Congrats 2020 AWARD WINNERS!

We want to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Something Wicked Film Festival 2020 Online Festival Event!  It was a weekend of amazing short and feature films in addition to the live Panel Discussions, Filmmaker Interviews and Live Chat through Discord!  We had a lot of fun and my team and I hope you did too.

If you are not already aware, SWFF gives out awards in two categories – our Main Award category and our secondary category Festival Director Awards.  The difference between the two is that our Main Awards winners are chosen by our Festival Judge Philip Wray and his Jury Members (whom are made up of film critics and film professionals).  Our Festival Director Awards are chosen between my staff and myself and are usually the more outlandish categories (i.e. Scream Queen of the Year, Bad Ass of the Year, Goriest Film, etc.) and are revealed on Friday whereas the Main Awards are announced on Sunday.

 

Below are our Winners for both award Categories!  We congratulate all filmmakers and look forward to what they have in store for us in the future:

 

MAIN AWARD WINNERS:

Best Animation/Puppetry Arts Short Film-

Blue & Malone: Impossible Cases (Producers Emilio Lujan, Gerardo Alvarez, Pablo de la Chica, Manuel Carbajo Martin, & Nathalie Martinez)

 

Best Experimental Short Film-

Colonna (Producers Petra K. Wagner & Jorg Wagner)

 

Best Fan-Film-

Willa (Producer Barbara Szeman)

 

Best Fantasy Short Film-

The Fever (Producers Luisa Bellido, Alberto Sarmiento, & Isabel Castro)

 

Best Horror Short Film- 

Make A Wish (Producers Diane Foster, Edward Hong, & Josephine Chang)

 

Best Sci-Fi Short Film-

The Uncanny Valley (Producers Ian Vatcher & Ian Vardy)

 

Best Female Actor in a Short Film-

Babs George (Power)

 

Best Female Actor in a Feature Film- 

Hanna Oldenburg (Mareld)

 

Best Male Actor in a Short Film- 

José Lozano (Polter)

 

Best Male Actor in a Feature Film- 

Markus Fetter (Reel Me- The Film Musical)

Best Direction of a Short Film-  

Polter (Directed by Alvaro Vicario)

 

Best Direction of a Feature- 

Reel Me- The Film Musical (Directed by Peter Lund)

 

Best Feature- 

Reel Me- The Film Musical (Producers Peter Lund & Thomas Zaufke)

 

 

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR AWARD WINNERS:

BEST HORROR FILM – “MAKE A WISH”

BEST ANIMATION FILM – “DIVISION SERIES”

BEST FANTASY FILM – “POWER”

BEST SCI-FI FILM – “THE UNCANNY VALLEY”

BEST FAN FILM FILM – “WILLA”

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM – “COLONNA”

BEST FEATURE FILM – MARELD

 

BEST DIRECTION OF A FILM:

                SHORT FILM – “CURSED GRANNY” Directed by Suso Imbernon & Juanjo Moscardo

                FEATURE FILM– REEL ME – THE FILM MUSICAL Directed by Peter Lund

 

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A FILM:

                SHORT FILM – Josephine Chang, “MAKE A WISH”

                FEATURE FILM – Linda Hartmann, REEL ME - THE FILM MUSICAL

 

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A FILM:

                SHORT FILM – Kevin Saunders, “KUNG PAO CORPSE”

                FEATURE FILM– Markus Fetter, REEL ME - THE FILM MUSICAL

 

GORIEST FILM:

                SHORT FILM – “NEFARIOUS”

                FEATURE FILM – BIGFOOT’S BRIDE

 

SCARIEST FILM:

                SHORT FILM – “SÉANCE”

                FEATURE FILM – MARELD

 

BEST MAKEUP FX IN A FILM:

                SHORT FILM – “THE GREAT PARODY”

                FEATURE FILM – CAMP WEDDING

 

BEST VISUAL FX IN A FILM:

                SHORT FILM – [TIE] “EQUALS” and “CIRCLE OF STONE”

                FEATURE FILM – UNDER CONTROLL

 

MOST BELIEVABLE FILM:

                SHORT FILM – “MAKE A WISH”

                FEATURE FILM – MARELD

 

MOST INNOVATIVE ANIMATION IN A FILM:

                “BLUE & MALONE: IMPOSSIBLE CASES”

 

MOST MEMORABLE VILLAIN:

                SHORT FILM – Greg Lee “The Adventurer”, “LOST TREASURE OF THE VALLEY”

                FEATURE FILM – Roger Connors “Mr. Perry – The Killer”, TEACHER SHORTAGE

 

SCREAM QUEEN OF THE YEAR AWARD:

                SHORT FILM – Olivia Day “Casey”, FEED ME DEATH

                FEATURE FILM – Kelley Gates “Mia” CAMP WEDDING

 

BAD ASS OF THE YEAR AWARD:

                SHORT FILM – Morttando Malone & Big Blue Cat, “BLUE & MALONE: IMPOSSIBLE CASES”

                FEATURE FILM – Morgan McGuire, CAMP WEDDING

FANTASY Films at SWFF 2020 Online Festival Event!

So, this year we have one of our largest and most diverse selection of fantasy films and these are just the ones we decided to screen.  Usually, fantasy films have been the genre that we’ve screened the fewest number of films (next to experimental) and I also attributed that to filmmakers thinking that you need a large budget to tell a good fantasy film but this year’s crop is very diverse and different then anything we’ve seen in a long time.

This year we have two films from Spain and they are very similar in tone and execution despite being directed by different individuals.  “The Fever”, directed by Jose Maria Flores Miranda, about a guy in a doctor’s office who slows falls in love with his fantastical dream.  Joan Martin Gimenez’ “The Electric Chair” mixes the fantastic dreams of a man who hears the story of an American who survives being electric twice and decides that it would be a great trick to put on in front of his town.  Both films deal with the internal dreams and fantasies of the characters in visually stunning ways which are also entertaining and emotional.

Dream fantasies play a huge role in director Keren Marciano’s “Distinguished Feelings” [France] and they are some of the most visually striking of all the films being screened.  Luke Stanley’s “The Return of Warren Murphy” [Australia] is the story of a man wrongfully killed and given the opportunity to get vengeance!

In “Power” [United States] director Chris Foito brings to audiences the story of a woman tries to reconnect with her son through missed calls, memories, and other means. 

Our last three films are more directly fantasy films in terms of story and execution!  Up first is director James Atkins with his film “The Witch Hunters Are Coming” [United Kingdom], a reality show styled film about witch hunters hunting witches in the modern world but done in the same comedic reverence as What We Do In the Shadows.  “Lost Treasure of the Valley” [United States] is a modern-day treasure hunt that feels like an adventure film all crafted by the talented director Robert Husted.

Our final fantasy selection is director Mark Andrews’ “Circle of Stone” [United States] which has some amazing fight choreography and visual effects all in the service of the story of some cops who discover a woman whose been missing for years and the other worldly warriors who will do anything to capture her.

 

As you can see, there is a variety of fantasy films that make up the official selections for the 2020 Something Wicked Film Festival Online Festival Event.  I hope you will join us this August 7-9 when you can sit back and enjoy an entire weekend of genre films from the safety and comfort of your own home.  For more info visit us at www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com and to buy tickets you can go to Film Freeway (https://filmfreeway.com/somethingwickedfilmfestival/tickets) or Ticket Leap (https://something-wicked-film-festival.ticketleap.com/something-wicked-film-festival/).

FEATURES Screening This Year!

This year’s crop of feature films crosses every genre and there should be a film for everyone or all the films for everyone!  One of the first features I’d like to talk about is for the hardcore horror fan and the fan of bigfoot films which is director Erick Wofford’s BIGFOOT’S BRIDE [USA] which is a balls to the wall frenetic and fun throwback film that does something new with the bigfoot film. Its aesthetic is pure ‘90s VHS trash cinema so if you’re a fan of Troma films then this is the perfect film for you.

From there we have several films that bring their stories into the modern age!  First up is director Troy Escamilla’s latest film TEACHER SHORTAGE [USA].  A couple years ago we screened his last film STIRRING (now renamed MRS. CLAUS) and we are excited to bring audiences his latest film which delves into the world and politics of public schools while making a slasher film!  No teacher is safe in this film and neither is acclaimed actress Brinke Stevens who returns to give Escamilla’s film some true horror film clout once again (she also starred in his film STIRRING).  Next up is the possession film CAMP WEDDING [USA] from director Greg Emetaz which mixes weddings and summer camp in its homage to both Friday the 13^th and Night of the Living Dead!?! It is both funny and suspenseful while using modern technology and our over reliance on cell phones and being connected to tell a new type of horror film that will make you fear modern technology.

Next up is the fantasy film UNDER CONTROLL [India] from director Eric Hordes which is a new type of movie about trolls and a fantasy film that’s both equal parts exciting and funny.  The performances really stand out and are what makes the film work especially in its more comedic moments.

This leads to our other fantasy feature REEL ME – THE FILM MUSICAL [Germany] from director Peter Lund which is a musical romance comedy in which the six internal personalities of the main character battle each other in a coming of age film that also speaks on sexuality and sexual preference.  Lund makes it all work in this film that has some amazing dance sequences and performances by the cast.  It’s like a live action version of Pixar/Disney’s INSIDE OUT, only way better as a live action film.

This year we are screening our first experimental feature with director Priyanka Das’ UNDER THE JAZZ. CIRCULATION. FORMATION [USA].  This is a film that’s better to watch and devise your own interpretation as that is part of the enjoyment of this film which seeks to reach an emotional response with the audience through the characters who strive to find a connection between each other.

The last of our main features is director Ove Valeskog’s MARELD [Sweden] which takes the cast and crew to an island to film their latest horror film but they encounter some shady soldiers on the island which then make filming very tense and dangerous.  The film is amazing as it mixes the filmed footage, behind the scenes footage, and what happens on the island seamlessly into a suspenseful thriller in which you don’t know what is going to happen next especially when the cast and crew start having their own problems with one another.

In addition to these films we are also celebrating the 15 year anniversary of director Ron McLellen’s HELL’S END [USA] a sci-fi/horror/WWII film in which a soldier from the future goes back to the past to stop the Nazi’s from experimenting on POW soldiers in the attempt to create the perfect biological weapon!  There is also HOUSE OF SECRETS (2015) [USA] which is celebrating its 5-year anniversary which follows five women who make one mistake that may cost them a lifetime.  This thriller is written/produced/directed by yours truly!

I hope you decide to join us this August 7-9 for Something Wicked Film Festival’s Online Festival Event which is the only place where you will be able to watch all of these films from the comfort and safety of your own home.  For more info visit us at www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com and to buy tickets you can go to Film Freeway (https://filmfreeway.com/somethingwickedfilmfestival/tickets) or Ticket Leap (https://something-wicked-film-festival.ticketleap.com/something-wicked-film-festival/).