9th Annual Phoenix FearCon and Film Festival Readies Virtual Convention with Panels, Guests, Workshops, and Indie Films
Phoenix FearCON, a staple for horror fans in the American Southwest for years, bringing horror fans an eclectic variety of celebrity guests, panels and an independent film festival touting cutting-edge cinematic works of all varieties from around the globe, will now go online with a program of events and movies projected to attract nearly 1 million visitors and viewers.
Taking safety and social distancing to a new level, the ninth annual celebration of all things horror will go live starting October 16 and will continue until the end of 2020. FearCon’s virtual platform will escort their audience through a maze of visionary films from new and emerging cinematic artists as well as panels, lectures, workshops, and demonstrations from industry professionals and some familiar names.
This year, Terror TV’s Jay Michaels, host of their original program Terror Talk as well as a co-producer of the first virtual horror con, Phantasm-Con and a special guest judge at Boston Sci Fi Film Festival, leads off an amazing line-up of guests:
Guest of Honor, Dacre Stoker, great-grandnephew of legendary author, Bram Stoker, discusses 123 Years of Dracula, from Novel to Stage to Screen and all the mysteries it involves. A best-selling author in his own right, this Mr. Stoker will make available through the convention’s virtual marketplace a litany of literary works as well as memorabilia related to the great vampire.
Opening remarks will also be available from Bill Oberst Jr. whose genre credits include Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell, and Lynne Lugosi Sparks, the granddaughter of famed Dracula of stage and screen, Bela Lugosi. Ms. Lugosi will also be on hand for a panel about the Count with Dacre Stoker.
The line-up of events include:
A History of Horror Series of Panels
“Through the Horror Genre” with film & stage artists, Dineta Williams Trigg & Thommi A’mal
“A Century of Stage Frights: The Grand Guignol to Modern Day Horror Plays” with the company of spit&vigor
“A Discussion of the Dark Forces in Shakespeare” with Jay Michaels & Rodney Hakim
An Industry Professionals Series of Events
“How to Bring a TV Series to Life” with former EVP of Universal Television and “Bates Motel” show developer, Russell Rothberg
“How to Write Horror” with award-winning novelists, Owl Goingback & John Skipp
“Blood and Gore” with celebrated FX Designer Elizabeth Piper S
Techno-Terror Talks:
“Playing with Monsters: Video Horror Games” with Patrick Hickey, Jr., author of the Minds Behind the Games.
“Navigating Slasher,” the first social media app just for horror lovers, with its creator, Damon Della Greca
Fright Fan Fun Panels:
“Collecting Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Memorabilia” with authors/collectors Joe Moe & Jonathan Alexandratos
“Horror Fan Films: The New Evolution” with a panel by The Horror Show with special guests: Cecil Laird, Vincente Disanti, Dave McRae, Dominic Smith, Mitch Francis, Tony Biz & Rene Rivas
Terror TV:
Watch the premiere of the new web series MYSTERY MANSION at FearCon and listen to an interview with the show’s creators, Mike Handelman, Isaiah Mueller and Hunter West.
PLUS a special series on indie filmmaking
“The Horrors of Horror Filmmaking”
Panel 1: Antonie Le, director of FOLLOWED (The #1 movie in America in June 2020) and Marcus Slabine, director of THE DARK OFFERINGS, the first horror film shot using social distancing guidelines share their journeys
Panel 2: Members of the principal cast of FOLLOWED share their observations. Included are Matthew Solomon, Sam Valentine, Tim Drier, Kelsey Griswold, Caitlin Grace; with special guest, producer Matthew Brewbaker.
Panel 3: An Indie Filmmakers Roundtable featuring Christine Parker, Chris Williams, and Emmy-winner, Donald Borza
There are also performances by Fetish-oriented performance art troupe, The Agents of Lust, and Horror Host/Performer, Count Smokula
The new online format and three-month presentation run of most films and all events and panels has also enhanced the vendor marketplace to allow international vendors, industry supporters, and even commercials during the new enhanced “coming attractions” section before each film. Due to the online format, fees for this section have been drastically reduced. To be part of this portion of the festival, please contact jmcommnet@gmail.com.
Visit https://phoenixfearcon.com/ or https://phoenixfearcon.festivee.com/ for further info or to order tickets.