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[Sundance Review] ‘The Eyes of My Mother’ Is Disturbing and Twisted!

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Eyes of My Mother

The Eyes of My Mother was getting a lot of buzz at Sundance and folks saying it was disturbing and scary. So I checked it out and it really lives up to the buzz. Writer/director Nicolas Pesce has crafted one hell of a debut film.

As a child, Francisca (Olivia Bond) watches a stranger named Charlie (Will Brill) murder her mother (Diana Agostini). Francisca’s father (Paul Nazak) walks in on it, too late to save his wife but just in time to beat Charlie and lock him up in their barn. The lonely Francisca befriends Charlie and becomes obsessed with feeling the thrill he describes from killing as an adult (Kika Magalhaes).

It is disturbing to watch grown-up Francisca prey on vulnerable women, and especially disturbing when there is a baby involved. Equally disturbing is seeing young Francisca relate to the instrument of her trauma. Perhaps her father was too traumatized himself to stop her from doing that, but I suppose he knew what he was doing keeping Charlie alive in his barn.

Charlie is a disturbing character. You can tell from his introduction that he’s bad news and you wish they hadn’t let him in the house, but he probably would have found a way in anyway. When he is reduced to a prisoner, he’s disgusting, with Pesce amping up the eating noises so he sounds like a suckling animal. Charlie is not Francisca’s only prisoner, and she plays on body parts we are all sensitive to: fingernails, eyes, mouths.

The performances are breakthrough. I really hope Bond is well-adjusted after performing the detached morbid interest she achieved. I’m more confident that Magalhaes can leave the work on the set, but she’s pretty convincing disarming her victims. Brill nails that sense that you know something’s wrong but makes you doubt yourself out of guilt. The actresses playing victims (Flora Diaz and Clara Wong) are able to achieve sympathy with little screen time, something that films with even larger ensembles often fail to do.

The Eyes of My Mother maintains a mood and atmosphere of dread. Shot in black and white, the shadows hang over the remote farm house. There are a few time jumps that also contribute to a jarring sense of displacement. The film runs a lean 77 minutes but there is enough material for months of nightmares.

Eyes of My Mother

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

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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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