FilmQuest has returned with a fresh crop of ambitious and mind-bending films.
The Provo, Utah-based genre festival is gearing up for its newest installment, set to take place Oct. 22-31.
“FilmQuest has become one of the most beloved and talked about genre festivals in the world due to our unwavering commitment to ring the bell for the very best that genre cinema and its burgeoning filmmakers has to offer, which is of course the best kind of cinema there is,” Jonathan Martin, FilmQuest’s founder and director, said in a statement. “Genre is here to stay in our ridiculously gorgeous home of Provo, Utah, and the festival’s growth and success here in Provo proves that the power of genre cannot be denied.”
The films and shorts include notable names such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, David Dastmalchian, Kathleen Quinlan, Alex Essoe, Lou Taylor Pucci, Sylvia Hoeks, Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand, Michael Pitt, Adrienne Barbeau, Barbara Crampton, Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison, Jacob Bertrand, Connor Paolo, Caylee Cowan and Brady Noon.
“This year’s lineup is our most electric ever, truly embodying the rock n’ roll spirit of the festival. It’s going to blow your hair back with the absurdly unfair amount of talent these filmmakers are showcasing in their films” Martin also said. “For those who are still wandering through the desert in search of the next big thing in genre, we’re here to tell you that you’re going to find at the mountains of Downtown Provo and the open doors of FilmQuest.”
World premieres include Johnny Coffeen’s supernatural dark comedy “The Avalanche,” starring Alex Essoe and Lou Taylor Pucci; Josh Logan’s dark fantasy cosmic horror “The Relic: Dragon,” based upon his award-winning short film; Jacob Schwarz’s high-octane revenge thriller “Whiskey Throttle”; and Christian Everhard’s cosmic horror “The Crawling,” starring Will Brittain and Katherine Hughes.
FilmQuest is also launching its genre film market this year, which will include 20-40 additional feature films curated for distribution and sales.
North American and U.S. premieres include Carson McKinnon’s thriller “Mother & Me!” starring Caylee Cowan and Brady Noon; Mark H. Rapaport’s dark comedy “Godhead,” starring Kimball Farley and Nick Taylor’s documentary “Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson,” about the special makeup effects artist.
Regional premieres include Russell Goldman’s thriller “Sender,” starring Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, David Dastmalchian, and Jamie Lee Curtis; Casey Walker’s supernatural western “Ithaqua,” starring Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand, and Michael Pitt; Paul Urkijo Alijo’s medieval dark fantasy spectacle “Gaua”; Brea Grant’s, Ed Dougherty’s, and Chelsea Stardust’s horror sci-fi comedy anthology “Grind”; Alex Hanno’s “Whiplash meets screenwriting” meta- thriller “Bravado”; John Veron’s cult horror “Godmother,” starring Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison; Noah Stratton-Twine’s and Jake Kuhn’s surreal “The Peril at Pincer Point”; Tyler Savage’s “Oddities,” starring Adrienne Barbeau; Brian L. Tan’s Indonesian crime thriller “Bandit”; and Jesse Gouldsbury’s cult comedy “The VelociPastor 2.”
“Thirteen years in, it still blows us away how many wildly creative filmmakers trust FilmQuest with their work. This year’s lineup is strange, fearless, surprising, and full of the genre spirit we built this festival to celebrate,” Jonna Jackson, the festival’s assistant director, said in a statement.
Some guests hosting filmmaking labs and workshops at the festival’s “Camp Cthulhu” include director Michael Dougherty (“Trick ‘r Treat,” “Krampus,” “Godzilla: King of Monsters”), former Disney executive and producer Brigham Taylor (“Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Tron: Legacy”), Emmy winning casting directors Amber Horn & Danielle Aufiero (“Color Out of Space,” “The OA”), producer Julia Glausi (“Heretic”), producers Jamie & Jason Neese (“Horizon,” “The Umbrella Academy”) and Slamdance co-founder and former AFI Film Festival director Jon Fitzgerald, with more set to be announced later this September.
The festival will end with an audiovisual awards show on Halloween night, where the festival promises a “game changing” genre film production opportunity will be announced, along with the presentation of the coveted Cthulhu Trophy to winners in feature film, short film, student film, animation, and music video categories. This includes the Golden Cthulhu for Best Feature Film and the Grand Prize Short Film winners. The past two Grand Prize Short Film winners, “I’m Not a Robot,” and “The Singers,” would win the Live Action Short Film Academy Award after their wins at FIlmQuest.
See the full lineup here.
