Medium Latte [Festival Report: Horror-On-Sea 2019]

I was only able to attend one out of the six days of Horror-On-Sea this year so I made the most of it, taking in 6 feature films and several well-chosen short films. I picked up some... unusual DVDs on the second hand tables, so more on that story later when I've watched them. I ended the day in the casino beneath the venue for a drink and a chat with some of the festival organizers and filmmakers - as I found last year, this is a friendly, down to earth festival where the Underworld can meet the elite. After a brief flutter I left the casino up by £4 and a free pen, so can't complain about that either. I have added screening one of my films at Horror-On-Sea to my bucket list. In order to achieve this item I may need to actually make some films.

Themes for this year, at least for the day I attended, included vampires, mediums, cats, hipsters, curses, parallel worlds, international film, great memorable characters, and bonkers. Bonkers is the new jump scares.

Overall I was bowled over by the quality of the films screened. Every single one was either highly enjoyable, or still highly enjoyable if slightly too long. I'll post individual reviews of some of the films later, but I'd like to highlight some of the highlights - so here are the Sci-Fi Gene Awards for Achievement In Horror:

Snakes On A Plane Award for Achievement in the Naming of Horror Films:
awarded to Polterheist (UK, dir David Gilbank)

Last Temptation Of Christ Award for Achievement in Theatrical Portrayal of Jesus:
awarded to Vidar The Vampire (Norway, dir Thomas Aske Berg and Fredrik Waldeland)

Hidden Figures Award for Advancement of the Cause of Feminism:
awarded to Space Babes from Outer Space (USA, dir Brian  Williams)

If the winners would kindly proceed through the interdimensional gateway to the parallel universe where there is actually money for this kind of thing, I (or my interdimensional double) look forward to welcoming them to the glamorous award ceremony and presenting them with their antimatter trophies.

Horrid Henry [Festival Report: Horror-On-Sea]

I spent Saturday at the Horror-On-Sea Film Festival in Southend-On-Sea*, Essex. I will review the features I saw (Egomaniac, Witches Brew, The Snarling) in separate posts but wanted to share some lessons about the horror movie zeitgeist gleaned from this festival.

1. It's not about horror any more. It's all about comedy horror now. Shaun Of The Dead changed everything.

2. It's not about zombie movies any more. It's all about films about filmmakers making zombie movies now.

3. It's as good a time as any to stick two fingers up to production values and just make movies that entertain.

4. The future of indie filmmaking is in good hands, proven by the premiere of a short horror film directed by a ten year old with a (literally) killer twist.

5. Finally! Someone else understands the nightmarish, Lovecraftian plastic tentacled horror that is Henry Hoover.

Horror-On-Sea is a fun, friendly festival for those of the horror persuasion. Movies are clearly selected simply for being enjoyable to watch rather than on any mainstream criteria - production values are random, there's not a Hollywood name in sight and everything is funny or at least fun. The features are topped with a well-chosen shorts programme, including a quadrilogy of animations from my erstwhile collaborator Molly Brown (those in the know will have caught my brief voice-over in Attack Of The Killer Eels From Mars) as well as horrors based around such naturally creepy concepts as the baby monitor, a chihuahua and Henry.

It was also great to attend filmmaker Pat Higgins workshop on fear in cinema - a rambling, autobiographical journey through fear and phobia which somehow managed to teach without teaching, plus a round of Consequences leading to the greatest horror film pitch of all time, all presented in the form of an Atmosfear-style 80s video board game.

ALL HAIL THE SCISSORS MAN.

*Southend-On-Sea is not on the sea, by the sea, at the sea, or juxtaposed to or even near the sea in any way shape or form. The only sea in Southend-On-Sea is the ConspiraSea that puts out a constant stream of marine propaganda keeping the Southenders in blissful ignorance of the truth of their estuaryside existence. Any who accidentally discover the truth by, for example, looking across the river and seeing the bank that is clearly visible on the other side, receive a mysterious invitation: "Congratulations, Southender #22358-33761. You're going to the pier!"

"Broken Bird" Screening: Selby International Short Film Festival

Breaking: I'm pleased to announce that "Broken Bird" is on the Official Selection for the Selby International Short Film Festival, and will be screened in the Music Video category on 30th July 2016 at the Jorvik Theatre.

Thoughtful Paws

I have been writing The Sci-Fi Gene blog for almost four and a half years. I don't always mark blogiversaries or make serious New Year's resolutions but just occasionally it's worth putting on hold the fame, excessive wealth, groupies and rock'n'roll lifestyle of the modern-day blogger and taking some time to reflect.

2012 was a good year for me as a filmmaker and this has carried on into 2013. Serendipity (possibly my favourite out of all the groupies) played her usual role and many projects I've taken on have grown from some kind of chance encounter. I've had my first festival screening with "2007" at London Independent 2012, and now my second with "We Can Get You Some Really Cheap Gear" at St. Albans 2013. Serendipity was at work again - "Cheap Gear" came about after I accidentally broke the house rules at Kino London, which is worse than Crossing the Streams, almost as bad as talking about Fight Club, but in this case has turned out OK.

It's also been good to return to "Soupremacy" and bring it to some screenings - I think it's OK to say I'm really happy with this animation, and even more happy to see the composer's music out there. More news on this film shortly.

2012 has also been a bad year in some ways. One reason I started the blog was to keep my creative projects on track and place myself under pressure to complete them. That's only been half successful - for all the films that have gone right, there are still two short films from the past few years that I've shot but never completed the edit, and a third project that is still only half done. I've entered my fourth 48 hour competition but despite drawing together a team of incredible people I still failed at the final hurdle and the mess I eventually submitted was a long way from being a film.

So I have to learn that there are things I can do well and things I can't - and use this self-knowledge when planning future teams and projects. It sounds obvious but when you start out as a filmmaker there's a misleading feeling that you can just pitch in and do anything yourself if needed - but actually my best films have come about from collaborations where everyone plays to their strengths.

Meanwhile those unfinished projects are a dilemma - return to them in the distant future, delete them and move on, or focus on completing them now? It's not just about me. Everyone involved in shooting these projects has contributed in so many ways - time, hard work, creativity and skill at the very least. If I don't complete them there's a feeling that I'll be letting down the other participants.

So on into 2013 and there are some plans afoot. I recently completed an animation project for a film crew - but until I know the fate of that film I can't tell you any more. I'm also hoping to make two conceptual music videos this year and I have some other music-related plans as well. As far as the unfinished projects go, I don't think I'll be able to sort them all out so I'll have to choose which ones I'd like to return to - but on a more positive note, I've learnt a lot in the intervening time, and the software I'm using has also grown in strength, so goals which might have seemed impossible in the past are now starting to feel merely stupendously difficult. I will of course be ready for Serendipity if she chooses to help out again.

The best thing about the past year has been getting to so many enjoyable short film events and festivals, and seeing so many different kinds of film. It feels good that my own successes and failures haven't in the slightest dented my love for film.

Did I say overlords? I meant protectors...

Our robot overlords had clearly been working behind the scenes at Sci-Fi London before the Eyeborgs premiere on Wednesday night. Firstly they'd set up a cloaking/visual blurring effect of some sort so the Apollo really did look like this:

Secondly we, the Second Foundation, having come all the way from the Other End of the Galaxy, were hoping to see the winning entry in the 48 Hour film challenge - but as too few entries featured robots of any sort our mechanical masters deemed this entertainment unworthy. Perhaps they were also concerned that Eyeborgs, while it features a number of cool robots, has kind of an anti-robot message at its heart.

However, I can't complain - instead, we were treated to stop-motion short, The Day The Robots Woke Up, a sentimental piece of old-school animation with a doggerel narrative and a pro-robot message. Simply beautiful. You can watch it if you're in London this weekend, part of the Blink of an Eye Short Films Programme 2, shown on Saturday 2nd and Monday 4th May (see programme here).

I enjoyed the main feature - more on that coming up. After the screening, Eyeborgs director Richard Clabaugh came down with most of the cast for a very lively Q & A, where we learned that, even though the film includes more effect shots than Transformers, it was produced on what might be the catering budget for a Hollywood blockbuster, and actress Megan Blake described with great enthusiasm how she'd had to learn to fire a gun for her part.