Screamfest Horror Film Festival

"The Screamfest Horror Film Festival" is the largest horror film festival in the United States.Fact|date=February 2007 Some of the largest horror online publications [http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/index.php?Keyword=Screamfest&Display=Search] have called it the "Sundance of Horror." Previously held at Loews Universal Studios Cinemas, Universal CityWalk, the festival is now held annually at the prestigious Grauman's Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood. "Screamfest" premieres and showcases new work from American and international independent horror filmmakers. Film entries are accepted in the categories of Best Feature, Directing, Cinematography, Editing, Special Effects and Musical Score. In addition, there are special categories for Best Animation, Best Short, Best Documentary and Best Student Film.

History

The largest film festival held in Los AngelesFact|date=February 2007, "Screamfest" (a non-profit 501 (3) (c) organization), is an internationally recognized showcase for independent filmmakers and writers of the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres.

Screamfest was formed in August 2001 by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in order to give filmmakers and writers in the horror/sci-fi genres a venue to have their work showcased to people in the industry. The majority of the films showcased in the past now have distribution.

The festival began in 2001 at the Vogue Theater in Hollywood, CA and has since moved on to the famous Grauman's Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood.

The festival has hosted many famous filmmakers and actors as guests, including Sam Raimi, Wes Craven, Eli Roth, James Wan, Paris Hilton, Rob Zombie, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Mike Mendez, Lance Henriksen, Clive Barker, Lin Shaye, Avenged Sevenfold, Fall Out Boy, Robert Englund, Mercedes McNab, Bill Moseley, Kane Hodder, Tobe Hooper, James Gunn, Michael Rooker, John Gulager, Snoop Dogg, Zack Snyder, Stan Winston, Sean Cunningham, Tim Sullivan and even John Landis. "Screamfest" has also introduced some major horror films onto the world, including "The Tripper", "Automaton Transfusion", "Hatchet", "", "Wolf Creek", "The Lost", "Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror", "Boo!", "Curandero", "Feast", "Three... Extremes", "Sigaw", "2001 Maniacs", "Cube Zero", "Dead Meat", "28 Days Later", "Dog Soldiers", "Wrong Turn" and many more.

While the horror boom continues to show no signs of slowing down, "Screamfest" continues to grow at an alarming rate. Annually "Screamfest" holds a private party at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and has many exclusive engagements in Los Angeles and Hollywood throughout the year. The festival has been featured on "Craig Ferguson" and "Entertainment Tonight" and in "Variety", "Time" magazine, "The Hollywood Reporter", "NY Times" and other major online and print publications.

About

Rachel Belofsky (Festival Director/Founder)

Prior to creating "Screamfest", Rachel Belofsky formed her production company Candy Heart Productions, LLC in the Fall of 1999. In the Spring of 2000, Rachel produced the multiple award winning women in racing documentary "Fast Women". It aired nationally in October 2001 on Canada's WTN (Women's Television Network) and in the U.S. on Women's Entertainment (WE) in November 2001. In 2006 Candy Heart Productions. L.L.C. produced the horror documentary, "Going to Pieces", for the Starz cable network. In addition to producing Rachel has served as a sales agent at the AFM and Cannes Markets.

Stan Winston (Partner)

Winner of 4 Academy Awards and nominated for 10 total, Stan Winston, the “Master” of special effects has partnered up with "Screamfest LA" in ‘04 to make this year our best ever. Some of Stan's movies include: "", "Jurassic Park", "Aliens", "Batman Returns", "Artificial Intelligence" and "Predator", just to name a few. The knowledge and experience Stan brings to the table for Los Angeles’ top horror film festival will only enhance the platform created to launch the latest films produced for this genre.

Brad Miska (Marketing and Promotions Manager)

The horror genre entered Brad Miska's veins the second he watched Don Mancini"s Child's Play" back in 1988, and since then has become a major horror fanatic. In 2000 he co-founded the horror website [http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/ Bloody-Disgusting.com] , which is now recognized as one of the elite sources for all things horror related in the nation. In 2003 he co-founded [http://www.freezedriedmovies.com/ FreezeDriedMovies.com] , which is a website designed to promote all genres of film. Continuing on the popularity of Bloody-Disgusting, Brad Miska co-founded [http://www.mobilenightmare.com/ MobileNightmare.com] in 2006, which is the first ever mobile horror network. Being that the horror genre is such a major part of his life it only made sense for him to bring his knowledge and internet expertise to "Screamfest" to help take their presence to an even higher level.

Visit [http://www.screamfestla.com/ Screamfestla.com] for more information on the festival.