Indie
You’re Not Crazy, It’s Just Another ‘Asylum Jam’
Indie game developers of all stripes are in the thick of the third annual Asylum Jam, a 48-hour event with a very specific purpose in mind, other than scaring the bejesus out of its spectators and fans.
Asylum Jam tasks individuals and teams to create horror games without resorting to negative stereotypes about mental illness. Seems like a pretty straightforward idea, but think of how many — indeed, how many popular — horror games exploit mental illness as the baseline for their experiences. Now, I have to admit here that I’m a fan of even those types of games, as well, but just like with zombies, it’s extremely important for horror games to grow and expand to include a wide range of topics and ideas, so Asylum Jam is a welcome addition.
If nothing else, it promotes the diversity of horror experiences and tasks devs with pushing the boundaries of what can be accepted as horror. The only major requirement to be part of Asylum Jam goes as follows (from the Tumblr blog):
You should not use asylums, psychiatric institutes, medical professionals or violent/antipathic/’insane’ patients as settings or triggers. This jam is to show that you can still create a great horror experience without using inaccurate stereotypes of those who suffer from mental illness, or the institutions that support them in diagnosis and recovery.
Looking for a sample of what past years’ jams had to offer? You can play both the inaugural year’s games, as well as those from 2014 on the official site. The 2015 selections are obviously not ready for consumption yet.
Individuals and teams must be members of Game Jolt, but otherwise, the competition appears to be open to anyone interested in making a mental-health-positive experience. One of the best aspects of being privy to this jam is that most, if not all, of the games are completely free.
Several dozen games are expected to come out of this year’s jam, which should be extremely exciting for horror fans. The event ends on November 9, 2015.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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