Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest horror film festival

Film festival

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...

 in the United States. Some of the largest horror online publications have called it the "Sundance

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 of Horror". Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk

Universal CityWalk

Universal CityWalk is the name given to the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resorts. Originating as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, CityWalk serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the...

, the festival is now held annually at the prestigious Grauman's Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

. Screamfest premieres and showcases new work from American and international independent

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 horror filmmakers. Film entries are accepted in the categories of Best Feature, Directing, Cinematography, Editing, Special Effects and Musical Score. In addition, there are special categories for Best Animation, Best Short, Best Documentary and Best Student Film.

History

The largest film festival held in Los Angeles, Screamfest (a non-profit 501 (3) (c) organization), is an internationally recognized showcase for independent filmmakers and writers of the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres.

Screamfest was formed in August 2001 by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin

Ross Martin

Ross Martin was a Polish-born American Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Artemus Gordon in the western TV series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad, and Andamo on Mr...

 in order to give filmmakers and writers in the horror/science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased to people in the industry. The majority of the films showcased in the past now have distribution.

The festival began in 2001 at the Vogue Theater in Hollywood, California and has since moved on to the famous Grauman's Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood.

The festival has hosted many famous filmmakers and actors as guests, including Sam Raimi

Sam Raimi

Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...

, Wes Craven

Wes Craven

Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...

, Eli Roth

Eli Roth

Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...

, James Wan

James Wan

James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and creating Billy the puppet. He also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.-Life and career:Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak,...

, Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton

Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...

, Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...

, David Arquette

David Arquette

David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...

, Courteney Cox

Courteney Cox

Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....

, Mike Mendez, Lance Henriksen

Lance Henriksen

Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....

, Clive Barker

Clive Barker

Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...

, Lin Shaye

Lin Shaye

Linda "Lin" Shaye is an American film, theatre and television actress.-Early life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Shaye is the daughter of Dorothy , a homemaker, and Max Mendle Shaye, a painter and supermarket owner. Her brother is film executive Robert Shaye...

, Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....

, Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...

, Robert Englund

Robert Englund

Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...

, Mercedes McNab

Mercedes McNab

Mercedes Alicia McNab is a Canadian-born actress perhaps best known for playing Harmony Kendall on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel...

, Bill Moseley

Bill Moseley

William "Bill" Moseley is an American film actor and musician who has starred in a number of cult classic horror films, including House of 1000 Corpses, Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Rejects. His first big role was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as Chop Top...

, Kane Hodder

Kane Hodder

Kane Warren Hodder is an American actor and stuntman. Standing , he is best known for his portrayal of Jason Voorhees in four films from the Friday the 13th film series . He is also known for his role as Victor Crowley in Hatchet. -Career:Hodder is the only actor to portray Jason Voorhees more...

, Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...

, James Gunn, Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...

, John Gulager

John Gulager

John Thompson Gulager is an actor, cinematographer and film director.-Acting career:The production and filming of Feast was the main focus of season three of Project Greenlight. The film, made for Miramax, had a limited theatrical release. The DVD version was released on October 17, 2006. He was...

, Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

, Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder

Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...

, Stan Winston

Stan Winston

Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...

, Sean Cunningham

Sean S. Cunningham

Sean Sexton Cunningham is an American film director, producer, and writer. He is best known for creating the Friday the 13th series of horror films, which introduced the fictional killer Jason Voorhees...

, Tim Sullivan and even John Landis

John Landis

John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...

. Screamfest has also introduced some major horror films onto the world, including The Tripper

The Tripper

The Tripper is a 2007 slasher film which was directed by David Arquette and stars Jaime King, Thomas Jane and Lukas Haas.-Synopsis:The film is a nostalgic homage to the exploitation films of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper that follows a group of free-loving hippies who escape to a modern-day Woodstock...

, Automaton Transfusion

Automaton transfusion

Automaton Transfusion is an indie horror film written and directed by Steven C Miller.Automaton Transfusion was shot on location in Orlando, Florida on an estimated budget of $30,000. It is intended to be the first of a trilogy of horror movies, and emulates classic examples of the genre...

, Hatchet

Hatchet (film)

Hatchet is a 2006 American slasher film written, produced, and directed by Adam Green.-Plot:Set in the Louisiana bayou, it is the story of the legend of Victor Crowley...

, Paranormal Activity, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a 2006 film/mockumentary directed by Scott Glosserman. It stars Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals and Robert Englund. The film is a homage to the slasher film genre. It follows a film crew that documents an aspiring serial killer who models himself...

, Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek (film)

Wolf Creek is a 2005 independent Australian horror film written, co-produced and directed by Greg McLean. The story revolves around three backpackers who find themselves held captive by a serial killer in the Australian outback...

, The Lost

Lost (1956 film)

Lost is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Guy Green. It is set in 1950s London, and revolves around the apparent kidnapping of a young American couple's baby.-Plot:...

, Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror, Boo!

Boo!

Boo! is a children's television series shown in the United Kingdom on the CBeebies channel, and originally on BBC Two. It features several cartoon characters who play a game similar to hide and seek in a variety of settings. The commentary is performed by an adult narrator and a chorus of children...

, Curandero

Curandero

A curandero or curandeiro is a traditional folk healer or shaman in Latin America, who is dedicated to curing physical or spiritual illnesses. The role of a curandero or curandera can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. Many curanderos use Catholic...

, Feast

Feast (film)

Feast is a 2005 black comedy horror film, a result of Project Greenlights third season, the amateur filmmaking documentary series and contest. The winning team was composed of writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, and director John Gulager...

, Three... Extremes

Three... Extremes

Three... Extremes is a 2004 international East Asian horror film collaboration consisting of three segments by three directors from three countries. It is a sequel to, and follows the concept of Three , this time with more established directors...

, Sigaw

Sigaw

Sigaw is a 2004 Filipino horror film directed by Yam Laranas, the title translates into either "Shout" or "Scream" in English but has been released as The Echo internationally to avoid confusion with the US horror film Scream. The film was a box office success in the Philippines where the horror...

, 2001 Maniacs

2001 Maniacs

2001 Maniacs is a 2005 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Sullivan, starring Robert Englund, Jay Gillespie, Dylan Edrington, and Matthew Carey. It is a remake of the 1964 film Two Thousand Maniacs! written and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis. The film is distributed by Lions Gate...

, Cube Zero

Cube Zero

Cube Zero is a 2004 Canadian psychological thriller/horror film, written and directed by Ernie Barbarash. It is the third film in the Cube film series, but is a prequel to the first film...

, Dead Meat

Dead Meat

Dead Meat is a 2004 Irish zombie film written and directed by Conor McMahon, starring Spanish theatre actress Marian Araujo and veteran Irish actor Eoin Whelan.-Plot summary:...

, 28 Days Later

28 Days Later

28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...

, Dog Soldiers, Wrong Turn

Wrong Turn

Wrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher horror film, directed by Rob Schmidt, and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku...

and many more.

While the horror boom continues to show no signs of slowing down, Screamfest continues to grow at an alarming rate. Annually Screamfest holds a private party at the Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 in Park City, Utah

Park City, Utah

Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...

 and has many exclusive engagements in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and Hollywood throughout the year. The festival has been featured on Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS...

and Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...

and in Variety

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

, Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

magazine, The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter

Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...

, New York Times and other major online and print publications.

About

Rachel Belofsky (Festival Director/Founder)

Prior to creating Screamfest, Rachel Belofsky formed her production company Candy Heart Productions, LLC in the Fall of 1999. In the Spring of 2000, Rachel produced the multiple award winning women in racing documentary Fast Women. It aired nationally in October 2001 on Canada's WTN

WTN

WTN is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:*W Network, as the name for this Canadian cable channel from 1995 to about 2001...

 (Women's Television Network) and in the U.S. on Women's Entertainment (WE) in November 2001. In 2006, Candy Heart Productions. L.L.C. produced the horror documentary, Going to Pieces, for the Starz cable network. In addition to producing, Rachel has served as a sales agent at the AFM and Cannes Markets.

Stan Winston (Partner)

Winner of 4 Academy Awards and nominated for 10 total, Stan Winston

Stan Winston

Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...

, the “Master” of special effects has partnered up with Screamfest LA in 2004 to make this year our best ever. Some of Stan's movies include: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...

, Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park (film)

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...

, Aliens

Aliens (film)

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...

, Batman Returns

Batman Returns

Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Burton's Batman , and features Michael Keaton reprising the title role, with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.Burton originally did not...

, Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

and Predator

Predator (film)

Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....

, just to name a few. The knowledge and experience Stan brings to the table for Los Angeles’ top horror film festival will only enhance the platform created to launch the latest films produced for this genre.

Brad Miska (Marketing and Promotions Manager)

The horror genre entered Brad Miska's veins the second he watched Don Mancini

Don Mancini

Don Mancini is an American screenwriter, producer, and film director. Mancini is best known for creating the character of Chucky, and writing all of the films in the Child's Play series. Mancini was also the executive producer of Bride of Chucky, and he directed the latest entry in the series;...

's Child's Play back in 1988, and since then has become a major horror fanatic. In 2000, he co-founded the horror website Bloody-Disgusting.com, which is now recognized as one of the elite sources for all things horror related in the nation. In 2003, he co-founded FreezeDriedMovies.com, which is a website designed to promote all genres of film. Continuing on the popularity of Bloody-Disgusting, Brad Miska co-founded MobileNightmare.com in 2006, which is the first ever mobile

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

horror network. Being that the horror genre is such a major part of his life it only made sense for him to bring his knowledge and internet expertise to Screamfest to help take their presence to an even higher level.