Indie
Pipers Last Bout, “Portal To Hell!!!,” to Be Screened at TIFF!
It’s still hard to believe that a week has passed since the news broke of Rowdy Roddy Piper leaving us for the Royal Rumble in the great beyond. On Wednesday TIFF announced the Canadian films in selection at their 40th anniversary festival which included Portal To Hell!!!/ The short that sets Piper against cultists & Cthulhu filmed in Toronto earlier this year & marks Roddy’s final movie role.
The apartment-superintendent hero of this primo slice of Canuxploitation has enough on his plate, what with all the plumbing and electrical problems and high-maintenance tenants. But then some jerks open up a multidimensional gateway in the basement. Thankfully, the guy standing between humanity and its certain destruction is played by the late, great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
Portal To Hell!!! was successfully crowdfunded & was due to become a feature film. The following is a message from the team behind the project via Indiegogo.
Dear Portal supporters,
As you have probably heard by now, the world lost Roddy Piper last week. Throughout this production, people have been asking the various members of our team what he was like to work with, so we’d just like to share these words with you.
Rod flew up to the shoot in the middle of a snow storm, arrived on set ready to go, and couldn’t have been more enthusiastic for the 4-day shoot. A few of the days were hard, going into the late hours, but Roddy never complained. He couldn’t have been more professional.
As a person… Roddy was one of the warmest and most genuine people we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Sweet natured and personable, he couldn’t have been further from the “Rowdy” persona. He met everyone with a smile, took the time to thank them for their work and happily posed for pictures and signed autographs.
When people refer to him as a “legend”, they’re not wrong. He truly was legendary, and we are better for having gotten to know him in the brief amount of time we had with him.
The film is currently in post-production and soon to be complete.
And on that note, we have announcement: Portal to Hell!!! will have its world theatrical premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. (http://tiff.net/festivals/festival15/shortcuts/portal-to-hell)
This is a huge honour for us, and we hope that we can do Roddy’s legacy justice. We’re all moving forward with this, hoping he would have been proud.
Thank you everyone for your support on this film. You helped us make it. We hope we make you proud too.
Ever Forward,
Matt, Viv and The Portal Team.
Other forthcoming films starring everyone’s favorite heel include Kickstarter project The Chair and 2014’s The Masked Saint which is set for a 2016 release after finding distribution.
In the spirit of transparency I helped out with the Indiegogo campaign last year & also work alongside Raven Banner Entertainment who were on board to expand the short to a feature format.
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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