Sophia Cacciola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, artist, musician |
| Known for | Blood of the Tribades , TEN , Clickbait , Magnetic |
Sophia Cacciola is a Los-Angeles-based, American filmmaker, artist, and musician. [1] [2] [3]
Sophia Cacciola | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, artist, musician |
| Known for | Blood of the Tribades , TEN , Clickbait , Magnetic |
Sophia Cacciola is a Los-Angeles-based, American filmmaker, artist, and musician. [1] [2] [3]
Cacciola is known for her sociopolitical [4] genre feature films that showcase women: [5] TEN , [6] Magnetic, Blood of the Tribades, [7] Clickbait, and The Once and Future Smash. Her films have received festival awards including Boston Underground Film Festival's "Best New England Film", [8] the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival "Best Retro" award, [9] and GenreBlast Film Festival "Best Score". [10] Cacciola was the recipient of the 2018 GenreBlast Film Festival "Les Femmes Du Genre" wrestling belt award for her work in the community, directing, producing, and cinematography and the "Nuclear Pen" award for outstanding screenwriting achievements. [11] She also received the Lois Weber award at the 2018 Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. [12] In 2022, Cacciola was the winner of the Innovation in Film award at Nightmares Film Festival along with partner, Michael J. Epstein. [13]
Cacciola's filmmaking interests were summarized as, "I love horror because you can be very bold about inserting themes and sociopolitical commentary and still make an entertaining movie. The possibilities are unlimited. You can create a whole world and mythology. Horror fans are incredibly engaged and loyal, so it’s really possible to build an incredible community of like-minded people to work with and to champion the films." [14]
In addition to producing and directing films, Cacciola is also a cinematographer, working on narrative film as well as being the head shooter for the Women of Rock Oral History Project. [15]
Cacciola also often collaborates with other filmmakers including: Michael J. Epstein, Izzy Lee, [16] and Johannes Grenzfurthner.
Cacciola often blends her film and music work, noting in an interview the book, Indie Science Fiction Cinema Today: Conversations with 21st Century Filmmakers: [17] "I come from a rock'n'roll music background, where an independent DIY ethic is very ingrained, so I've always just charged in where I don't belong and done what I wanted." [18]
Cacciola drums and sings for The Prisoner-themed "loud, arty, minimalist rock working in the realm of proto-punk/new wave/no wave" [19] band, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, [20] which won a best video award from TIME in 2011. [21] The Boston Globe wrote: "the songs deal with troubled states of mind — fear, paranoia, claustrophobia — and the distinct feeling that, yes, they are out to get you. In other words, the harrowing music that marks “The New Number 2’’ is in keeping with the premise of The Prisoner: a former British secret agent held captive by unseen forces with an unknown agenda in a mysterious village." [22]
Her musical career also includes stints with the children's rock band, Space Balloons, [23] garage punks Darling Pet Munkee, [24] and indie ensemble The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library. [25]
She was awarded an art residency at Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria in autumn 2017. [26] She created Nothen für die Tothen, an interactive music art installation for Roboexotica. [27]
Cacciola identifies as a feminist activist. In an article published by Quartz she addresses the problem that in today's film industry women can't rise when men overwhelmingly promote other men: "The only way I see any of this changing is to put multiple women at the top with firing power." [28]
Cacciola is married to filmmaker, artist, and frequent collaborator, Michael J. Epstein. [29]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Cinematographer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Craving | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2022 [30] | The Once and Future Smash | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 [31] | The Transformations of the Transformations of the Drs. Jenkins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2018 [32] | Clickbait | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2017 [33] | Hipster Ghost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 [34] | Grindsploitation 2: The Lost Reels | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 [35] | Blood of the Tribades | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2016 [36] | Weekend Vampire | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 [37] | Innsmouth | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2015 [38] | Magnetic | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2014 [39] | TEN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2013 | Wake No More | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2013 [40] | Fat | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2011 | Quiet Desperation | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Lesbian vampirism is a trope in early gothic horror and 20th century exploitation film. The archetype of a lesbian vampire used the fantasy genre to circumvent the heavy censorship of lesbian characters in the realm of social realism.
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.
Mel House is a filmmaker best known for his features in the horror and science fiction genres.
Catherine Capozzi is an American rock guitar player, and film composer, best known for her eclectic artistic style. She was named one of Guitar World's "10 Female Guitarists You Should Know" in 2012.
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.
Ana Lily Amirpour is an Iranian-American film-maker, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for her feature film debut A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, self-described as "the first Iranian vampire spaghetti western," which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, and which was based on a previous short film that she wrote and directed, which won Best Short Film at the 2012 Noor Iranian Film Festival.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival is an international film festival in Buffalo, New York.
All Through the House is a 2015 American holiday slasher film written and directed by Todd Nunes and produced by The Readmond Company. It stars Ashley Mary Nunes, Jessica Cameron, and Jennifer Wenger, and follows a masked killer dressed in a Santa Claus costume who terrorizes a neighborhood during the Christmas holiday. The film was shot in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Lake Arrowhead, California over a period of 21 days.
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.
Mercy Christmas is a 2017 American comedy-horror film, written by Ryan Nelson and Beth Levy Nelson and directed by Ryan Nelson. The film was acquired by Gravitas Ventures in 2017 and was released on November 28, 2017.
Tokyo Vampire Hotel (東京ヴァンパイアホテル) is a 2017 Japanese nine-part horror television miniseries written and directed by Sion Sono. All episodes were originally released on Amazon Video on June 16, 2017. A special feature-length cut running 2 hours and 22 minutes was shown at various festivals, including the 2017 Chicago International Film Festival. The theme song "Tokyo Vampire Hotel" is performed by the Japanese math rock band Tricot.
Glossary of Broken Dreams is a 2018 Austrian/American documentary film directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner. The essayistic feature film tries to present an overview of political concepts such as freedom, privacy, identity, resistance, etc.
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.
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 Sanford International Film Festival is an annual event held in Sanford, Maine that specializes in independent film.
Galaxy of Horrors is a 2017 Canadian science-fiction horror anthology film consisting of eight short films within larger "wraparound" framing sequences before and after each of the shorts, in which a man wakes from a cryogenic sleep pod and is forced to watch the films as entertainment while his life-support runs out. The shorts are by international filmmakers such as Antonio Padovan, Javier Chillon, Benni Diez, and Marinko Spahić, while Justin McConnell directed the wraparound.
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.
Chris Vander Kaay is a screenwriter and author primarily known for his work in the horror genre. He was the subject of the 2018 documentary Fear Man, exploring the sociological and psychological implications of horror fandom. With his wife Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay he co-authored the 2018 book Indie Science Fiction Cinema Today: Conversations with 21st Century Filmmakers, about 21st century science fiction cinema. From 2016 to 2018, he was a contributing writer for Bloody Disgusting. With Chance Shirley he cofounded Subspace, a sci-fi movie curation service.