Shriekfest
Encyclopedia
Shriekfest Horror Film Festival is a film festival
specializing in the horror
genre. It is the longest running horror festival in Los Angeles
.
The festival was founded by Denise Gossett with her partner Kimberlee Beeson. Gossett came up with the idea after starring in the horror film Chain of Souls. She realized there was a scarcity of film festivals and competitions for the horror genre. She and Beeson created Shriekfest in the hopes that young and upcoming filmmakers and screenwriters would find in it an outlet for their talent. Their partnership lasted until 2003, after which time Todd Beeson became the new partner in the festival.
Shriekfest awards multiple prizes for horror films and screenplay
s. It also awards films in the science fiction
, fantasy
, and thriller categories. Prizes include trophies, as well as cash, product awards, and publicity.
The festival also has an under-18 category open to young filmmakers and screenwriters.
Shriekfest went green
in 2010 and now accepts screenplays and films via email.
and Original Song.
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...
specializing in the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
genre. It is the longest running horror festival 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...
.
History
Shriekfest Horror Film Festival was founded in July 2001. It is the oldest continually running genre festival in Los Angeles, California. It is held in October at Raleigh Studios on Melrose Boulevard in the Charlie Chaplin Theatre.The festival was founded by Denise Gossett with her partner Kimberlee Beeson. Gossett came up with the idea after starring in the horror film Chain of Souls. She realized there was a scarcity of film festivals and competitions for the horror genre. She and Beeson created Shriekfest in the hopes that young and upcoming filmmakers and screenwriters would find in it an outlet for their talent. Their partnership lasted until 2003, after which time Todd Beeson became the new partner in the festival.
Shriekfest awards multiple prizes for horror films and screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s. It also awards films in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and thriller categories. Prizes include trophies, as well as cash, product awards, and publicity.
The festival also has an under-18 category open to young filmmakers and screenwriters.
Shriekfest went green
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
in 2010 and now accepts screenplays and films via email.
Awards
Shriekfest awards can vary from year to year at judges' requests and have included the following categories. In 2010 two new categories were added to the competition: WebisodeWebisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
and Original Song.
- Best Horror Feature Film
- Best Sci-Fi Feature Film
- Best Fantasy Feature Film
- Best Thriller Feature Film
- Best Short Film
- Best Supershort Film (under 10 minutes)
- Best Feature Screenplay
- Best Short Screenplay
- Best Acting Performance
- Best Cinematography
- Best Special FX
- Best Under-18 Film
- Best Under-18 Screenplay
- Pretty/Scary Award (portrayal of women in horror)
- Audience Choice Award
2011
The following are 2011's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Absentia Absentia (film) Absentia is an award-winning 2011 horror film written and directed by Mike Flanagan. It follows two sisters who begin to link a series of mysterious disappearances to an ominous tunnel near their house.-Plot:... |
Mike Flanagan |
| Best Sci-Fi Feature Film | Pig | Henry Barrial |
| Best Supernatural Feature Film | The Dead Inside | Travis Betz |
| Best Thriller Feature Film | Isle of Dogs | Tammi Sutton |
2010
The following are 2010's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Ashes | Elias Matar |
| Best Sci-Fi Feature Film | Transfer | Damir Lukacevic |
| Audience Choice Award | Grey Skies | Kai Blackwood |
2009
The following are 2009's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Dark House Dark House Dark House is a horror film directed by Darin Scott and stars Jeffrey Combs, Meghan Ory and Diane Salinger with Matt Cohen, Shelly Cole,Danso Gordon, Ryan Melander, Bevin Prince, Meghan Maureen McDonough and Scott Whyte. The film was scripted by Darin Scott with the story created by Kerry Douglas... |
Darin Scott |
| Best Sci-Fi Fantasy Film | Spike Spike (2008 film) Spike is a 2008 horror-romance directed by Robert Beaucage, produced by String And A Can Productions, and starring Edward Gusts, Sarah Livingston Evans, Anna-Marie Wayne, Nancy P... |
Robert Beaucage |
| Audience Choice Award | Lo Lo (film) Lo is a 2009 experimental comedy/horror/romance film written and directed by Travis Betz. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival October 2009 and had DVD release in February 2010.-Background:... |
Travis Betz |
2008
The following are 2008's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Bane | James Eaves |
| Best Thriller Feature Film | Alien Raiders Alien Raiders Alien Raiders is a 2008 American science fiction horror film, starring Carlos Bernard, Rockmond Dunbar and Mathew St. Patrick. The film is Ben Rock's first feature film as a director... |
Ben Rock Ben Rock Ben Rock is an American film and theatre director, based in Los Angeles. Rock's career was launched when he served as production designer on the independent sensation The Blair Witch Project made by fellow University of Central Florida graduates Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez, Greggory R. Hale,... |
| Audience Choice Award | The Open Door | Doc Duhame |
2007
The following are 2007's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | The Chair The Chair (film) The Chair is a 2007 horror film directed by Brett Sullivan and co-written with Michael Capellupo.-Plot:Danielle a psychology student rents a Victorian house but the house is haunted with a spirit of a long-dead child killer, who takes control of her.Influenced by the spirit, Danielle rebuilds a... |
Brett Sullivan Brett Sullivan Brett Sullivan is a London based Australian filmmaker. Born in Sydney, Australia, 1971, he was one of the early adopters of computer graphics, writing a book at age 19, 'Desktop Video' and subsequently lecturing on emerging technologies at NSW University, Sydney University and The Australian Film... |
| Pretty/Scary Award | The Cellar Door | Matt Zettell |
| Audience Choice Award | The Cellar Door | Matt Zettell |
2006
The following are 2006's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | The Other Side | Gregg Bishop |
| Audience Choice Award | Bad Reputation Bad Reputation (film) Bad Reputation is a 2007 independent horror film directed by Jim Hemphill, starring Angelique Hennessy.Hennessy has called the film her "biggest accomplishment so far. It was the most emotionally draining thing I've ever gone through, but really the most satisfying as well".-Plot:Michelle Rosen is... |
Jimmy Hemphill Jim Hemphill Jim Hemphill is an American filmmaker and critic. He began his career writing about film in publications including the Chicago Reader, Film Quarterly, and American Cinematographer magazine... |
| Best Cinematography | Penny Dreadful Penny Dreadful (film) Penny Dreadful is a 2006 independent American horror film. The film centers on a young woman who has a fear of cars and ends up stalked by a maniac hitchhiker preying on her fears.... |
Richard Brandes |
2005
The following are 2005's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Dark Remains | Brian Avenet-Bradley |
| Best Sci-Fi Feature Film | Experiment | Daniel Turner Dan Turner (director) Daniel Edward Turner, professionally known as Dan Turner, is a UK based film director. Born on 16 November 1968, in Colchester Essex, Turner excelled at English literature and participated in local theatre. It was not until 2004, after many short films, that Dan first made the feature film... |
| Best Thriller Feature Film | Razor Eaters | Shannon Young |
2004
The following are 2004's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Horror Feature Film | Dead and Breakfast | Matthew Leutwyler Matthew Leutwyler Matthew Steven Leutwyler is an American writer, director, producer.-Life and career:Leutwyler studied film at The San Francisco Art Institute. His first feature film was the dark comedy/road picture Road Kill starring Jennifer Rubin, Erik Palladino, Brian Vander Ark, Anthony Denison, Jeffrey Dean... |
| Best Sci-Fi Feature Film | Tales from Beyond Tales from Beyond Tales from Beyond is a horror anthology featuring four short stories as told to a couple who wander into a strange bookstore.-External links:* at Rotten Tomatoes... |
Josh Austin, Nate Barlow Nate Barlow Nate Barlow is an American film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, to two musician and teaching parents, he spent two years as a child in Tanzania, where he attended the International School Moshi... , Eric Manning, Russell Scott Russell Scott Russell Scott , also known as Blinky the Clown, was an American clown who starred in a Denver, Colorado television program called Blinky's Fun Club from 1958 until the show's cancellation in 1998.... |
| Fan Favorite | Roadside Attractions | CJ Roy |
2003
The following are 2003's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Film in the Feature Category | Lucky | Steve Cuden |
| Best Film in the Sci-Fi Category | Transfer | John Turbyne |
| Fan Favorite | Lucky | Steve Cuden |
2002
The following are 2002's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Film in the Feature Category | Terror Tract | Clint Hutchison & Lance W. Dreeson |
| Best Comedy Horror | Burning Passion | Brian Belefant |
| Best Special FX in the Feature Category | Despiser | Philip Cook |
| Fan Favorite | Hell's Highway | S. Lee Taylor |
2001
The following are 2001's full-length feature film award winners:| Award | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Best Film in the Thriller Category | Siren | Steve Morris |
| Best Film in the Feature Category | The Wind | Michael Mongillo |
| Scariest Film | Memorial Day | dMarcos Gabriel & Chris Alender |