Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival returns from 21-24 August in Hobart
Hobart – 22 August 2014 – Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival kicked off last night with the awards night and screening of the very popular 48-Hour Tasploitation Challenge, which returns for a second year (it’s the third year of the fest itself).
Teams were given 48 hours to make a short horror film (6mins or less) with three random prompts given to them at 8 pm on Friday night: an object, a line of dialogue and a horror sub-genre.
The result was 16 short films screened in competition (plus 4 screened out of competition – whose films didn’t quite make the deadline!). They were screened to a packed house at the Grand Poobah in Hobart last night, with a dress up theme and twin choc top sellers adding to the atmosphere.
The prize winners were:
Screen Tasmania Prize for Best Film – Bring in the Cat by RMH Films
Wide Angle Tasmania Audience Choice Prize – Living Things For Lively Youngsters by Tripe Productions
Cooper Screen Academy Prize for Best Performance – Rob Braslin in Toy Boy by The (Totally) Lost Boys
Monster Pictures Prize for the Sickest Film – Shithouse by The Decomposers
Special FX/Design Prize – Blood Gen by Play Nice
Tasmaniana Award – Lady Garden by Carrie McLean
MONA Award for the Most Original Film – Orange Lies by Special Patrol Group (filmmakers Sarah L. Badcock, Isabella J. von Lichtan and Matthew Taylor composer)
Teams included emerging filmmakers and experienced filmmakers and absolute beginners. Many teams, including the winners RMH Films, involved children as collaborators and performers!
The judges of the awards were:
genre screenwriters Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause
Screen Tasmania Director Karena Slaninka
film reviewer and and journalist Tim Martain
producer and Screen Tasmania board member Anita Ondine
special guest genre filmmamker Mattie Do
Neil Foley of Monster Pictures
More information and bookings: www.strangerwithmyface.com
FURTHER INFORMATION
Tasmania’s STRANGER WITH MY FACE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL is an annual event which returns for the third time in August 2014. The event’s featured filmmaker in 2013 was American filmmaker Jennifer Lynch. SWMF has recently been voted one of the Top 5 Coolest Women’s Film Festivals in the world by the readers of influential Movie Maker Magazine.
The festival program is available online and tickets can be purchased via the website or at the door of screenings. There is also a VIP Festival Pass option, which allows access to all ticketed events (except the children’s program) for $90. There are also a number of free events, including Mary Shelley Symposium talks and spooky storytelling for children.
Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival takes its name from the teen suspense novel by Lois Duncan and focuses on highlighting the work of female filmmakers in genre, from exploitation to gore, art house to exploitation.
In 2014 the event will start on 21 August with the awards night and screening of the 48-Hour Tasploitation Challenge, a filmmaking comp that is open to both male and female participants from around Australia. The opening night film and party are on 22 August, followed by a weekend of screenings, talks, workshops, panels discussions and social events, including a short film program on the evening of 23 August and a live reading of a new play on 24 August.
Briony Kidd, director and programmer Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival web: www.strangerwithmyface.com twitter: @swmf_h
