Indie
Popcorn Frights Film Festival’s Second Wave Includes ‘Cold Skin’, ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid’, ‘The Ranger’ and More!
Popcorn Frights Film Festival has announced its second wave of programming for the annual celebration of all things genre. The complete lineup features more than 50 film premieres from 15 countries and promises more thrills than ever before as the Festival rages through South Florida from August 10-16th.
As the Southeast United States largest gathering of genre films and fans, Popcorn Frights is bringing the latest and greatest in genre cinema from around the globe to the Sunshine State. Popcorn Frights keeps the scream-machine churning with a Closing Night triple-bill of rampage featuring the East Coast Premiere of the psycho-sexual thriller Piercing starring Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Abbott, the North American Premiere of the gruesomely creepy Deadly Still, and the East Coast Premiere of the cheerfully gory Japanese zombie comedy One Cut of The Dead.
Rounding out the feature film lineup is the World Premiere of the supernatural thriller Cursed Seat; the Florida Premieres of Jenn Wexler’s wildly energetic slasher The Ranger and Issa López’s award-winning nightmare Tigers Are Not Afraid; the Southeast US Premiere of the joyously gory Framed; the East Coast Premiere of the disturbingly insidious tale The Farm; the Florida Premieres of Xavier Gens’ Lovecraftian creature feature Cold Skin and Michael Tully’s atmospheric psycho-religious chiller Don’t Leave Home; and the South Florida Premiere of the coming-of-age thriller Summer of ’84.
Popcorn Frights is also proud to present for a second year its “Homegrown: 100% Pure Fresh Squeezed Florida Horror” program that is dedicated to renewing and reinvigorating the audience’s engagement with Florida’s local filmmakers and homegrown talent. This platform is designed to be a springboard for new filmmakers from Florida and a space that helps forge a new direction for Florida’s genre scene by further cultivating and nurturing its growing film community. Films headlining the program include the World Premiere of The Horse and the Stag, the US Premiere of Riley Was Here, and the Borscht Corp produced Möbius.
Besides the Homegrown short film program, Popcorn Frights will present an additional 30 short film premieres from 10 countries, furthering its commitment to providing a fertile ground for new and emerging filmmakers.
It’s time for rampage. It’s time for chaos. It’s time for Popcorn Frights!
FESTIVAL LINEUP (SECOND WAVE)
FEATURE FILMS
COLD SKIN
Directed by Xavier Gens
Spain-France | 108 minutes | 2018
FLORIDA PREMIERE. In this Lovecraftian creature feature that tells the tale of isolation and madness set on a desolate island, a young man on his way to assume the lonely post of weather observer finds a deranged castaway who has witnessed a horror he refuses to name.
CURSED SEAT
Directed by Nadezhda Mikhalkova
Russia | 95 minutes | 2018
Russian with English subtitles
WORLD PREMIERE. In this gruesome shocker, a group of teens are haunted by evil forces that’s set to claim their lives.
DEADLY STILL
Directed by Anton Zenkovich
Russia | 80 minutes | 2018
Russian with English subtitles
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. A chilling-to-the-bone creepfest about an antique camera that appears to hold the power of life and death over those who use it.
DON’T LEAVE HOME
Directed by Michael Tully
USA | 86 minutes | 2018
FLORIDA PREMIERE. Intrigued by an Irish urban legend, an American artist ends up in danger after traveling to the ramshackle estate of a priest responsible for a work of art containing the image of a girl who has vanished, along with her likeness in the painting.
THE FARM
Directed Hans Stjernswärd
USA | 80 minutes | 2018
EAST COAST PREMIERE. The classic horror tale of a young couple who take a wrong turn and stumble into a small town full of people with nefarious intentions is turned on its head in this disturbing ode to blood, guts, and human flesh.
FRAMED
Directed by Marc Martínez Jordán
Spain | 80 minutes | 2018
Spanish with English subtitles
SOUTHEAST US PREMIERE. A group of friends at a going-away party are taken hostage by masked strangers who force them to play an increasingly sinister game that makes them objects of unimaginable torture for a viral streaming show.
ONE CUT OF THE DEAD
Directed by Ueda Shinichiro
Japan | 96 minutes | 2018
Japanese with English subtitles
EAST COAST PREMIERE. In this cheerfully gory horror comedy, a low-budget film crew about to shoot a zombie movie at a desolate warehouse is suddenly attacked by real zombies. The uncompromising director forces them to confront the living dead head-on for the sake of capturing it all in one single take, with no consideration for their lives.
PIERCING
Directed by Nicolas Pesce
USA | 82 minutes | 2018
EAST COAST PREMIERE. Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Abbott star in this lusciously filmed adaptation of Ryū Murakami’s novel that delves into the darkest domains of human nature with a color-saturated tale of deviant desire and unspeakable urges.
THE RANGER
Directed by Jenn Wexler
USA | 77 minutes | 2018
FLORIDA PREMIERE. Pursued by the police, punk rocker Chelsea and her lawbreaking friends decide to lay low at her uncle’s backwoods cabin but soon find themselves facing an even bigger problem: an ax-wielding forest ranger with homicidal intentions.
SUMMER OF ‘84
Directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell
Canada-USA | 105 minutes | 2018
SOUTH FLORIDA PREMIERE. The directing trio behind cult favorite Turbo Kid deliver a startling throwback to 80’s classics in this eerily resonant coming-of-age horror flick
TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID
Directed by Issa López
Mexico | 83 minutes | 2018
Spanish with English subtitles
FLORIDA PREMIERE. In this tragic and engulfing nightmare that’s populated with eerie fairytale imagery, a young girl with a missing mother joins a band of street misfits in an effort to survive amidst rampant cartel violence in modern-day Mexico City.
TICKET SALES:
Festival Premiere Badges are on sale for a limited time for $99 per person and $69 for couples, and single screening tickets are available for $12. To purchase badges or tickets and view the Festival schedule, visit www.popcornfrights.com
LOCATION:
All films will screen at Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301).
MORE INFORMATION:
Follow the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on Facebook (/popcornfrights), Twitter (@popcornfrights), or Instagram (@popcornfrights) for updates with the latest information about the Festival. Join the conversation using the hashtag #popcornfrights on social media.
ABOUT POPCORN FRIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
Popcorn Frights Film Festival is Southeast US’s largest genre film event presenting the very best genre films from across the world as it celebrates the art of horror. Popcorn Frights prides itself on premiering films from emerging and established filmmakers enabling the industry and general audiences to experience the power of storytelling through genre film. The fourth annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival occurs August 10-16, 2018.
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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