The little fierce diva Connie has a new lease of life! She is back and has high-kicked her way onto Shorts TV’s subscription channel on Amazon Prime. You can watch the feisty foul-mouthed showgirl as part of a free seven-day trial now.
Tag: Catrin Stewart
Brilliant news! My award-winning short Connie is now available to buy on Shorts International’s iTunes stores in the US and Europe! Better still, the foul-mouthed puppet is a cheap gal – a snip at only $2.99 or £1.99 respectively – so fill your stockings this festive season with twenty minutes of our little felt-covered diva.
Connie has had an incredible journey since the shoot in May 2016, playing festivals globally, including awards qualifiers, winning awards, receiving great reviews and entertaining audiences we could only have dreamed of. Being able to share it now with a whole new audience is really something else. Film festivals rock, but so few people can actually get to them, so I’m proud that Connie has been licensed by Shorts International.
The film showcases the incredible talent of our superstar, Catrin Stewart, who did an incredible job of playing two roles at once and also operating a puppet – all in just two days on set! It also features the legend that is Kim Newman. It’s a film I’m incredibly proud of. Meeting audiences at festivals and seeing their reactions to the film, and to me and the puppet, has been an extra slice of joy.
Connie is also screening now on ShortsTV’s channel in the US, with the European premiere coming very soon. ShortsTV is the world’s first 24/7 HD TV channel dedicated to shorts, and currently available to approximately 25 million homes, with more channels across the globe to come. More details on how to watch ShortsTV here.
Excellent news! We’ve struck a licensing deal with the brilliant Shorts International to broadcast Connie on ShortsTV in North America, Europe and South Asia for five years from late 2018. ShortsTV is the world’s first 24/7 HD TV channel dedicated to shorts. This is a very exciting agreement as the ShortsTV channels are currently available to approximately 25 million homes! I can’t wait for Connie to reach a wider audience and for the little puppet to expose herself on TV!
PLUS, Connie shortly be added to the ShortsTV online stores on Amazon (UK, USA and Germany) and iTunes (in over 80 countries) for purchase! So anyone who hasn’t managed to catch little felt diva at festivals can see her on the tellybox or online! Launch date details coming soon!
What a week this is shaping up to be! Connie is now an award-winning film! We’ve bagged our first award from five nominations in just a few short months. Our wonderful lead, Catrin Stewart, won Best Actress at HorrorHound Weekend Film Festival in Ohio, US! Catrin is an incredibly talented actress and played both Connie and Dolly in the film, that’s thirty four scenes all shot in just two days. Thanks a million to HorrorHound for making us an award-winning film! Even Connie is bouncing around!
In other news, Connie has been accepted by more festivals, but we can’t announce these as yet! So keep your eyes, ears and puppets peeled for more news on these.
Also, we’re now into the last week of our crowdfunding campaign for Blood Shed. We’re currently 86% funded, which is amazing, but there are only 4 days left on the clock! Naturally, I’m in FULL panic mode. We’ve started with the pre-production on the film as we’re aiming to shoot in late April, and anyone who’s ever run a crowdfunding campaign knows that it is back-breaking, constant work. In many ways, it’s like having a baby for a month. BUT, it is the only way that Blood Shed can be funded.
New rewards have been added – you can have a photo of your pet appear in the film as a victim of our shed, there are very special unique retro Polaroid on-set photos available, screening tickets, signed goodies, merch! Please go and take a look. The shed needs you.. Well, I do. I mean, the film is set to star SALLY PHILLIPS and SHAUN DOOLEY. Who doesn’t want to see them and a man-eating shed in a Creepshow-style film? BARGAIN!
March is proving to be a crazy month. I’m working on three shorts at different stages – . Blood Shed, Hank: Portrait of a Serial Killer and TickTock. We’re also running a Kickstarter for Blood Shed until 27th March, so it’s non-stop and all systems go.
I’ve had some wonderful news about my last short – the unforgettable Connie. Connie has not only been selected for the HorrorHound Weekend Film Festival in Ohio, US, we’re also nominated for the Best Actress award for our superb lead, Catrin Stewart! Catrin had to play both Connie and Dolly, often in the same scenes – not just vocally, but also ‘operating’ Connie for a large proportion of the film. This was a great mental and physical challenge, and Catrin pulled it off in spectacular fashion.
Connie’s lead, Catrin Stewart, nominated for Best Actress at HorrorHound
Catrin Stewart
It’s been an incredible six or seven months so far, but Connie is still on the first leg of her film festival journey, so to get this fifth award nomination is really quite something.
HorrorHound is a convention and film festival all in one, taking place 17th-19th March in Cincinnati. It’s CRAMMED to the ceiling with special guests, including Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chandler Riggs, Tobin Bell, John Waters, Lloyd Kaufman…I am absolutely gutted that I can’t be there! The chance to meet Jeffrey Dean Morgan… I’m such a fan of The Walking Dead. I’ll be crying for months. But, you lucky people can get tickets HERE.
Connie is screening as part of the Late Night Laughs slot on the Saturday night (or technically early Sunday AM), before Space Babes from Outer Space. The schedule is below.
Also, congratulations to my pal Jamie Hooper, whose short Unto Death, which is a real must-see, has also been selected for the Sunday.
Connie is also currently also nominated for the iHorror Award for Best Short Film, which is announced at the end of the month, so it’s a double celebration… but only once I’ve slept… Which at this point, could be July.
I’m over the moon to announce that Connie has been nominated for a very prestigious iHorror award by iHorror.com This is Connie’s fourth award nomination in just a few short months.
The awards recognise excellence, hard work and determination in the horror genre. The much coveted statue is poured from solid metal from the RS Owens company, whose clients include the Oscars and the Emmys. Now that is FANCY!
Previous iHorror award winners include It Follows, Ash vs Evil Dead, Creep, Insidious Chapter 3, Bruce Campbell, Mark Duplass and Melissa McBride. It’s an incredible list of talent and I’m awestruck right now.
Though the Best Short Film category is decided by a private judging panel, you can select your winners in other categories such as Best Actor, Actress, Remake, Director, Film, TV Show as voting is now open. I voted and picked my winners, but it was TOUGH.
Winners are announced on 29th March. Fingers crossed for Connie!
Many thanks to iHorror and the selection panel. It’s an honour.
More celebration for Connie! The little felt-mouthed hellion has made an impression on the lovely folks at SFX magazine!
Connie is featured in the glorious SFX January 2017 edition, issue number 281. It’s out in print (extract below) and digital formats, and available from all good newsagents and via this link. If you aren’t tempted enough by the recommendation and picture of Connie alone, then you may well be swayed when you find out it’s a bumper Star Wars: Rogue One edition. It’s a real feast for a fan, which is likely why it’s flying off shelves as I type! Go get!
Seeing this in print has really knocked my socks off and reminds me that my short film has come a very long way. It’s a big achievement for a short film to get this kind of a mention, so massive congrats to my team. We’ve all earned it. Many thanks to SFX for the support.
Connie featured in SFX Magazine, January 2017
It’s been less than two months since the World Premiere at Horror Channel FrightFest, and Connie has bagged seven festival screenings and is nominated for several awards. I’m overwhelmed by how well it’s performing and am now delighted to announce our fantastic Canadian and Mexican Premieres!
First, Connie’s Canadian Premiere will be at Camp Horrors CREEPFEST Film Festival in Ontario, which takes place from 28th to 30th October. Sponsors include Scream magazine, and it promises to be a real treat, screening shorts and features, with a horror art gallery, after parties, costume contest and more! Screening day and time to be confirmed.
NOTE: Dates and location for Creepfest have moved:
CANADIAN PREMIERE: CAMP HORRORS CREEPFEST FILM FESTIVAL, 25th – 26th March 2017, The Rainbow Theatre, Toronto, Canada
Second, the Mexican Premiere is at Morbido Film Fest, Mexico City, which runs from 2nd to 6th November. Connie screens as part of their THE DEVIL IS NOT HOW YOU IMAGINED, programme: Leave pre established ideas outside. Here nothing is what it seems. These are 8 short films that will teach you not to trust appearances! Screening day and time to be confirmed.
The full programme of international short films is very impressive and I’m proud to be included as part of such an esteemed list, which includes The Puppet Man, The Stylist, Dawn of the Deaf, Death Metal, The Itching and The Procedure. Check it out here!
There are also fine arts exhibitions, plays, thematic lectures, book presentations, concerts, and even a traditional Mexican wrestling match! All that and a whole lot of sunshine.
We had a lot of fun adding the subtitles to the film and we’ve expanded our vocabulary with lots of Mexican swear words!
Connie ha sido seleccionada para el Festival de Cine Morbido en el maravilloso ¡México! está emocionadísima ¡esperamos que estén listos!
Finally, my previous short film, KEEN-wah will have its North American Premiere at Ax Wound Film Festival in Vermont on 5th November! Lovely to see that KEEN-wah is still finding its audience around the world long after Gary and Suzanne’s first date… Especially as Ax Wound is quite possibly the best film festival name ever. Very witty. Connie will also be playing at Ax Wound, so I’m doubly thrilled.
Ax Wound have a range of great sponsors, including legendary horror magazine Fangoria, Twisted Twin Productions (the amazing Jen and Sylvia Soska) and horror on demand service, Shudder (which I LOVE, by the way).
I’m off now to go and pinch myself!
I’m chuffed to say that we’ve had news of more festival acceptances for Connie, two of which I can share below, though others are currently under wraps! Very exciting. Ssssh…
First, Connie will be screened as part of Nightmares Film Festival, a top international film festival dedicated to the horrific, the dreadful and the weird – perfect for little miss puppet. The festival takes place from 20th – 23rd October in Columbus, Ohio, at the world-renowned Gateway Film Center, named one of the top twenty art houses on the continent by Sundance. This is currently set to be our North American premiere!
Connie will be screened alongside some of the very best features and shorts from around the world, including my recent FrightFest stablemates from August, The Stylist by Jill Gevargizian, Gwilliam by Brian Lonano and The Babysitter Murders by Ryan Spindell, so Connie will be in great company! Precise day/time of screening is to be announced.
Then on Friday 18th November, she’ll have her second London outing as part of the eighth annual Crystal Palace International Film Festival. Following the success of KEEN-wah at the festival last year, this is sure to be a real treat. The festival has a great vibe, with themed nights and is one of the coolest I’ve been to in years. It runs from 29th October – 19th November at several venues in South East London. You can buy tickets for our screening on 18th November here.
I’m really thrilled that Connie is finding its audience and that people will get to see Catrin Stewart’s powerhouse performance as both Dolly and Connie. She’s truly mesmerising.
It’s been a manic couple of weeks juggling numerous creative projects all at different stages. I did get some time to party at the BAFTA TV Awards and enjoy some red carpet glamour and champagne, but I’ve been really focused on bringing my latest short film, Connie, to life. A comedy horror about a withdrawn, reclusive female wannabe ventriloquist and her loud-mouthed sidekick, it’s a story that I just had to tell and this week – WE WRAPPED. After an intense two-day shoot, plus some extra special interviews, I was exhausted and emotional, but it was all worth it.
It was a fantastic team effort – I was blessed with a really fantastic, creative crew. But, I was really blessed when it came to my on-screen talent. Both my leading female characters are played by one incredible actress, the lovely Catrin Stewart (Doctor Who, Stella), who had to play two characters – one being a puppet – often at the same time. I don’t know how she did it, but she was magical.The film is now in post-production, but much, much more to follow on that over the coming months…
For now, a damn good rest is in order. And the puppets can have a sleep, too.
Cat Davies 