In case you missed it, the mass carnage of the 4th Annual Los Angeles International Shriekfest recently passed. Co-founded by Denise Gossett & Kimberlee S. Beeson, it is now run by Denise and Todd Beeson (Kim’s bro, Denise’s hubby). You can check out some of the horror fiends who make it happen in the picture at right. The festival promotes everything horror, from screenplays, to shorts, to features, to…aw hell, let me just post the official website’s explanation:
Shriekfest is a festival dedicated to getting horror/thriller/sci-fi filmmakers and screenwriters the recognition they deserve. What makes our festival unique is that we are free from any restrictions that other festivals may have…for instance, we are thrilled when your film has won in other festivals, we won’t hold that against you by not allowing your film an entry possibility. The whole point of our festival is to help out the filmmakers by letting as many people see your film as possible (not by limiting when and where your film is shown). We just want to celebrate the art of filmmaking without all of the politics!
On top of that, Denise is one super cool chick. Blocked from providing me with loglines for the winners, she instead graciously answered some of my addle-minded queries:
What led to the creation of the festival?
Well, I came up with the idea when I starred in a horror film called CHAIN OF SOULS…the director and producer were telling me that there weren’t many horror film festivals and when I talked to Kimberlee, she loved the idea and the rest is history.
Do you find the female archetype in horror films empowering, objectifying, or both?
I think most women characters in horror films are not empowering, we always seem to be the ones running and screaming in little clothing, but I think that is changing…we are seeing tougher women characters in more recent films and it’s great! I also enjoy seeing women as the “bad guys” instead of always the men.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We have some great surprises for next year, but you’ll just have to come check them out for yourselves!
So if you’ve got a nifty little ditty of a horror project, and you are now stabbing yourself in the ass for missing your chance this year, fear not. You can download entry forms for the 2005 festival, and check out this year’s winners at the official 2005 Shriekfest website.
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