Exclusives
Austin Film Festival and Vertigo Entertainment Join Forces to Find Fresh Horror Voices! [Exclusive]
Austin Film Festival (AFF) and Vertigo Entertainment have come together to form a strategic partnership for the 30th Annual Austin Film Festival, BD has learned today.
Supporting AFF’s overall mission of championing storytellers, this partnership looks to identify new and unique voices within the horror genre and provide winners mentorship and the possibility of a production agreement. Vertigo will be the presenting sponsor of both AFF’s existing Screenplay Horror Feature Award and the Film Competition’s Dark Matters Feature category.
Since its founding in 2001, Vertigo Entertainment has become a prominent force in the horror-film genre with the release of The Ring (2002). From there, Vertigo went on to produce hit films The Grudge (2004), The Strangers (2008), Quarantine (2008), IT: Chapter One (2017), IT: Chapter Two (2019), and last year’s smash hit, Barbarian. In addition, Vertigo has also produced television favorites Bates Motel (2013-2014), The Exorcist (2016), and Them (2021).
As the presenting sponsor of the Film Competitions’ Dark Matters Feature category, Vertigo Entertainment will review the submitted films of the finalists, with Vertigo co-founder Roy Lee acting as a juror for the competition. Narrative films with a running time of 41 minutes or longer and with a story easily identified as belonging to the horror or thriller genre and embodying dark themes, unconventional subject matter, or suspenseful sensibilities are eligible for the Dark Matters Features category.
The Dark Matters Features category winner will receive a mentorship guaranteed for at least six months in 2024. The mentorship will include monthly calls providing advice and insight on networking, pitching, and workshopping, the opportunity to pitch a new film to Roy Lee, and a possible option to work on other Vertigo projects.
The Screenplay Competition’s Horror Feature Award is open to any feature horror script, including dark suspense, thriller, sci-fi, and macabre themes. Vertigo Entertainment will provide the winner with a mentorship for up to six months in 2024. The mentorship will include feedback and notes on the winning script, monthly calls giving advice and insight on networking, pitching, and workshopping, the opportunity to pitch the winning script to co-founder Roy Lee, and a possible option to produce the winning script or work on other Vertigo projects.
“I am thrilled to return to the Austin Film Festival as a juror and sponsor for AFF’s 30th anniversary. The festival’s focus on unique, original storytelling over large budgets and expensive special effects is in line with the types of projects we are known for. In recent years, audiences have been responding very positively to original genre films, especially horror/thriller films, and AFF’s Dark Matters Competition always highlights the most exciting rising filmmakers in this space. My goal for this partnership with AFF is to discover the next exciting voice in horror, support young talented filmmakers and writers, and most of all, be surprised!” — Roy Lee, Co-founder of Vertigo Entertainment.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring back Roy Lee and Vertigo Entertainment to offer this incredible opportunity for any budding storytellers in the world of horror. Vertigo’s films showcase ingenuity and boldness in horror-filmmaking that fits right in with the creativity of emerging genre writers and filmmakers from around the world. We can’t wait to see what is conjured up through this partnership.” — Andy Volk, Austin Film Festival Lead Film Programmer.
AFF’s Film & Script Competitions are currently open for submissions. Film submission deadlines are as follows: Early Deadline of March 23, Regular Deadline of May 17, Late Deadline of June 22, and Extended Deadline of July 7. For the screenplay competition, the deadlines happen March 23 for the Early Deadline, April 18 for the Regular Deadline, and May 25 for the Late Deadline. For more information, including rules, eligibility, and how to submit, please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika
You must be logged in to post a comment.