A world class independent short film festival... in Nashville? They're not exactly two concepts that immediately seem to fit together. The country music capitol of the world and the cinematic arts might surprise anyone who has never visited Middle Tennessee but, as a native Nashvillian it's no surprise to see the Defy Film Festival opening today at Studio 615. Defy Film Festival, now in its 4th year, is the brainchild of Dycee Wildman and Billy Senese and aims to bring "bold

The Nightmares Film Festival is returning to Columbus Ohio this weekend for another season of terrifying, original horror cinema. With a reputation as one of the “best networking opportunities at a festival” Nightmares has been delivering one of a kind originals and amazing opportunities for fans and filmmakers alike to meet and interact without the stodgy atmosphere that most film festivals tend to be surrounded in. Festival programmer and co-founder Jason Tostevin is commit

The Tell-Tale Heart is easily one of the most well known and recognizable stories of Edgar Allen Poe and, arguably, one of the greatest horror short stories of the Victorian Era. The story of a man driven to madness by his employer, who escalates his mania into murder and, eventually allows that guilt ridden insanity to be his undoing is timeless. So it should come as no surprise that for 175 years it has been the source of numerous stage and screen adaptions with its themes

I've been talking about the Women in Horror Film Festival literally since I left last fall from Peachtree City, Georgia. The festival was four days of the most unique and original independent films with a focus on women in cinema. More than just directors and writers, women from all aspects of the film making process were considered for honors, awards, and participation with a focus on celebrating their role within the collaborative efforts of film. It was an inclusive, welco

Film festivals are phenomenal events with terrible reputations. The average moviegoer hears the words “film festival" and thinks of the stodgy, industry mainstays with their high concept, low appeal films and A list celebrity vanity projects. Events like Sundance which, in recent years has become increasingly hostile to independent filmmakers (i.e., the ongoing Sundance/Troma feud) have left a bad taste in fans’ mouths. So what the cure for the film festival problem? How do y

Do you have a fondness for film-making and horror, then here's your chance to show off those scary skills. Shriekfest TV is having its first ever contest to kick off the summer! Awarded as "one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world "top 5 coolest Horror/SciFi Film Festivals in the WORLD" and one of the "top 25 film festivals worth the entry fee" by MovieMaker Magazine, Shriekfest Film Festival, is celebrating its 18th year in Los Angeles and 2nd year in Orlando.

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR HORROR, ARTHOUSE & EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA Linz, Austria - Sodom & Chimera Productions, known for their experimental features and short films, is inviting likeminded filmmakers to Europe this September with the inception of the Steel City Underground Film Festival (SCUFF). A celebration of horror, arthouse, experimental and weird cinema, SCUFF is curated and hosted by Sodom & Chimera's founder James Quinn (Flesh of the Void, Sulphur for Leviathan).

“Chomp chomp, zombie.” A diminutive, grandmotherly figure says with a broad smile as she clacks a set of dentures in the air. It’s been almost two weeks since I had the chance to visit the first annual Women in Horror Film Festival and that singular image from Lynne Hansen’s Chomp is still making me grin. The story centers on an elderly woman obsessed with a cable access pundit convinced the zombie apocalypse is nigh. Determined to be a guest on his show, she kidnaps a drunk

Women have always had an integral, if not somewhat cubbyholed role to play in the horror genre. In the earliest days of the genre on stage and screen they became either the damsel in distress to be rescued by the heroic male lead or they were some villainous monstress, a concubine of Satan sent to steer that same male hero into disaster. Even with the emergence of women’s rights and changing views of sex and sexuality in society, the most you could ever hope for was still som

There’s nothing as seemingly innocuous as a balloon at a child’s birthday party. A bright sack of floating air never fails to entertain children and adults alike. But what happens when all the joy and wonderment of something so simple is stripped away, replaced by something wholly terrifying and beyond belief? What happens when the innocence is stripped from that rainbow tapestry of of childhood delights and replaced by a moment of abject fear. That’s exactly what writer/dire