GRIMMFEST EASTER EDITION: APRIL 1st – APRIL 5th
Grimmfest announces the launch of our Grimmfest Easter Edition, a new annual event, taking place over the Easter Weekend, and complimenting the long-established festival in October.
Easter is traditionally a time for rebirth, renewal, resurrection. But as the Pandemic continues to rage, and the world remains on lockdown for the foreseeable future, it is also a time for rethinking.
Thus, while the Grimmfest team had hoped to be hosting a ‘live’ Easter event, instead, the Grimmfest Easter Edition will be taking place online, and will build on the success of Grimmfest 2020 online experience.
The festival will open on Thursday April 1 st with our preview night that will feature the UK premiere of Kourosh Ahari’s surreal and sulphurous Iranian American haunted hotel horror THE NIGHT, which has already earned deserved comparisons to Kubrick’s THE SHINING, alongside the UK premiere of Lluis Danes’ visually ravishing reimagining of the shocking real-life case of THE BARCELONA VAMPIRESS.
Then, over the next 4 days, Grimmfest will present double bills of ten feature films premieres, from all around the world, alongside short films, cast and crew Q&As, exclusive introductions and more.
From the USA, and in response to the current international crisis, we offer two very different cinematic explorations of life during a pandemic: the UK Premiere of Johnny Martin’s ferocious high-octane shocker ALONE (AKA FINAL DAYS) which features performances from Tyler Posey and Donald Sutherland.
We also feature the World Premiere of Paul Schuyler’s remarkable, slow-burning study of psychological breakdown RED RIVER ROAD, made entirely under lockdown, with the Shuyler family themselves serving as cast and crew.
Also, from the USA, Martin Guigui, director of Grimmfest 2020 hit THE UNHEALER returns with the European Premiere of the stylish and slyly satiric social thriller PARADISE COVE, starring Mena Suvani.
We’ve the European Premiere of Josh Wallace’s sour and uproarious pitch black comedy of cannibals and insurance men, KEEPING COMPANY.
From Russia, we have Pavel Khvaleev’s punishing tale of sensory deprivation, personality deconstruction and internet voyeurism, SLEEPLESS BEAUTY fresh from its success at Sitges.
Also, from Russia, male entitlement collides with malevolent mysticism in the European Premiere of Alexey Kazakov’s psychedelic witchcraft drama MARA.
The bond between a Swedish family is put severely to the test by a haunted duplex in the UK Premiere of Tord Danielsson and Oskar Mellander’s nerve-jangling and emotionally harrowing THE OTHER SIDE.
Grief, guilty secrets, and ghosts, both metaphorical and literal, meet head on, in the Australian Outback in the UK Premiere of the haunting metaphysical thriller SWEET RIVER.
Transhumanist philosophy, temporal paradox and fractured identity collide to truly mind-blowing effect in the UK Premiere of the stunning Triple-F-Rated South Korean Sci-Fi head-trip, TRANS, while a Mexican romance turns malevolent in Pablo Olmos Arrayales’ slippery, unpredictable single-take shocker RENDEZ-VOUS.
ARROW VIDEO will also present a special double bill screening of two eagerly awaited titles: Powell Robinson & Patrick R. Young’s subtly disquieting and emotionally gripping ‘possession road movie’ THRESHOLD, and Justin McConnell’s incisive and insightful exploration of the mad hustle of movie making, CLAPBOARD JUNGLE, chronicling the journey towards the making of acclaimed Grimmfest favourite, LIFECHANGER and featuring revealing interviews with the great and the good of genre filmmaking.
The features will be supported by a selection of some of the best new short films from around the world, and there will be exclusive introductions and Q&As with cast and crew for each feature.
Steve Balshaw, chief programmer, said:
“The horror community seems to have adjusted better than most to life under a pandemic. I guess all those movies helped to prepare us, by teaching us useful survival and coping mechanisms. Having been forced to move the festival online in 2020, the Grimmfest Team is embracing the possibilities of the virtual format, even as we continue to plan for our return to live events. We’ve secured some fantastic feature and short film premieres for Easter, and we’ll also have guests galore joining us online for Q&As and seminars”.
Simeon Halligan, festival director said:
“We can’t wait to unleash this wonderful selection of movies on Grimmfest fans. Online, at home, but together in spirit. Settle down at home, for five ‘full on’ days of brilliant horror movie premieres”.
Grimm Easter ‘Online’ passes are available now, from www.grimmfest.com
GRIMMFEST: International festival of horror, cult and fantastic cinema and UK Exhibitor. Grimmfest bring the very best in new independent genre cinema and classic genre films to Manchester UK and beyond. With regular screenings throughout the year and the main festival in early October. Grimmfest is now in its 2nd decade and was recently voted one of the top 50 Bloody Best Genre Festivals in the World (for the second time) by Movie Maker magazine.
Grimmfest is working with Eventive, one of the key players in the virtual festival area, to offer DRM-protected, Geo-blocked movie premieres. They will also host exclusive livestream and recorded interviews, special events and press rooms, bringing in the filmmakers and stars to present and Q&A the films, while also helping to create a complete festival experience for the fans.
F RATING: Grimmfest subscribes to the “F Rating” system, designed to highlight women on screen and behind the camera, and developed at Bath Film Festival in 2014. The F-Rating is awarded to films directed by and/or written by women. If the film also stars significant women in their own right, the film is Triple F-Rated.