For our NEW BLOOD film competition, we select audacious and independent works directed by the most promising talents in genre cinema. Purity of vision and courage to take risks are the main qualities of this showcase where the most impactful and original film will be awarded the Phenomena Award.
SOUVENIRS
2020 I Thriller I USA I 84 min
A murderabilia shop clerk discovers her own family's dark history when she's asked to sell souvenirs from a crime not yet solved.
The Director
Anna Mikami (SAG-AFTRA) is a bicoastal Chinese-Japanese actor and writer-director. She can be seen as ‘Phoebe’ in the upcoming AMAZON, FilmNation and Weed Road Pictures film, ‘The Map of Tiny Perfect Things’ directed by Ian Samuels. Her first directorial feature ‘Souvenirs’ (2020) has recently acquired distribution and screened at Soho International Film Festival and Dances with Films Festival, and will be screening in the upcoming Phenomena Fest. She is managed by Invictus Entertainment and as an actress, represented by Innovative Artists.
PRECARIOUS
2020 I Adventure I USA I 106 min
A young man confronts accidental addiction in an inescapable journey through a magical realist 1960s dreamscape. A hand-built film that recalls an era of fantasy not reliant on digital effects.
The Director
Weston Terray graduated from NYU’s classical hand-drawn animation program and has since transitioned to live-action while maintaining a very specific design aesthetic. His earlier short films, Leverage and BoxWorld, have been exhibited in festivals in Canada and South Africa. This is his debut feature film. He lives in the San Francisco bay area.
CORPSE
2018 I Fantasy, Horror, Mystery I USA I 83 min
Based the classic weird fiction anthology "The King in Yellow" by Robert W. Chambers, CORPSE uses a fractured narrative of surreal flashbacks and dream sequences to tell the story of a C-list reality TV star, her best friend and a group of young entrepreneurs who encounter a forbidden book which induces madness in those who read it.
The Director
Chris Ernst is an experimental filmmaker and musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. He completed his MFA in Media Study studying with Tony Conrad at SUNY Buffalo and has since worked as a producer and director for MTV as well as a cinematographer for feature films such as the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival selection BURIED LAND, and the hybrid docu-drama AUDITION. He teaches film in the School of Design at Stevenson University and plays in the instrumental band BELLS≥.
ALIEN ADDICTION
2018 I Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi I New Zealand I 95 min
Alien Addiction follows Riko (Jimi Jackson) who lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere (Waikato, New Zealand). Life was pretty normal until two aliens crash landed near Riko’s house. He welcomes the aliens and together they develop an intergalactic relationship of epic proportions. Alientologist Peter Mackintosh (Thomas Sainsbury) has tracked the aliens and Riko, and plans to capture them and reveal them to the world. Alien Addiction has been tearing up theatres with laughter along the Film Festival Circuit. It has featured in the London Sci Fi Film Festival, Austin Other Worlds Film Festival, and the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival.
The Director
Shae Sterling is a renowned director/producer from New Zealand. Shae has directed over 125 music videos including artists such as Sheila E, Snoop Dogg, T-boz (TLC), Gareth Emery and Stan Walker. Shae has won many music awards for his work in the industry. Sterling also directed 6 top selling feature documentaries titled “High Octane”.
SISTER TEMPEST
2020 I Comedy, Horror, Musical I USA I 122 min
Pitch: Anne Hutchinson's troubled relationship with her missing sister is under alien tribunal. Meanwhile, her new roommate's mysterious illness causes her to go on a cannibalistic killing spree.
The Director
Joe Badon is a filmmaker, illustrator and musician. His first feature film, The God Inside My Ear, had an award winning festival run and is distributed through Gravitas Ventures. He has also worked as an illustrator on storyboards for a number of films and commercials including Keanu (2016) and My Name is Jonah (2014).
ATTACK OF THE DEMONS
2019 I Animation, Horror I USA I 75 min
The year is 1994 - For centuries, a demonic cult has been plotting the destruction of mankind. When a small Colorado town is overrun by a legion of mutating demons, three non-demon hunter friends must use every skill their minds can fathom to stave off the demon apocalypse.
The Director
Eric Power crafts exciting animated films in a wide variety of styles. His work has ranged from music videos, short films, documentaries, as well as two animated feature films. He hopes to do his part in telling animated stories across all genres, in particular adult stories not typically seen in the medium. He lives in Austin Texas with his wife and three children.
THE RINGING BELL
2020 I Drama, Sci-Fi I USA I 70 min
Judah is a young man with a condition - he dreams while he's still awake. His imagination makes it difficult for him to process the loss of his most important person, so when his cousin contacts him with a ridiculous scheme to get at that the riches of their eccentric Uncle Airmid who has disappeared, Judah agrees to go along with it.
The director
Casey T. Malone has been knocking around the film and TV world for over 20 years as both an award-winning filmmaker, animator, cinematographer, and composer. His first feature film Lesser Beasts was shortlisted by Film Threat Magazine in 2019 for Best Indie Cinematography, and he is the recent recipient of the Pace-Setter Award, given for excellence and influence in the indie film community, by The Milwaukee Independent Film Society. His work has shown all over the world.
LENI
2020 I Thriller, Horror I Argentina I 74 min
Recurring nightmares and the aftermath of a violent break-up have put Leni on edge. As she desperately seeks to regain her sanity she must confront her monsters in order to unravel the trauma of a past she doesn't seem to fully remember.
The director
Federico Gianotti (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1983) is a self-taught film director. From early childhood he was obsessed with movies, as a child of divorce, he was partly raised by 90’s cable TV and Video Stores. His lack of a proper film education drove him to learn by doing; he worked from production assistant all the way to becoming a film director (and making all the stops in the middle). Now he makes a living shooting ads and music videos.True to his origins “Leni”, his feature-film debut, is a self-financed indie horror-thriller.
