The Stanley Film Festival (SFF), presented by Chiller and produced by the Denver Film Society, announced their full lineup of panels, added screenings, Dean’s Cup short films, and the full cast of “Tales From Beyond the Pale”: The Stanley Edition (presented by Glass Eye Pix). Celebrating the best in independent horror cinema, SFF will showcase a full slate of features, shorts, panels and fully immersive experiences – set at the Stanley Hotel. The haunted landmark opened in 1909 and was the inspiration for Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining.

The Stanley Film Festival is honored to recognize Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling, Piranha) with the inaugural 2014 Stanley Film Festival Master of Horror award. The award will be presented by horror icon, Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, The Shinning, The Stand, Masters of Horror), creator and chief organizer of the fabled master of horror dinners attended by great filmmakers past and present on Sunday, April 27 at the Stanley Awards Horror Brunch. Not only will festival goers be treated to an awards ceremony with some of the genre’s most prolific players, they will enjoy one hell of a gory brunch as well.

Adding to the 4-day celebration of horror, “Tales From Beyond the Pale”: The Stanley Edition has been created specifically for SFF 2014. “Tales From Beyond the Pale” is an ongoing series of audio dramas penned by luminaries from the world of contemporary horror. The Stanley Edition will proudly feature SFF attendees Martin Starr (Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead), Jocelyn DeBoer (Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead), AJ Bowen (The Sacrament), Ana Asensio and noted director and writer Larry Fessenden and additional special guests. The performance will be held at the Historic Park Theatre in downtown Estes Park on Saturday, April 26 at 4:45pm.

“Our festival is a celebration of horror in all its forms, with live performance being chief among events to get excited about. The eerie atmosphere of the Historic Park Theatre will provide the perfect backdrop to perform the Stanley’s very first live radio play,” says Stanley Film Festival Program Director, Landon Zakheim. “Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid and their troupe of players bring a tremendous sense of creativity and talent that will make this one of a kind experience a highlight for years to come.”

Rounding out the weekend is a series of panels. SpectreVision cofounders Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh Waller will present a panel about their film production and music management company and their future plans. Additional panels include Who Watches This Stuff?: Buying, Selling, Distributing and Exhibiting Horror Films Today as well as a panel focusing on the New Wave of horror featuring Ti West, Travis Stevens, Glenn McQuaid and Larry Fessenden.

Panel moderator Ryan Turek and Rebekah McKendry will also bring their hit Los Angeles horror event, Dead Right Horror Trivia, to the Wheel Bar in Estes Park on Friday Night. Scare yourself with how much you actually know about horror. While this event is free and open to the public, pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

“We could not be more excited to welcome such a sublime cast of characters to the Festival this year,” says Denver Film Society’s Festival Director Britta Erickson, “each guest plays a unique role in crafting this truly interactive horror experience for genre fans and filmmakers alike.”

ADDED SCREENINGS:

LFO – Sweden/Denmark/2013 – (Director: Antonio Tublen, Featuring Patrik Karlson, Izabella Jo Tschig, Per Löfberg, Ahnna Rasch, Lukas Loughran) – Presented by SpectreVision, a hermit discovers he can control people’s minds through a unique pattern of sound frequencies, which he in turn uses on his unsuspecting neighbors.

STANLEY DEAN’S CUP SHORTS: See the future of horror with short films from local, national and international students. The Competition features a Juried and Audience Award with cash prizes going to the winning schools.

BANEFUL, USA, directed by David Roth: Five college students break into an abandoned insane asylum in this horror/comedy mashup. BURST, USA, directed by Hannah Waterbury: A secluded female scientist must come to terms with the killer fungus she has contracted. BAREFOOT, Israel, directed by Amit Asraf: Nine moments in a life of a girl as she searches for the meaning of revenge. KELLERKIND, Germany, directed by Julia Ocker: A woman gives birth to a child. But the child is absolutely different from other children. PONDEROSA DRIVE, directed by Kirsten West: A realtor staging a foreclosed cabin finds the family still settled, making it known that no one’s leaving anytime soon. THE LOST BOY, USA, directed by John McSween: A father takes his family on vacation in the woods where they stumble into an ancient ritual for eternal youth. VELVET VOYEUR, USA, directed by Quinn Williams: After the tragic suicide of his sister, Hayden hires three models to partake in a dark, visceral photo shoot, in order to interpret his sister’s beauty and pain. Hayden captures his vision, and his method is death. WORMBUG, Canada, directed by Arlen Konopaki: After Henry swallows a bug in his sleep, very strange things start happening to him.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS:

NEW WAVE: THE SURVIVAL OF INDEPENDENT HORROR
Saturday, April 26 1:30pm
In a genre often clogged with cliche and camp, new auteurs emerge with gruesome ideas and innovative executions that keep the horror alive. Learn secrets of the shoestring trade and production horror stories from those who lived to tell the tales.

PANELISTS: Ti West (The Sacrament), Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond The Pale, Wendingo), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell The Dead, Tales From Beyond The Pale), Travis Stevens (Cheap Thrills, Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes)
MODERATOR: Ryan Turek

SPECTREVISIONARIES
Saturday, April 26 3:00pm
Founded in 2010 by partners Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, SpectreVision is a film production and music management company created to tell heartfelt, character-driven stories tackling real, social and emotional issues that test the boundaries of the horror genre.

PANELISTS: Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night), Craig MacNeill (The Boy)
MODERATOR: Devin Faraci (Badass Digest)

WHO WATCHES THIS STUFF?: BUYING, SELLING AND DISTRIBUTING HORROR TODAY
Saturday, April 26 12:00pm
Get to know the buyers, sellers, distributors, and exhibitors of the finest in world horror as they discuss the realities of peddling genre cinema in today’s climate.

PANELISTS: James Shapiro (Drafthouse Films), Peter Van Steemburg (Magnolia Pictures) Crystal Decker Orren (Well Go USA Entertainment)
MODERATOR: Ryland Aldrich (Twitch)

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