Selected for FrightFest New Blood 2018 & new micro-short ‘Shushpiria’ online!

I had excellent news this month! One of my feature film pitches, a period horror piece, has been selected for Arrow Video FrightFest’s New Blood 2018 scheme with Queensbury Pictures! The scheme aims to find new writers and nurture their project from script to screen. One of last year’s entries, thriller Broadcast Signal Intrusion, is now in pre-production and due to be shot later this year.

I’m ecstatic to be one of eight writers selected, and have already had invaluable mentoring by BAFTA-nominated UK producer Jack Tarling (God’s Own Country; Await Further Instructions), horror icon Barbara Crampton (You’re Next, Re-Animator, From Beyond), director (The Ranger) and producer (Psychopaths) Jenn Wexler, and Queensbury Pictures’ Giles Edwards. Over the next few months, I’m going to hone the script and see if this scary baby can be brought to life. Many thanks to FrightFest and Queensbury Pictures for the opportunity.

New Blood with mentors, photo by Julie Edwards Photography

Also, I made an ident for FrightFest – Shushpiria – which is now available online! A spoofy love letter to Argento’s Suspiria, it screened just before the UK premiere of The Ranger on both main screens, including the iMax, which blew me away. The point of the ident is to get the audience to switch of their phones.

This no-budget project was shot in one day by a very talented and creative team who gave their time because of their passion for it (credits at the end of the film). It’s a huge challenge to spoof something as specific and well-loved as Suspiria, but the lovely feedback from the crowd suggests the effort worth it. It was tremendous fun to do, even down to recording the faux Goblin music. Little bit of trivia – the painting in the background of the phone scene is by my dad – a very talented artist. Enjoy!

Connie awards and screenings update!

I’ve been drowning in production and post-production on Blood Shed and pre-production on Hank the last two months, so it’s been a while since I posted an update about my beloved Connie! Well, here it is… Don’t ye worry, the little diva is still making waves!

Connie continues to thrive on the festival scene, with more award wins and nominations, which is always a lovely, exciting surprise. It’s been almost exactly a year since the film was shot, and writing this kind of update fills me with glee.

Connie has won an Honourable Mention Award at The International Horror Hotel 2017, and screens at the event in June in Ohio, US. Connie has had several screenings in Ohio and has either been nominated for an award or won one at each of those festivals. Big love to Ohio! Thank you for appreciating my work. 

Back home here in the UK, Connie also took the Unrestricted View Film Festival in London by storm at the end of April, garnering nominations for Best Short, Best Director and Best Actress! This was a great surprise, but sadly we were unable to attend as we were away at another film festival in Poland. Gosh darnit!

The next UK screening of Connie is currently set for August bank holiday weekend in beautiful Manchester. Manchester is very close to my heart. I lived there for six or seven years and it was the first place I lived that made me feel completely at home. The people, the culture, the architecture, the honesty – I still have a special place in my heart for the city. Yes, Connie will have her Northern UK Premiere at the incredible Starburst International Film Festival. So not only a city I love, but a magazine I love too – all in one festival. Hip hip hooray!

Before she’s let loose on Manchester, Connie will be making her way to Berlin for her German Premiere next month at Final Girls Berlin Film Festival! We’re heading over to attend the festival in person, and in puppet, and can’t wait to see the audience reaction. I love sitting amongst the crowd and watching the screenings – you can hear every giggle, roar, gasp and clap. There’s nothing like it.

Connie has also been selected as part of the prestigious Etheria World Tour 2017/18 and will screen internationally at Etheria events throughout 2017/18 at universities, art galleries, conventions, museums, independent cinemas, year-round travelling horror conventions, partner festivals, pop-up Etheria screenings, official Etheria Women in Horror Month events, and horror/sci-fi/comic conventions. Now that is BIG news – she might be coming to a town near you soon! I’m so thrilled to have my work included as part of such a great line-up and to be working with Etheria. It’s a real honour. 

And finally, I’m so very proud that Connie is screening TONIGHT (26/05) at the Seattle International Film Festival! Being selected for an OSCAR qualifying festival is something that I never expected for my tiny film about a very sweary, domineering puppet. It’s a huge festival and one I definitely want to attend in future! So, if you’re anywhere close to Seattle, go along and enjoy.

In other news, Blood Shed is in the edit and we’re still aiming for a festival release later this summer, and Hank is in pre-production and casting. I can’t wait for people to eventually see these two projects. They mean a great deal to me and are a little off-the-wall, but I hope will be really memorable (for all the right reasons)!

Coming in 2017… Hank. Pic: Moranic Productions Limited

Blood Shed Kickstarter is now LIVE!

She’s (A)LIVE! Well, our Kickstarter campaign for Blood Shed is alive.

Blood Shed is about a shed that eats people. It’s a love letter to the 80s horror anthology style, with key influences being Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, The Evil Dead and Tales from the Darkside for visuals and feel, while telling a bizarre new tale with a unique monster.

I’m co-writer and producer, and James Moran (Severance, Cockneys vs Zombies, Tower Block, Spooks, Torchwood, Primeval) is my co-writer and director. He is ACE, and I say that as a professional with no bias whatsoever. Well, a little. But he really is an awesome talent.

Here’s the synopsis!

Jack loves a bargain. And he loves sheds. When he buys suspiciously cheap second-hand parts online to build his very own dream shed, he and long-suffering wife Helen find they’ve got more than they bargained for: a killer shed with an appetite for blood. As the body count rises, and the shed’s ferocious appetite grows, Jack is faced with a horrifying dilemma. A comedy horror about a man’s twisted love for his shed… that eats people.

We are desperate to bring this beautiful baby to life, to delight horror, comedy and classic monster fans, but we need YOUR help to do this. We need to raise a minimum of £10K to make it happen, but we’ve budgeted this within an inch of its life and we can deliver something really unique and special for this amount.

We have an incredible team on board, including BAFTA-nominated composer Ben Foster (Thunderbirds Are Go, Happy Valley, Torchwood, Scott & Bailey, Prometheus, The Grey, Prisoners) and illustrator Andy W. Clift on board for storyboards, comic book style panels for the film and poster artwork.

Ben Foster

The campaign is live until 27th March, but don’t delay, some of our perks are very limited. If you’ve already backed us – thank you so much. Please share the link, tweet it, like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, send carrier pigeons, semaphore… Please support! Our shed has an insatiable appetite and needs to be fed… and unleashed on the world!

Our perks include signed goodies, exclusive extras and downloads, set visits, on-screen appearances, screening tickets, props, limited edition merchandise, Executive Producer credits, writing workshops, script feedback and even a piece of the shed! With STRETCH GOALS to be announced (my god, they are COOL).

More updates on the cast and crew coming over the next couple of week, along with update videos.

www.bloodshedfilm.com #bloodshedfilm #nightofthelivingshed

Thanks so much to our supporters so far, and the very kind press who have already started helping us spread the word! We tip our hat to you lovely people!

Starburst Magazine

SciFiNow

The Fan Carpet

From Dusk Till Con

 

Connie nominated for Best Screenplay (Short) by Nightmares Film Festival!

I’ve had the INCREDIBLE news that  Connie has been nominated for an award – Best Screenplay (Short) – by the lovely folks at Nightmares Film Festival, Ohio, US.

I’ve spent most of the morning staring at the shortlist in disbelief and drinking far too much coffee to celebrate. I’m particularly thrilled with this one as it’s a personal nomination and it’s staggering to get this kind of recognition for my writing. Especially for a script that’s so complex and involved months of research and character development.

Thank you so, so much to Nightmares for this nomination. I’m really honoured, and the fellow nominees are quite intimidating to say the least! I’ll be doing cartwheels all month!

Connie’s North American Premiere at Nightmares is this Thursday, as part of the Horror Comedy shorts block from 10pm to midnight. Festival passes, VIP All Access Passes and single screening tickets all available here.

Thank you, thank you. *Bows humbly*

#BetterHorror  #NFF16