THE “CANNES OF HORROR” UNVEILS 2017 AWARD NOMINEES
Nightmares Film Festival (Oct. 19 to 22 at Columbus’s Gateway Film Center) just announced nominees for its 2017 Night Mares, giving tapped filmmakers a thrill and festival attendees a list of films to watch for among the already stacked “#BetterHorror” lineup, as the festival bills it.
Each year the festival’s jury identifies films it believes are worthy of consideration for a “Night Mare,” the fest’s highly sought-after statuette. The Night Mare, sculpted and hand painted by renowned figure and toy designer Tony Simione (Star Wars, Marvel, The Walking Dead) depicts a fiery, furious hell-horse in exquisite detail.
“For us, the NFF Night Mare represents our commitment to honoring and elevating genre creatives, who sometimes find themselves viewed as the dark horses of filmmaking,” said festival co-founder and programmer Jason Tostevin.
The festival typically awards 24 of the statuettes across all selected screenplays and films – this year numbering about 180 total projects – but “reserves the right to award a Night Mare out of the standard categories, for work or spirit we think exceptionally represents ‘better horror’,” said co-founder Chris Hamel, referring to the festival’s rallying cry.
New this year, Nightmares sponsor and horror media outlet iHorror will also bestow its Horror Standout award to one film its representatives identify as exceptional.
“Recognition at Nightmares can make a real difference in the trajectory of a film or screenplay,” said 2016 Night Mare winner for best feature director, Brooklyn Ewing. “But even more valuable is the networking and the community of support you get from the festival. Being a part of it last year directly contributed to making my follow-up feature this year, which I’m world premiering at NFF.”
Press from around the country attends the festival to cover the films, and distributors are on-site to scout. Also new this year, World of Death, Bloody Disgusting’s online short film showcase, will be inviting selected shorts to debut online with them.
Winners will be named during the festival’s awards gathering.
