Indie
Joe Dante’s ‘Labirintus’ Investigates the Paranormal
Mark Webber, pictured in Green Room, Rachel Hurd-Wood (An American Haunting) and Lorant Deutsch (“The Visitors: Bastille Day”) have signed on to star in Labirintus, which is to be directed by Joe Dante, Variety reports.
Dante is still a phenomenal filmmaker, even though I wasn’t a huge fan of his latest endeavor, Burying the Ex. I was, however, a fan of The Hole 3D, especially in 3D, and he even has recently directed episodes of “Witches of East End” and “Salem”. Many of the horror greats have either left us or lost their touch, yet the director of Piranha, The Howling, The ‘Burbs and Gremlins continues to work at a torrid pace.
“Labirintus tells the story of a paranormal investigator (Webber), psychiatric researcher (Hurd-Wood) and engineer (Deutsch) who join forces to explore an abandoned subterranean Soviet research facility, hidden within the dark twisting catacombs beneath Buda Castle. When supernatural forces confound and torment the group they begin to question their own sanity. To escape they must quash their fears and lead their team to find and destroy the dark heart of the maze.”
“Mark, Rachel and Lorant are phenomenal actors and I am delighted to be working with them in what I anticipate will be a suspenseful, compelling, spine-tingling chiller,” Dante explained in a press release.
Written by Alan Campbell, Labirintus is produced by Fabrice Lambot of France’s Metaluna Prods., Lucy Mukerjee-Brown of Mukerjee-Brown Prods., Elizabeth Stanley of Elizabeth Stanley Pictures and Jean-Charles Levy of Forecast Pictures. Nick Quested and Pascal Degove, managing director of Goldcrest, will serve as executive producers for Goldcrest.
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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