Industry | film-exhibition |
---|---|
Founded | 2014 |
Founder | James Harmon II |
Headquarters | , United States of America |
Website | www |
The Sanford International Film Festival is an annual event held in Sanford, Maine that specializes in independent film.
Started in 2014 by James Harmon II, [1] the first festival was quickly put together to showcase films that were originally scheduled to play the canceled Lewiston Auburn Film Festival. [2] [3] After the first festival's success and support from the city, [4] plans were made to continue the festival as an annual event. [5] The festival originally took place in May, but has moved to October in subsequent years. [6]
In 2019, for their sixth year, Brian Boisvert is serving as the festival director. [7]
The festival screenings are typically broken into recurrent categories, including: Horror Friday, Documentary Night, Mixed Genre Day, [8] and SIFF After Hours. [9] The popular Horror Friday section has included popular films with actors in attendance, including: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with Gunnar Hansen [10] and Nightbreed with Anne Bobby. [11] The horror series has also included independent films, such as: Blood of the Tribades, Peelers, and In the Dark. [12]
The Sanford International Film Festival gives out trophies in a number of categories for short films and feature films called Tommy Awards, named for Sanford textile baron Thomas Goodall. [13]
Lewiston is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States Census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous city. It is one-half of the Lewiston–Auburn Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly referred to as "L/A." or "L-A." Lewiston exerts a significant impact upon the diversity, religious variety, commerce, education, and economic power of Maine. It is known for having an overall low cost of living, substantial access to medical care, and a low violent-crime rate. In recent years, the city of Lewiston has also seen a spike in economic and social growth. While the dominant language spoken in the city is English, it is home to a significant Somali population as well as the largest French-speaking population in the United States while it is second to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, in percentage of speakers.
Nightbreed is a 1990 American dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his 1988 novella Cabal. It stars Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, and Doug Bradley. The film follows an unstable mental patient named Aaron Boone who is falsely led to believe by his doctor that he is a serial killer. Tracked down by the police, his doctor, and his girlfriend Lori, Boone eventually finds refuge in an abandoned cemetery called Midian among a tribe of monsters and outcasts known as the "Nightbreed" who hide from humanity.
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman and Dee Wallace. The film follows the Carters, a suburban family targeted by a family of cannibal savages after becoming stranded in the Nevada desert.
Brian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.
Caroline Goodall is a British/Australian actress and screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries Cassidy and the 1995 film Hotel Sorrento, a Logie Awards Nomination for the mini series A Difficult Woman, and a Best Actress award. Her film appearances include Hook (1991), Cliffhanger (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Disclosure (1994), White Squall (1996), The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Best of Me (2014).
The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) is an annual event held in the Boston area that specializes in alternative film and video. BUFF is the largest underground film festival in New England, spotlighting short films and feature-length films that would not otherwise find an audience. It was the only film festival in the world to give an award for "Most Effectively Offensive" films, an accolade it awarded from its inception until 2017; on the festival's twentieth anniversary, the award was retired and replaced with "Best First Feature Film," marking a shifting focus towards celebrating new voices in filmmaking.
Jason Michael Brescia is an American writer-director from Malverne, New York.
Anne Marie Bobby is an American actress, voice artist, playwright and author, best known for her role as Lori Winston, the heroine in Clive Barker's Nightbreed and Brigid Tenenbaum in the BioShock series. She was praised by The Washington Post for her portrayal of Tallasse in What the Deaf Man Heard (1997). The Los Angeles Times called Bobby's Tallasse "a sensitive, insightful portrayal."
Bridge and Tunnel is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jason Michael Brescia and released by Glacier Road Productions. The film stars Ryan Metcalf, Mary Kate Wiles and Annet Mahendru and tells the story of a group of twentysomething millennials coming of age in Long Island, New York. The film highlights the psychological impact of the September 11 attacks on the generation that grew up in the early part of the twenty-first century, the effects of the great recession on America's youth, and the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The Hanover House is a 2014 horror film that was directed by Corey Norman and is his feature-film directorial debut. The film had its world premiere on May 9, 2014 at the Saco Drive-In. It stars Brian Chamberlain as a man that must deal with the demons from his past before he can move on as an adult.
Ten is a 2014 thriller/horror film directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein in which ten women find themselves in a vacant mansion on an island. The film had its world premiere on March 30, 2014 at the Boston Underground Film Festival and features an all-female ensemble cast.
You Can't Kill Stephen King is a 2012 American comedy horror spoof film that was directed by Monroe Mann, Ronnie Khalil, and Jorge Valdés-Iga, and is the directorial debut of Khalil and the feature film directorial debut of Mann. The film had its world premiere on 14 April 2012 at the Lewiston Auburn Film Festival and was later released to DVD on 9 December 2014 through Big Screen Entertainment Group. The film follows a group of friends that decide to visit the area horror author Stephen King lives, but find themselves threatened with their own potential deaths.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival is an international film festival in Buffalo, New York.
Magnetic is a 2015 science fiction psychological film written, produced, edited and directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein, featuring Allix Mortis as the only cast member. Funding for the film was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The film is distributed in North America on VOD by Devolver Digital via Indie Rights and in North America on DVD by Wild Eye Releasing.
Blood of the Tribades is a 2016 horror film directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. The script, style, and look are heavily influenced by 1970s Euro lesbian vampire films. The film is distributed in North America on VOD and DVD/Blu-ray by Launch Over and VHS by SRS Media.
Michael J. Epstein, is an American filmmaker, musician, writer, and auditory scientist. Epstein has also spoken and written about the impact of local media on the arts, music service gatekeeping, effective social networking, and crowdfunding.
Sophia Cacciola is a Los-Angeles-based, American filmmaker, artist, and musician.
Clickbait is a 2018 social satire horror film directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. The film is an exploration of the pressures on people to have performative identities and to seek popularity. The film satirizes not only social media, but the way in which social media is used to sell advertising for mundane products, specifically the invented radioactive toaster pastry, Toot Strudels.
The GenreBlast Film Festival is an annual event held in the Winchester, Virginia area that specializes in genre film. GenreBlast is the largest genre film festival in the Washington, D.C. region, spotlighting short and feature films that are typically independently produced and would not otherwise receive theatrical release.
The Once and Future Smash is a 2022 mockumentary film directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. The film tells the story of Mikey Smash and William Mouth, who both played the same football cannibal slasher character, Smash-Mouth, in the 1970 film, End Zone 2.