PREVIEW: 2021 FINAL GIRLS BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

The premier German showcase for horror films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers will return for its 6th edition in 2021, marking its first iteration as an online event. The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival will run from February 4-7 and present a digital line-up consisting of five features, five short blocks, and sidebar events that include panel talks, a screenwriting workshop and special podcast episodes.

Listed as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 50 Genre Festivals in the World and named among Dread Central's Best Horror Festivals, Final Girls Berlin has firmly established itself as a leading international destination for genre fans and filmmakers alike. In 2021, festival co-directors Eli Lewy and Sara Neidorf have curated works that reflect the new world in which we find ourselves. 

“[The] program includes a number of films about loneliness, technological reliance, and confinement that reflect our present-day reality in chilling ways,” says Lewy. For Neidorf, staging a festival in a global pandemic simply presented fresh challenges. “These times are grim, but they bring an opportunity to virtually connect with an international feminist horror community that otherwise couldn’t normally make it to Berlin,” she says, “so we hope more folks will come join us!“

Three features will have their German premieres at Final Girls Berlin. Italian filmmaker Emanuela Rosi’s Buio (Darkness), featuring Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival Best Actress winner Denise Tantucci (pictured, right), presents a chilling spin on patriarchy and female empowerment set against a dystopic future world; US indie The Stylist expands upon the psychotic mindset of hairdresser Claire (a terrific Najarra Townsend; pictured, top) that director Jill Gevargizian initially explored in her acclaimed 2016 short film; and, Brea Grant’s bloody, blackly hilarious 12 Hour Shift, in which a strung-out nurse (genre favourite Angela Bettis) trading in black-market organs struggles for balance as her life spins out of control.

Screening in the German capital for the first time will be local filmmaker Sandra Mertens’ ‘70s-set dramatic thriller Fellwechselzeit (Time of Moulting), an atmospheric study in oppressive and repressed family dynamics, and Laura Casabé’s Los Que Vuelven (The Returned), an Argentinian creature feature steeped in the horrors of still birth and resurrection.

Australia’s single representative at Final Girls Berlin will be Kodie Bedford, whose short film Scout will screen in the strand ‘An Eye for An Eye’ alongside works from Spain (Carlotta Pereda’s There Will be Monsters; Amy Farjado’s The Hunt); Norway (Marja Bål Nango & Ingir Bål’s The Tongues); Indonesia (Indira Iman’s Rong); and, France (Kelsey Bollig’s The Fourth Wall). They are just a few of the huge selection of global short films on offer, with a whopping 36 works available to the global online audience (features are to be geo-blocked to German territories).

Also streaming to international audiences will be the 2021 panel strands. These include:

• WRITING YOUR FIRST HORROR SCREENPLAY: Hosted by Alison Peirse, Author and Film Academic, Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre. An interactive and supportive workshop focussing on creating horror films led by women and nonbinary characters.

• IF ROSEMARY COULD RUN: WOULD YOU KNOW IF YOU WERE IN A CULT?: Hosted by Seriina Covarrubias (pictured, right) & Susie Kahlich. An exploration of cults in horror narratives and in real life, how they actually work, and how to know if you're in one (and what to do about it).

• GHOULS TO THE FRONT: RETHINKING WOMEN’S HORROR FILMMAKING: Hosted by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Author and Film Critic, 1000 Women in Horror. Rather than presenting a singular alternate history of women’s horror filmmaking, Heller-Nicholas seeks to deconstruct the way we think about this subject, reassessing the history of horror to be more inclusive, more representative, and more fun.

• GIRLS GONE WILD: AUTONOMY, SEXUALITY, AND RESISTANCE IN REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUNG WOMEN IN HORROR FILMS: Hosted by Dr. Kate Robertson, Author and Academic, Devil’s Advocates: Trouble Every Day. An exploration of women-led horror films featuring young women who take active roles in their stories, maintaining control of their bodies, choices, and lives.

• HER HUNGER: THE LESBIAN VAMPIRE AND QUEER IMMORTALITY, SUICIDALITY, AND CODEPENDENCY: Hosted by Annie Rose Malamet. The voice of the popular podcast Girls, Guts & Giallo traces the history of the lesbian vampire in film.

In online audio content, The Gaylords of Darkness podcast will present THE NECRONOMOLOGUE, with hosts Stacie Ponder and Anthony Hudson naming their top ten Final Girls in this first-ever animated countdown video from your favorite queer feminist horror podcast. And 'the Spinsters of Horror' from the popular I Spit on Your Podcast presents SATANIC FEMINISM: EMBRACING THE DARKNESS, an exploration of the representation and importance of Satan as the image of an anti-patriarchal idol and source of empowerment for women with specific reference to the films Don't Deliver Us From Evil (1971), Alucarda (1977), Jennifer’s Body (2009), and The Witch (2016).

For full program and streaming details visit the event’s official website.

BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: THE ALEXANDRE O. PHILIPPE INTERVIEW

Alexandre O. Philippe has crafted a body of work that is unique in film circles. He studies cinematic greatness, then paints his own film canvas inspired by the brilliance of others. From his take on zombie film culture in Doc of the Dead (2014), to his frame-by-frame study of Hitchcock’s ‘shower scene’ in 78/52 (2017), to Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019), a journey into the nightmarish psychology of Ridley Scott’s deep-space shocker, Philippe has redefined the ‘making-of…’ documentary with works that expose not only the filmmaking process, but the filmmaker themself.

His latest is LEAP OF FAITH, in which he sits director William Friedkin down in a comfy chair and unravels the mind behind the most terrifying film in movie history. Ahead of the film’s screening at Monster Fest 2020 and wide release via Shudder, Alexandre O. Philippe spoke with SCREEN-SPACE about forging a bond with the enigmatic movie brat, now a revered elder statesman of cinema, and how Friedkin’s legacy will always include a turning point in cultural history...    

SCREEN-SPACE: You create these deeply artistic, very personal works in service of other people's artistic works. It's a very unique way to make movies, to look at films. How do you describe what you do?

ALEXANDRE: That's a really good question. I sort of see myself, in retrospect, as a bridge between what you might call cinema studies and the general public. There's a sense that this idea of deconstructing film [is] cinephilia, something that can only be enjoyed if you have studied X amount of years. But just trying to do your own deep dive into films is so much fun and should be accessible to the general public. I make films thinking about the most hardcore cinephiles [but] also for people who may never have even watched the film. Nothing makes me happier than when we screen 78/52 and my first question to the audience is, "Has anybody here, not seen Psycho?" There's always a few hands, and they're always very tentative. I'm like, "Well, wait a minute, you're here to watch a documentary about a scene from a movie you haven't seen that came out 60 years ago. That's incredible stuff." So I think there's hope in humanity, when that happens and it gives me great pleasure to provide. I mean, I'm glad you said that because I think the idea of making those films cinematic to me is very, very important.

SCREEN-SPACE: There's a fascination that I have with documentaries that provide not only an insight into the filmmaking rigour, but the minds of the director; films like Hearts of Darkness and Burden of Dreams. And I think that's where your films excel.

ALEXANDRE: Well, thank you. I'm very interested in meaning; why those films, why those moments, why those scenes continue to resonate with us. Let's face it, those are not just movies, they're cultural moments. I think they mean a lot to us. And so I think, as a culture, we need to understand why those things matter so much to us. I think it's a sort of a window into our collective unconscious. (Pictured, above; Friedkin with actress Linda Blair, as Regan, on the set of The Exorcist)

SCREEN-SPACE: Mr. Friedkin has been talking about The Exorcist, for what feels like a thousand years. What were you hoping to achieve that was a fresh perspective? 

ALEXANDRE: He talks a lot about ‘Gifts from the Movie Gods’. I think this was a gift in the form of William Friedkin, coming to me, and saying, "If you find an angle, just let me know." Those were his words. I will always remember that. To me, the angle was his process as a filmmaker. So I proposed to him, "I would like to use the Hitchcock/Truffaut model of interviews. But instead of chronologically going through your entire filmography, we're going to just focus on The Exorcist. And we're going to crack it open, and we're going to break down every moment, every scene, every image, every technique. I will structure it into sessions. We're not going to talk about special effects. We're going to talk about art and music, about influences and inspirations." And his response was immediate; "This sounds great and ambitious. Let's do it. How many days do you want?" So,we started with three, and then added a fourth, and then a fifth, and then a sixth. Then, we'd have these conversations, or he'd invite me for lunch and we'd start talking about stuff. I'd be like, "What? You haven't told me about this. We need another day. Let's add another day." We could still be talking about The Exorcist, frankly. For me the real pleasure was to just let him talk. You have to find these questions that you know are going to unlock something in him. And then he'll just go, and it's astonishing the... I mean, he is a true Renaissance man.

SCREEN-SPACE: What do you know about him that maybe his fans don't know? And I don't mean personal details of course, but what have you learned about him from being a friend, that you can impart to us?

ALEXANDRE: His sense of humor is pretty extraordinary. I will never forget this one lunch we had where the entire lunch he talked about two things - Citizen Kane and Beavis and Butthead. He is obsessed with Beavis and Butthead. I hope he won't mind me saying this, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't. He had Mike Judge record his answering machine in the voice of Butthead. And he sent me a cel, like an animation cel, by Mike, of Beavis and Butthead on the couch with William Friedkin in the middle, just sitting on the couch in between them, with a Judas Priest t-shirt. Amazing stuff.

SCREEN-SPACE: The Exorcist represents a landmark moment in film history. A major studio film containing these extraordinarily shocking scenes; the notion that a studio would take those sort of risks today is incredible. That's why I consider the '70s to be like the last golden era of Hollywood movie making. From your studies and your understanding of Mr. Friedkin and the film, what's your take on its place in film history?

ALEXANDRE: It's one of those few films that became a game changer. If you adjust for inflation, it's number nine at the all time box office, which tells you something about the popularity of the film. There's nothing like it, because it's just an extraordinarily powerful piece of filmmaking, grounded in some extraordinarily bold choices. Bill says that he was really the only person who knew how to make this film, which I don't think he means in a cocky or pretentious way. I think he truly was the only one who could, as he says, see it in his mind's eye. It's just one of those films that could have been ridiculous, easily. Just as Alien could have been ridiculous. I mean, if you think about the chest burster, right? The execution of the chest burster could've completely killed the movie. And yet, it's the execution of the chest burster that really made Alien the great film that it is. It makes it completely believable. And Hitchcock with Psycho, utilising source materials that are almost unfilmable. But, comes along the right director, at the right time, who figures it out. The works are so great and so powerful, translated to the screen in such a powerful way, they transcend the medium. Whenever something like this happens in cinema, we have to cherish those moments because they're few and far between. There's a lot of great films being made, but when something like The Exorcist happens, it goes beyond being just a great movie. It's just one for the ages, as they say.

A SHUDDER Original Presentation, LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST screens Sunday November 1 at 2.00pm at Event Cinemas sites in George St Sydney, Innaloo Perth, Myer Centre Brisbane and Marion Adelaide. Full ticketing and session details can be found at the Monster Fest 2020 website.

IS TROMA'S TEMPEST REDO LLOYD KAUFMAN'S CITIZEN KANE MOMENT?

The legendary Lloyd Kaufman, the oldest ‘enfant terrible’ in showbusiness, is back, this time with an adaptation of The Bard’s The Tempest that American society didn’t know it needed. The lovable showman, still head of the underground cult giant Troma Studios after nearly 50 years, directs himself in #ShakespeareShitstorm, a brutal, brazen takedown of cancel culture, the opioid crisis, SJW influence and Big Pharma.This nakedly ambitious, garishly grotesque freakshow has found some serious festival love worldwide, and comes to Australia on October 31 as part of the 2020 Monster Fest line-up.

From his home in New York, Kaufman spoke with SCREEN-SPACE (“I'm happy if anybody pays attention to Uncle Lloyd,” he bemoans, half-seriously) about his ongoing battle to defy the mainstream, even as the U.S. slides closer to a Troma-like reality... 

SCREEN-SPACE: Why The Tempest? What link was there between Shakespeare's work and the satire you were aiming for with #ShakespeareShitstorm?

KAUFMAN: The Tempest has always been my favourite Shakespearian play. Prospero deals with magic [and] I create magic with the movies. Prospero has been banished, as I have to the deep, deep underground by the mainstream. So, I love The Tempest. I went to see it with my mommy when I was nine years old. She took me to Stratford on Avon in Connecticut and I loved it. We studied it in eighth grade at Trinity School. Saw it numerous times on stage and a lot of the movie iterations. I very much liked Derek Jarman's version, as well as the television version with Lee Remick, Roddy McDowall, Richard Burton as Caliban. It's got a monster in it and Troma's big on monsters. It's got fairies. It's very druggy. I learned about drugs at Yale. That's about all I learned. Well, I learned about Marvel Comics at Yale, too, which is why I was friends with Stan Lee for 50 years. (Pictured, above; Kaufman, left, as Prospero)

SCREEN-SPACE: You work with your Troma troop again; Doug Sakmann, Monique Dupree and Debbie Rochon all return. Are you at that stage now where they know what you're thinking, what you want as the director? What’s a Troma set like?

KAUFMAN: Well, we attract fans. Everybody who worked on #ShakespeareShitstorm was a fan. The director of photography came from California to New York and got paid about 10% of what he would usually receive. The first cameraman came in from Denmark, the production designer from Japan. People came from all over the world to do something that they believed in and to disturb the shit a little bit. My wife was one of the producers. My assistant Justin Martell convinced us to go to Albania, becoming the first American feature film to shoot in Albania. So it really was a labor of love. It was probably the most wonderful group we've ever had. People got married; people [fell in] love with each other. There's a whole family of these people now all over the world, and that's been true of the last 20 years. 

SCREEN-SPACE: Do you keep things tight when shooting? You don’t strike me as 12-take kinda director.

KAUFMAN: We took a long time rehearsing and preparing the movie. By the time we came to the set, we were pretty well prepared. We accept improvisational ideas, such as the Chinese warlord woman singing the Sergeant Kabukiman theme song with the actor who played the Evil One in Sergeant Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. And there were a couple of young guys who are obsessed with Citizen Toxie, who put on diapers and played the nightclub scene naked except for the diapers, to pay homage the Diaper Mafia in Citizen Toxie. (Pictured, right; Kaufman with his biggest star, The Toxic Avenger)

SCREEN-SPACE: It’s great seeing you back in the director’s chair, it must be said…

KAUFMAN: The late John G. Avildsen was my mentor. I learned so much from him, like trying to shoot in sequence. As you go along, if an actor becomes nasty, you get rid of him or her or it. Or you can rewrite, and blah-blah-blah. And since we can't afford to shoot with a union, we can shoot in sequence for the most part. He also suggested that it was much more satisfying to shoot with young new actors rather than famous stars. We made Cry Uncle together, which you can see on Troma Now. He turned what should be X-rated softcore into a hilarious movie. It was Paul Sorvino's first movie. With Joe, he discovered Peter Boyle and Susan Sarandon, and then Stallone in Rocky and Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid. Every movie he did was wonderful. He never relied on big stars. #ShakespeareShitstorm is dedicated to the memory of John G. Avildsen, and Stan Lee and Monty Python’s Terry Jones, who were major, major influences on me.

SCREEN-SPACE: How do you define Troma's place in the pop culture landscape, and what responsibility does that bring with it?

KAUFMAN: Well, the first step is to thine own self be true. I bought into the auteur theory, which was founded back in the late '50s and '60s by the French journalists Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol and a couple of others, who were transitioning into filmmakers. They propounded the auteur theory, which basically suggests that films should reflect the mind, soul, and heart of the director in the way a book reflects the mind, soul and heart of the writer. I bought into that because I speak fluent French and at the Yale Film Society, they had a stack of these Cahiers du Cinéma, which was the magazine of the Cinémathèque Française, and I started reading that stuff. 

SCREEN-SPACE: Troma's has been around now since, what, the Carter administration, the Ford administration? Is American society as rich a source of satirical targets as it's ever been?

KAUFMAN: Since 1974. It's a rich source of satire, but unfortunately, other than South Park, we have free speech here as long as we don't say anything. I think to create real satire, you have to step over some lines. Look who's running for president, both of them; old lying millionaires who have used public service to enrich themselves. I think some of my fans are pissed off at me because I didn't want to #SettleForBiden. In New York State, where I vote, he will get 90% of the vote. So I just couldn't bring myself to vote for him even though he's better than Trump. I voted for the Green Party because I just couldn't bring myself to vote for the better of the two lying sleazebags. (Pictured, above; Kaufman, left with #ShakespeareShitstorm co-star, Debbie Rochon)

#SHAKESPEARESHITSTORM screens Saturday October 31 at 7.00pm at Event Cinemas sites in George St Sydney, Innaloo Perth, Myer Centre Brisbane and Marion Adelaide. Full ticket and sessions can be found at the official Monster Fest 2020 website.

PREVIEW: BEYOND FEST 2020

Unfurling a bare-knuckle middle-finger to COVID-19 on behalf of the West Coast horror community, Beyond Fest 2020 will hold tight to the physical festival experience and present an eclectic mix of retro classics and hot-buzz current titles from October 2-8. Better still, horror and sci-fi fans will relive the golden years of genre filmgoing with the line-up screening at the iconic Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre in Montclair.

Patrons must adhere to the venue’s strict pandemic prevention conditions, of course, but organisers are certain that attendees will respect and practice all that is asked of them. The festival, which exists in partnership with American Cinematheque and Death Waltz Recording Company, has ten new features set to unspool, including three World Premieres and two US Premieres, with the program further bolstered by seven genre classics.

In a special pre-Festival event, Beyond Fest will hold the West Coast premiere of Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor Uncut (pictured, right) on September 24. Featuring a startling lead turn from Andrea Riseborough as a hitwoman who uses technology to commandeer the minds of strangers, hijacking their bodies to carry out kills, the film has already vied for Best Picture honours at L’Etrange, Sitges and Sundance festivals. It will screen in must-see double-bill with John Frankenheimer’s 1966 paranoid-cinema cult classic, Seconds, with a dynamic Rock Hudson as the Malibu artist faced with a new life and all its unforeseen consequences.

The festival proper launches with writer/director Jim Cummings’ sophomore feature, The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Having made a festival splash in 2018 with his offbeat character study, Thunder Road, Cummings stars as the small town sheriff faced with what may be an unwelcome werewolf presence. The world premiere will be followed by a repertory session of Joe Dante’s biting suburban satire The ‘Burbs, the 1989 Tom Hanks starrer that has developed a devoted cult following of its own in recent years.

October 3 will leave many festival goers dazed and confused with a David Lynch triple-bill booked to run well into the night. The fun kicks off at 7.30 with Lynch’s 1986 version of a smalltown murder mystery, Blue Velvet (pictured, right; starring Kyle McLachlan and Isabella Rossellini); from 9.30, audiences can reassess whether or not, as dubbed by BBC Culture in 2016, Mulholland Drive, with Naomi watts and Laura Harring, is the new millennium’s best film; then, from 11.55, the non-linear 1997 headscratcher classic, Lost Highway, with Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette.

In debutant director Rose Glass’ stomach-tightening Saint Maud, carer Maud (Morfydd Clark) allows a malevolent force to dictate her nursing instincts, resulting in pure terror for the terminally ill Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). In a sublime piece of programming, Beyond Fest will screen a 30th anniversary session of that other ‘insane nurse’ classic, Rob Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation, Misery, with James Caan and the brilliant Kathy Bates in her Oscar-winning performance.

From October 5, contemporary works take centre stage. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s long-delayed follow-up to The Endless will have it’s West Coast premiere. Synchronic features Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan (pictured, right) as paramedics who find the world around them engulfed in madness when a new designer drug starts to spread along the streets of New Orleans. Justin Simien’s razor-sharp satire Bad Hair utilises 70s/80s-inspired psycho-thriller vibes and sensibilities in its brutal indictment of the inherent violence of the Western gaze.

Debuting on US soil on October 6 are Bryan Bertino’s The Dark and The Wicked, a nightmarish homestead shocker steeped in dark family secrets, and Neil Marshall’s witchfinder torture vision, The Reckoning, featuring a stunning central performance from Charlotte Kirk. Next day is the World Premiere of Archenemy, from Daniel Isn’t Real director Adam Egypt Mortimer, a tale of an intergalactic hero (appropriately portrayed by larger-than-life Joe Manganiello) cast adrift on Earth sans powers, followed by Steven Kostanski’s Psycho Goreman, a bloody ode to prosthetic monsters, guts & gore, and practical effects.

Wrapping up Beyond Fest 2020 in true party fashion will be the World Premiere of the latest from Blumhouse, the serial killer body-switch horror-comedy Freaky (pictured, top), starring Vince Vaughan and Katherine Newton, from Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon. To sweeten the deal, entry is free with every ticket purchased to the repertory screening of the hillbilly romp, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, celebrating its 10th anniversary.

BEYOND FEST runs October 2-8 at the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre. Session and ticket details can be found at the festival’s official website.

THE GENRE FESTIVALS FRONTING AUSTRALIA'S CINEMA RE-EMERGENCE

Australian cinemas are only just starting to re-emerge from pandemic lockdown (Victorian exhibitors have shuttered again as a second viral outbreak takes hold). With distributors tiptoeing around release commitments, a roster of genre festivals unfurling in the final months of 2020 will be amongst the first wave of specialised programming and fresh content.

This unique situation - brought about by a combination of reworked dates, relaunched brands, reconsidered formats - represents both a huge challenge and wonderful opportunity to these science-fiction/horror/fantasy events...           

SCIFI FILM FESTIVAL
When: August 28-30
Where: Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney
What we know: As the major capital city festivals succumbed to COVID-19 conditions, organisers for the SciFi Film Festival bided their time, while admitting that options such as shifting online, postponement and cancellation were discussed. This week, with the backing of their venue partner Event Cinemas, the 8th annual program was announced, with tickets to go on sale in the days ahead. Programmers have secured some high-profile festival hits (Arati Kadav’s Cargo (pictured, right); Jeremy LaLonde’s James vs His Future Self; Erin Berry’s M.A.J.I.C.) and will be counting on savvy audiences keen to see big-screen sci-fi to turn out in support. 

MONSTER FEST 2020
When: October 1-9, Melbourne; October 29 - November 1, Sydney / Perth / Adelaide / Brisbane  / Canberra.
Where: Cinema Nova, Melbourne; Event Cinemas - Myer Centre (Qld.), Innaloo (W.A.), George Street (N.S.W.); G.U. Film House, Adelaide; Capital Cinemas, Manuka (A.C.T.)
What we know: The only truly national genre event, Monster Fest has a two-tiered roll-out schedule - early October in its hometown of Melbourne; Halloween weekend in other capitals - that has made dealing with the pandemic doubly challenging. Having committed to a presence at the recent Marche du Film virtual marketplace (where Monster Fest reps are sought out by global sales agents, eager to secure the brand’s credibility), organisers are now faced with the second coronavirus wave in Victoria. The lockdown did not mean 'shut down' for Monster Fest bosses; in recent weeks, it was announced that Monster Pictures will partner with Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) in the genre funding initiative, ISOLATION. (Pictured, right; Monster Pictures General Manager Grant Hardie, left, and the Monster team).

SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL
When: November 19-21
Where: Actors Centre Australia, Leichhardt
What we know: While very much the new kid on the block, the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival has ambitious plans for their inaugural event in November. With an eight film-strong core screening schedule, it will also feature a broader sci-fi community commitment; planned are script-reads, art exhibitions and filmmaker presentations. Patron Alex Proyas (The Crow; Dark City; Knowing; I, Robot) will present a masterclass at the Actors Centre Australia campus, a state-of-the-art facility that has itself recently undergone extensive refurbishment and upgrading. Submissions are still being received via their FilmFreeway site.    

A NIGHT OF HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
When: TBD
Where: TBD
What we know: Few festival organisers have felt the sting of the pandemic like the team behind the re-energised A Night of Horror event. Originally slated for May and with a leading inner-city venue on board, coronavirus conditions saw the finalised program mothballed (which boasts Dean Yurke's Stay Out Stay Alive, Josh Reed’s We're Not Here to F**k Spiders and Sam Curtain’s The Slaughterhouse Killers) and the exhibitor back out of the deal. Determined to bring the brand back to all its glory (the once high-profile event has been on a two-year hiatus), A Night of Horror is moving forward but treading softly-softly; organisers assure it is coming in 2020, though details are being closely guarded.  

REVELATION PERTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL  
When: December 2-13
Where: Luna Cinemas, Leederville, Perth.
What we know: Renowned for its progressive, proactive approach to festival presentation, Perth’s Revelation event became the nation’s first ‘hybrid festival’ experience. To hold strong to their third-quarter dates in defiance of COVID-19’s impact, they launched their ‘Couched’ online screening roster; come December, the physical event will move forward at their spiritual home, Leederville’s Luna Cinema. A classic case of ‘making lemonade out of lemons’, the Revelations team have strengthened their online presence while still standing by their regular patrons.

FOOTNOTE: One of the most popular genre film gatherings, the annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, was not able to reconcile its 2020 schedule with pandemic conditions and had to cancel its physical event. The organisers will be presenting a series of virtual sessions, including the TAKE48 Film Challenge, Inhuman Screens Academic Conference and SUFF Online, a collection of short films. Donations can be made to the festival's Australian Cultural Fund campaign here.

SCREEN-SPACE editor Simon Foster is involved with the organisation of SciFi Film Festival, Monster Fest and Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival.