnovah Carlisle

London Arabia (UK)
Director: Daniel Jewel

Nazen (US)
Director: Shemar Yanick Jonas

Pure (US)
Director: Natalie Jasmine Harris

Sër Bi (Les Tissus Blancs) (Senegal, France)
Director: Moly Kane

Smell of Summer (US)
Director: Kris Wilson

The Cypher (US)
Director: Letia Solomon

The McHenry Trial – Don’t Judge a Kid by Their Hoodie (US)
Director: Ken Sagoes

The Power Of Hope (US)
Director: Kalia Love Jones

Till Death Do Us Part (Póki śmierć nas nie rozłączy ) (Uganda, Poland)
Director: Dolores Vunda

Tuk-tuk (Egypt)
Director: Mohamed Kheidr

Two Single Beds (UK)
Director: William Stefan Smith

Festival Sponsors and Partners

The 29th Pan African Film Festival’s sponsors include the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (8th District); Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price (9th District); Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas (10th District); California State Assemblyman Mike A. Gipson, 64th District; Commissioner Willard H. Murray, Jr., Water Replenishment District; U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, 37th District; U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, 43rd District; Union Bank; Brotherhood Crusade, Groundwurk; FilmLA; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute; Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences; Los Angeles Sentinel; The Wave; KPFK; Black Cultural Events; Immigrant Magazine; KJLH; Our Weekly; okayafrica; L.A. Focus; Envoi, Miss Everything Entertainment, Girl In Charge Public Relations and Empowerment Justice Strategies.

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival is supported, in part, by a grant provided by: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; LA Arts COVID-19 Relief Fund with the California Community Foundation; and the LA County COVID-19 Arts Relief Fund administered by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture.

About the Pan African Film Festival

Gearing up for its 29th anniversary, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is America's largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, it screens more than 200 films made by and/or about people of African descent from around the world. PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animation short films.

PAFF is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover (“The Color Purple,” “Lethal Weapon” movie franchise), Emmy Award-winning actress Ja’Net DuBois (best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times”) and executive director, Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs. PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art, and creative expression.

The goal of PAFF is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience. PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way while at the same time, serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.

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KOKO-DI KOKO-DA on VOD in US and Canada on December 8th

Dark Star Pictures

Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Director: Johannes Nyholm (THE GIANT)
Starring: Peter Belli, Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jackobson, Brandy Litmanen
Language: Swedish and Danish with English subtitles
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Koko Di Koko-Da is currently in Us Virtual Theaters in Los Angeles and New York (Laemmle Theaters) and major cities including: Philadelphia (Film Society), Cleveland (Cinematheque), Columbus (Gateway Film Center) and Durham (Carolina Theater)

Opens at Montclair Film Virtual Cinema on November 13th with more to follow.

On VOD in US & Canada on December 8th: Apple TV/ iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, You Tube, Fandango Now, Dish Network and all major cable providers (Including: Comcast/Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox and Verizon Fios)

Link to buy tickets: https://linktr.ee/KokoDiKokoDa

Leif Edlund in Johannes Nyholm’s KOKO-DI KOKO-DA (Credit: Dark Star Pictures)

Elin and Tobias are a happily married couple who regularly vacation with their young daughter. The family is on a dreamy holiday when an innocuous case of food poisoning derails their plans and forever alters the course of their lives.

Three years later, the once loving couple is on the road again to go camping, looking for one last chance to go back to the way things used to be. But what once was is lost, and our characters instead find themselves having to relive the same nightmarish events, as that day and the horrors it brings repeat themselves infinitely. Together, they must overcome their trauma, reconcile with their past and fight for their lives. Over, and over, and over again.

Discerned through a dreamlike fabric, a story emerges about relationships in general, grief and reconciliation in particular, and love as a healing force.

KOKO-DI KOKO-DA is written, directed and produced by Johannes Nyholm, a Swedish, Gothenburg-based writer and director, managing his own production company. He has made a bunch of music videos, some short films and one feature, THE GIANT. With a background in classical animation he often mixes different styles and cinematic universes, moving freely in the border between dream and reality.

Distributed in North America by: Dark Star Pictures
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Starring: Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jacobson, Peter Belli, Morad Baloo Khatchadorian, Brandy Litmanen
Production Company: Johannes Nyholm Production and Beofilm
Director/Scriptwriter/Producer: Johannes Nyholm
Director of Photography: Johan Lundborg, Tobias Höiem-Flyckt
Executive Producer: Peter Hyldahl
Co-Producer: Maria Møller Christoffersen
Produced by: Penelope JulieBruun Bjerregaard
Assistant producer: Maria Møller Christoffersen
Co-producer: Peter Hyldahl
Executive producer: Johannes Nyholm
Cinematographers: Tobias Höiem-Flyckt, Johan Lundborg
Editor: Johannes Nyholm
Music: Olof Cornéer, Simon Ohlsson

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

KOKO-DI KOKO DA: An Interview with Director Johannes Nyholm

I had the pleasure of talking to Johannes Nyholm, director of Koko Di Koko Da.

A horror film about Elin and Tobias a happily married couple who regularly vacation with their young daughter. The family is on a dreamy holiday when an innocuous case of food poisoning derails their plans and forever alters the course of their lives.

YR: You have said that the setting for the film was in the wee hours of the morning when dreams are the most untamed and that is how you came up with idea for the film. Was that the process throughout the filmmaking?

Johannes Nyholm: Yes. This film had its own life. First of all, it was inspired by a dream that came to me. I saw what was happening in the film in front of my eyes while being half awake asleep in the wee hours. I wrote it down and shot it and I realized it had to be something more. It was too crude, harsh, too nightmarish. It was impossible to watch it. Things happen in my life by chance and the story elements that I added to the film were really strange things that just happened that told me how the story should be told. It did not feel like I came up with it. It is more like it came to me.

YR: You mentioned you had a background in classical animation.

Johannes Nyholm: Yes, I went to animation school along time ago. I also have a history of working with musician and doing a lot of music video. Music goes well with animation.

YR: You had two scenes of a family of rabbits telling the story of death, was that a way of paying homage to classical animation, including it in your work?

Johannes Nyholm: It wasn’t an idea of paying homage. I just felt it was needed to tell the story from a different perspective. And to show a little comfort and some beauty and poetry to the audience as well. Other wise without these images and musical interlude the film would be too horrible to endure.

YR: How and what did you do to prepare as a writer, director and producer for the film?

Johannes Nyholm: I started this film as a learning process. When I started to make this film, I had no experience directing. I had almost no experience working with a big film crew. I have made some music video before but did not have any sound on set there were just a couple people with a camera doing some improvised stuff. Now, it is like a complex story with a lot of people involved. For me it was a bit scary. But most of all, I kind of like the idea of losing control, of not really knowing what to do and how to solve things. It is more fun to work that way. I had hoped it adds some kind of primal element to the story. Even I as the director cannot really control it and something else would come out, something that is bigger than my thoughts, better than my thoughts, something more irrational.

YR: What was it like working with your cast members?

Johannes Nyholm: It was fantastic. As I said, it was like a learning process for me working with actors. I never even cast them. There was no competition for the lead characters.

I found two actors I have seen in a short film that a friend of mine had directed. And I really like their energy, their energy together. I knew with this film, did not have so much money. But what I wanted was time. So, I wanted people to invest their time, their energy in the film. I wanted someone that could go the extra mile. I felt that directly with them. I tried some scenes with them, going around in the car, tested out some dialogue and it felt right. I gave them the part without asking someone else or looking somewhere in another direction.

YR: Can you tell us if there are any other projects you are working on or that you are planning on?

Johannes Nyholm: Yes. Right now, I am writing a script for something completely different. It is a lot brighter, a lot lighter story. It is a slap stick comedy. It is inspired by old classic slap stick comedy, like Charlie Chaplin. I want to give a bit brighter side to life.

YR: As a filmmaker, how has COVID-19 impacted you?

Johannes Nyholm: For me personally, no, it does not affect the writing process. It doesn’t affect my actual filmmaking. but it affects the way the film I made is presented.

I think it is tragic that you cannot see movies in a theater but through the computer. It is sad. I would have loved to be in the states and be there in the audience and talk to them and discuss the film with them afterwards. That is a lot of what filmmaking is about, trying to communicate and talk about your experiences. You kind of lose a little part of that.

Distributed in North America by: Dark Star Pictures
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Starring: Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jacobson, Peter Belli, Morad Baloo Khatchadorian, Brandy Litmanen
Director/Scriptwriter/Producer: Johannes Nyholm
Director of Photography: Johan Lundborg, Tobias Höiem-Flyckt
Executive Producer: Peter Hyldahl
Co-Producer: Maria Møller Christoffersen
Produced by: Penelope JulieBruun Bjerregaard
Assistant producer: Maria Møller Christoffersen
Co-producer: Peter Hyldahl
Executive producer: Johannes Nyholm
Cinematographers: Tobias Höiem-Flyckt, Johan Lundborg
Editor: Johannes Nyholm
Music: Olof Cornéer, Simon Ohlsson

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

KOKO DI KOKO DA: Review

KokoDiKokoDa US Poster

Bottom line: Work it out so it will not work you over
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Director: Johannes Nyholm (THE GIANT)
Starring: Peter Belli, Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jackobson, Brandy Litmanen
Language: Swedish and Danish with English subtitles
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Deal with the demons from within before you can take on the demons from without

Tobias (Leif Edlund), Elin (Ylva Gallon) and their daughter, Maja (Katarina Jacobson) travel to Demark to celebrate Maja’s 8^th birthday. Wearing their finest rabbit painted faces, they enjoy the day before her birthday with an enjoyable lunch. After lunch, Maja came upon a music box that played the Swedish nursey rhyme, Our Rooster Is Dead, that had her mesmerized. Her parents purchase the music box as a birthday present and have it gift wrapped. Things take a sudden horrific turn when Elin and Maja suffer from an allergic reaction to the shellfish they had for lunch in director Johannes Nyholm’s film KOKO DI KOKO DA.

Determined to celebrate their daughter and work on their crumbling marriage, Tobias and Elin set off on a camping trip that is soon anything but celebratory when three characters , Mog, a man with a straw hat (Peter Belli), Sampo, a huge giant of a man (Morad Baloo Khatchadorian) who carries a dead dog, and Cherry, a young woman with long black hair (Brandy Litmanen) with a vicious dog on a leach that is pictured on the music box, comes to life and torments Tobias and Elin over and over and over again.

Leif Edlund in Johannes Nyholm’s KOKO-DI KOKO-DA (Credit: Dark Star Pictures)

The bright, cheery atmosphere of Tobias, Elin, and Maja enjoying their lunch date, their laughter, their faces painted as rabbits shows the love, happy, and fun times the family shared. The changes in lighting as they arrived at their camping site in the forest.

Cinematographers Johan Lundborg and Tobias Holem-Flyckt keeps the fear going strong with the images depicted in the dark and creepy woods as three of Satan’s own torments them.
Olof Cornéer and Simon Ohlsson music scores provides suspense

After leaving the gas station, in route to the forest, Elin and Tobias are on the verge of a heated discussion because of Tobias’ perceived in difference to Elin and his constant joking, when Elin says to Tobias, “why don’t you say what you actually mean, for once? Tobias then tells her “I love you”. The line was a great neutralizer and diffuse the situation so they can at least start on the same page.

The two times the film transitioned into an old school curtain puppet show animation with three rabbits representing the family to tell the story of Maja death and the old rooster adds a surprising and unique element to the storytelling.

Considering how much Tobias liked to joke, it made for some funny moments in an otherwise deeply disturbing film, when Tobias, scarred to death, runs around frantically in his underwear.

Koko-Di Koko Da conveys a powerful message of the importance of people confronting and learning to deal with issues of grief and pain that resides in oneself, because if not, life will become one big loop, with the pain and sorrow endlessly replaying over and over and over again, making the life’s obstacles difficult to overcome.

SLEEPLESS BEAUTY Trailer

On VOD and Digital November 10th
On Blu-ray November 17th

Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Genre: Horror
Director: Pavel Khvaleeva
Starring: Polina Davydova

SLEEPLESS BEAUTY tells a twisted story about a young woman, Mila, who is kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as Recreation. Her unknown abductors talk to her through a loudspeaker and set strict rules: she cannot sleep and has to fulfill bizarre and violent tasks if she hopes to stay alive. At first, it looks like someone’s sick idea of entertainment but as the demands become more intense, Mila begins to realize that she is losing control of her own mind and instead, may be a pawn in a twisted and deadly psychological experiment.

SLEEPLESS BEAUTY made its world premiere at the 2020 Imagine Film Festival and was an official selection for the 2020 Sitges Film Festival, 2020 Dead Of Night Film Festival, and 2020 Obscura Berlin Film Festival. SLEEPLESS BEAUTY will be available on VOD + Digital platforms beginning Tuesday, November 10, 2020 and will be available on Blu-ray beginning Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

Epic Pictures

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/epicpicturesgroup
Twitter: https://twitter.com/epic_pictures

Dread

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreadpresents
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dreadpresents

SLEEPLESS BEAUTY available on VOD/Digital Tuesday, November 10, 2020:

Blu-ray Preorder:
https://epicpictures.com/merchandise/sleepless-beauty-blu-ray

Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Genre: Horror
Director: Pavel Khvaleeva
Starring: Polina Davydova
Writer: Aleksandra Khvaleeva
Producers: Frank Ellrich, Georgiy Smirnov and Elena Talyanksaya
Cinematographer: Pavel Khvaleev
Editor: Pavel Khvaleev
Production Co.: A Monomania Films Production

About Epic Pictures

In 2017, Epic Pictures acquired the world’s most popular horror website, Dread Central, and launched its unique horror label, Dread, followed by its AVOD channel, DreadTV. In 2019, Epic Pictures started the horror gaming site, DreadXP, with a focus on editorial, reviews, podcasts, and original streaming content. In 2020, DreadXP began a video game publishing division with the launch of The Dread X Collection, an anthology of horror games in collaboration with some of the most innovative developers in the independent gaming space. https://epic-pictures.com/

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

THE ANTENNA on VOD in US and Canada October 20th

THE ANTENNA is currently in Virtual Theaters

Will be out on VOD in the United States and Canada on October 20th

Including on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, Dish Network and all major cable providers

Director and Writer: Orçun Behram
Starring: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar and Eda Öze.

In a dystopian Turkey, the Government installs new networks throughout the country to monitor information.

The installation goes wrong in a crumbling apartment complex and Mehmet (Ihsan Önal), the building intendant, will have to confront the evil entity behind the inexplicable transmissions that threaten the residents.

Born in 1987, filmmaker Orçun Behram graduated from Columbia College, Chicago majoring film in 2011. Establishing himself in Istanbul, he has worked on variety of projects from music videos and short films to documentaries. The Antenna (2019) is the director’s first feature.

Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Horror
Language: Turkish with English subtitles
North American Distributor: Dark Star Pictures

DARK STAR PICTURES

Dark Star Pictures is a new-age North American distribution company, focused on bringing unique and targeted content to audiences across the country. The company is committed to releasing auteur-driven, original cinema in the theatrical, digital and home video space. Dark Star’s goal is to create original marketing campaigns directly catered to audiences who will embrace our brand of thought-provoking cinema. The company also services distribution companies and producers in the theatrical, digital, and festival space.

Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival and many more.

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

59 Film Festivals in 2020

59 Film Festivals 2020Pan African Film and Arts Festival
Los Angeles, CA
Established 28 years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
February 11-23, 2020
www.paff.org

Heartland International Film Festival
Indianapolis, IN
Establishes 29 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 9, 2020
www.heartlandfilm.org

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Hot Springs National Park, AR
Established 29 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 12, 2020
www.hsdfi.org

Portland Film Festival
Portland, OR
Established 8 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 12, 2020
www.portlandfilmfestival.comBendFilm Festival
Bend, Oregon
Established 17 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 12, 2020
www.bendfilm.org
October 8-11, 2020

Napa Valley Film Festival
Napa, CA
Established 10 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 14, 2020
www.napavalleyfilmfest.org

Tacoma Film Festival
Tacoma, Washington
Established 15 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 15, 2020
www.tacomafilmfestival.com
October 8-15, 2020Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Established 6 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 15, 2020
www.mammothlakesfilmfestival.com
May 20-24, 2020

Brooklyn Film Festival
Brooklyn, NY
Established 23 Years ago
Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 17, 2020
www.brooklynfilmfestival.org
June 2020 (10-days)

deadCenter Film Festival
Oklahoma City, OK
Established 20 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 21, 2020
www.deadcenterfilm.org
June 2020 (3 days)

Crossroads Film Festival
Jackson, Mississippi
Established 20 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 21, 2020
crossroadsfilmfestival.com
November 2020

Palm Springs International ShortFest
Palm Springs, CA
Established 26 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 24, 2020
www.psfilmfest.org
June 16-22, 2020

Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
Chagrin Falls, Ohio, United States
Established 11 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 24, 2020
www.chagrinfilmfest.org
October 6-11, 2020

Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition
New York, New York, United States
Established 17 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 25, 2020
www.bigapplefilmfestival.com
May 19-21, 2020

Julien Dubuque International Film Festival

Dubuque, IA,
Established 9 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 26, 2020
www.julienfilmfest.com
April 22-26, 2020Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle, WA
Established 46 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 28, 2020
www.siff.net
May 14-June 7, 2020

Calgary International Film Festival
Calgary, AB, Canada
Established 21 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: February 28, 2020
www.calgaryfilm.com
September 23-October 4, 2020

DC Shorts International Film Festival
Washington, DC
Established 17 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 28, 2020
www.dcshorts.com
September 2020San Jose International Short Film Festival
San Jose, CA
Established 12 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 29, 2020
www.sjsff.com
October 2020

Washington West International Film Festival
Reston, VA
Established 9 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 29, 2020
www.wwfilmfest.com
October 22-26, 2020

San Diego Underground Film Festival
San Diego, CA
Established 6 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 29, 2020
www.sdundergroundarts.org
August 20-23, 2020

34th Edmonton International Film Festival
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada
Established 34 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 1, 2020
www.edmontonfilmfest.com
September 24-October 3, 2020

Woods Hole Film Festival
Woods Hole, MA
Established 29 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 1, 2020
www.woodsholefilmfestival.com
July 25-August 1, 2020

Shriekfest Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival & Screenplay competition
Los Angeles, CA
Established 20 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 1, 2020
www.shriekfest.com
October 1-4, 2020

Twister Alley Film Festival
Woodward, OK,
Established 5 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 1, 2020
www.twisteralleyfilmfestival.com
April 30-May 2, 2020

Denver Film Festival
Denver, Colorado
Established 43 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 2, 2020
www.denverfilmfestival.org
October/November 2020

Fantasia Film Festival
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Established 24 Years ago
Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 2, 2020
www.fantasiafestival.com
July 16-August 5, 2020

FilmQuest
Provo, Utah
Established 7 years ago
Next Deadline: March 2, 2020
www.filmquestfest.com
September 4-12, 2020

Harlem International Film Festival
Harlem, NY
Established 15 Years ago
Next Deadline: January 17, 2020
www.harlemfilmfestival.org
May 14-17, 2020

Austin Revolution Film Festival
Austin, TX
Established 9 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 2, 2020
www.austinrevolution.com
Septeber 9-12, 2020Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto, Ontario, Candada
Established 44 Years ago
Next deadline: April 19, 2020
www.tiff.net
September 10-19, 2020

Oak Cliff Film Festival
Dallas, TX
Established 9 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 2, 2020
www.oakclifffilmfestival.com
June 2020

Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
Santa Fe, NM
Established 12 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 4, 2020

Abuja International Film Festival
Lagos, Nigeria
Established 19 Years ago
Next dealine: February 29, 2020
www.abujafilmfestival.org

October 2020

Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival
Los Angeles, CA
Established 38 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 6, 2020
www.outfest.org
July 16-26, 2020

Hawaii International Film Festival
Honolulu, Hawaii
Established 40 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 6, 2020
www.hiff.org
April 17-23, 2020

Coney Island Film Festival
Brooklyn, NY
Established 20 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 6, 2020
www.coneyislandfilmfestival.com
September 11-13, 2020

Nevada City Film Festival
Nevada City, CA
Established 20 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 6, 2020
www.nevadacitychamber.com

August 28-September 4, 2020

International Black Movie Festival
Nashville, TN
Established Years ago
Next Deadline: March 31, 2020
www.ibffevents.com
September 30-October 4, 2020

Evolution! Mallorca International Film Festival
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Established 9 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 8, 2020
www.evolutionfilmfestival.org
March 2020

Camden International Film Festival
Camden, ME
Established 16 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 9, 2020
www.pointsnorthinstitute.org
October 1-4, 2020

Lone Star Film Festival
Fort Worth, Texas
Established 14 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 9, 2020
www.lonestarfilmfestival.com
November 4-8, 2020

New Orleans Film Festival
New Orleans, LA
Established 31 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 13, 2020
www.neworleansfilmsociety.org
February 27-March 4, 2020

Golden Door International Film Festival
Jersey City, New Jersey-New York
Established 10 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 13, 2020
www.goldendoorfilmfestival.org
September 17-22, 2020

San Francisco Black Film Festival
San Francisco, CA
Established
www.sfbff.org
June 2020

Sidewalk Film Festival
Birmingham, Alabama
Established 22 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 16, 2020
www.sidewalkfest.com
February 7-13, 2020

HollyShorts Screenplay Contest
Sherman Oaks, CA
Established 7 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 20, 2020
www.hollyshorts.com
August 11-20, 2020

Nashville Film Festival
Nashville, Tennessee
Established 51 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 27, 2020
www.nashvillefilmfestival.org
October 1-7, 2020

Austin Film Festival
Austin, Texax
Established 27 Years ago
Academy Award ® Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 27, 2020
www.austinfilmfestival.com
October 22-29, 2020

Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival
CARDIFF, United Kingdom
Established 14 Years ago
BAFTA Qualifying
Next Deadline: March 30, 2020
www.irisprize.org
October 6-11, 2020

Filmfestival Kitzbuehel
Vienna, Austria
Established 8 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 30, 2020
www.ffkb.at
August 24-30, 2020

SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Savannah, Georgia
Established 23 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 31, 2020
www.filmfest.scad.edu/festival
October-November, 2020

Cannes Film Festival
Cannes, France
Established 73 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 15, 2020
https://m.festival-cannes.com
May 12-23, 2020

American Black Film Festival
Miami Beach, FL
Established 24 Years ago
Next Deadline: February 15, 2020
www.abff.com
June 17-21, 2020

Stony Brook Film Festival
Stony Brook, New York
Established 25 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 31, 2020
www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com
July 16-25, 2020

Oaxaca FilmFest
Oaxaca, Mexico
Established 11 Years ago
Next Deadline: March 31,
www.oaxacafilmfest.com
October 9-15, 2020

San Diego Black Film Festival
San Diego, CA
Established 17 Years ago
Next Deadline:
www.sdbff.com
January 27-31, 2021

THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW On VOD & Digital

Available October 6, 2020

on:

iTunes Pre-order: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-curse-of-audrey-earnshaw/id1531056261

Director and Writer: Thomas Robert Lee
Starring: Catherine Walker, Jared Abrahamson, Hannah Emily Anderson, Geraldine O’Rawe, Don McKellar, Sean McGinley, and introducing Jessica Reynolds as Audrey Earnshaw

Set against the autumnal palette of harvest season in 1973, THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW explores the disturbed bond between Audrey, an enigmatic young woman, and Agatha, her domineering ‘mother’, who live secretly as occultists on the outskirts of a remote Protestant village. As the community is besieged by a pestilence of unknown origin: children, fields, and livestock begin to die — yet the Earnshaw farm remains strangely unaffected. As mass hysteria sets in the village, the townsfolk commence accusations against Audrey and Agatha of witchcraft.

Capturing a perfect mixture of religious paranoia and folklore horror, Thomas Robert Lee’s THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW is a haunting and unflinching tale of vengeance.

THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW celebrated its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2020, coming out with raving reviews. The film will be releasing in limited theaters on Friday, October 2, 2020 and will be available on major VOD/Digital platforms beginning Tuesday, October 6, 2020.

"I wanted to tell a story about legacy, and to specifically explore it within the context of a folk horror narrative,” says writer/director Thomas Robert Lee. “The community grows increasingly desperate as their given circumstances grow dire. In reality, the pandemic appears to have amplified hatred and xenophobia, or at least the voices of those spewing hate speech. Obviously there is a world of difference between my screenplay and the very real ramifications of the pandemic, but the similarities, however surface-level they may be, have certainly been on my mind these past months.”

Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Genre: Horror
Country: Canada

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Twitter: twitter.com/Audrey_Earnshaw
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THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW is written and directed by Thomas Robert Lee. Produced by Gianna Isabella and executive produced by Lee, Marie-Claude Poulin, James Mahoney, Bill Marks, Divya Shahani, George Mihalka, Susan Curran, Patrick Ewald, and Shaked Berenson. Cinematography by Nick Thomas. Edited by Ben Lee Allen. Music by Thilo Schaller and Bryan Buss. A Gate 67 Films Production.

About Epic Pictures

Since the foundation of the company in 2007, CEO Patrick Ewald has grown Epic Pictures into an independent content studio with the mission of delivering the best-in-class genre entertainment “for fans, by fans.” Epic Pictures produces, finances, and distributes approximately twenty-thirty independent genre films a year. In 2013, the company established Epic Pictures Releasing which is its US focused distribution division. In 2017, Epic Pictures acquired the world’s most popular horror website, Dread Central, and launched its unique horror label, Dread, followed by its AVOD channel, DreadTV. In 2019, Epic Pictures started the horror gaming site, DreadXP, with a focus on editorial, reviews, podcasts, and original streaming content. In 2020, DreadXP began a video game publishing division with the launch of The Dread X Collection, an anthology of horror games in collaboration with some of the most innovative developers in the independent gaming space. https://epic-pictures.com/

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

THE ANTENNA: Review

Director and Writer: Orçun Behram
Stars: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar and Eda Öze
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Language: Turkish with English subtitles

When a Government’s Line of Communications Becomes Deadly

Turkish writer and director Orcun Behram’s debut feature film “The Antenna” tells the horrors of the slow but steady overreach of the government in an unnamed Turkish city, where Mehmet (Ihsan Önal) is a building superintendent, overseeing the government’s installation of its new mandated communication system at his building.

Gloomy and bleak, the lives of the building’s residents are a stark reminder of what happens when a country’s government goes in the wrong direction, similarly to what’s happening in Behram’s native Turkey under its current president, Tayyip Erdogan, who is jailing journalists and constantly eroding the freedom of the press and speech, only to replace them with authoritarian practices that puts him at odds with his other NATO members.

Cihan (Levent Ünsal),Mehmet’s overbearing boss, who is supportive of the government and obsessed with having a flawless antenna installation, is met with anything but perfection when the first of many, tragedies occurs and the government’s installer falls from the roof, to his death. Most shocking was the total lack of interest and concern from the people who witnessed the installer's fatal accident.

The only person that possesses even a glimmer for something better is Yasemin (Gül Arici), who lives at home with her parents. Her hopes and ambitions are smothered by her controlling father, Firat (Enis Yildiz).

Lifeless and without joy, you realize there are not many children in the building. You do not hear their laughter or the sounds of them playing in or around the building. The families that did have children, showed just one child. It reminded me of China’s one child rule. When the government determines the number of children each family can have, this is a powerful way to control the citizens and the nation’s future population. They will not have to worry about an uncontrollable number of citizens who may one-day, rise -up against their government.

The score by Can Demirci adds the musical intensity needed in a horror film. Ismail Hakki Hafiz provides a good connection between the unnerving sounds one hears and the horrific occurrences inside the building. The editing by Burc Alatas could have been just a bit more, reducing the film’s runtime down from the 1 hour 55 minutes. Cinematographer Engin Özkaya brings the horrors to life in Mehmet’s building and keeps the film’s grim scenes and mood going strong.

Orçun Behram does a good job of weaving strands of current repressive conditions that are steadily taking place in Turkey, into his debut film, The Antenna. When you give serious consideration to a government overreach and abuse of power, in this day and time, it makes for a true horror film.

Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Distributor in North America: Dark Star Pictures
Stars: Ihsan Önal, Gül Arici, Levent Ünsal, Isil Zeynep, Murat Saglam, Elif Çakman, Mert Toprak Yadigar and Eda Öze
Director and Writer: Orçun Behram
Production Co: A Lucidlab Films, Solis Film Production,
Producer: Orcun Behram
Co-Producer: Mṻge Özen
Editor: Burc Alatas
Camera (color): Engin Özkaya
Music Composer: Can Demirci
Sound: Ismail Hakki Hafiz

VIEW TRAILER BELOW!

THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW Trailer

Screening in Limited Theater - Friday, October 2, 2020

Available on VOD + Digital - Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Writer and Directed: Thomas Robert Lee
Starring: Catherine Walker, Jared Abrahamson, Hannah Emily Anderson, O’Rawe, Don McKellar, Sean McGinley, and introducing Jessica Reynolds as Audrey Earnshaw
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Genre: Horror
Country: Canada

Set against the autumnal palette of harvest season in 1973, THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW explores the disturbed bond between Audrey, an enigmatic young woman, and Agatha, her domineering ‘mother’, who live secretly as occultists on the outskirts of a remote Protestant village. As the community is besieged by a pestilence of unknown origin: children, fields, and livestock begin to die — yet the Earnshaw farm remains strangely unaffected. As mass hysteria sets in the village, the townsfolk commence accusations against Audrey and Agatha of witchcraft.

Capturing a perfect mixture of religious paranoia and folklore horror, Thomas Robert Lee’s THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW is a haunting and unflinching tale of vengeance.

THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW celebrated its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2020, coming out with raving reviews. The film will be releasing in limited theaters on Friday, October 2, 2020 and will be available on major VOD/Digital platforms beginning Tuesday, October 6, 2020.

About Epic Pictures

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Writer and directed: Thomas Robert Lee
Producer: Gianna Isabella
Executive producer: Lee, Marie-Claude Poulin, James Mahoney, Bill Marks, Divya Shahani, George Mihalka, Susan Curran, Patrick Ewald, and Shaked Berenson. Cinematographer: Nick Thomas
Editor: Ben Lee Allen.
Music: Thilo Schaller and Bryan Buss
Production Company: A Gate 67 Films Production