After three days of celebs, slashers, and screenings, the Silver Scream Fest went out with a flourish today in Santa Rosa, Calif. The three-day film festival saw luminaries like Freddy Krueger’s own Robert Englund, director John Landis, seven-time makeup-effects Oscar winner Rick Baker, ambidextrous artist Rob Prior, and ELM STREET heroine Heather Langenkamp, among others, come to meet fans and talk about their contributions to horror cinema.
There were screenings of some of the best independent scary cinema out there, in addition to screenings of contemporary classics like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, NEW NIGHTMARE, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (on its 35th anniversary), and SANTA SANGRE alongside classics from the Golden Age of Hollywood like DRACULA (On its 85th anniversary! Seems like just yesterday….), ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, and WHITE ZOMBIE.
There was a celebration of FM’s own Uncle Forry, a tribute to iconic horror filmmaker Wes Craven (SCREAM, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT), a graphic-novel panel focused on American Gothic Press, a live demo by Cinema Makeup School, and panels with some of the best artists out there, including Darick Robertson, Walter Welsh, and Eric Keyes.
Proud filmmakers gathered for the awards show during which Famous Monsters’ Jorge Marrero and American Gothic Press’ Holly Interlandi honored the best of the best in independent feature films, shorts, graphic novels, and screenplays, with entries coming from countries as diverse as Lebanon, England, and Spain.
Check out the list of winners below. And stay tuned for news on next year’s fest, which is going to be bigger, better, faster, more!
WINNERS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL SILVER SCREAM FESTIVAL
Imagi-Movie Award (The Forry)
HOW TO BE A VILLAIN
Best Feature
FAUX PAWS
Best Feature Horror
MASKOUN
Best Feature Comedy
FAUX PAWS
Best Feature Sci-Fi
CTRL ALT DELETE
Best Director
MASKOUN
Best Actor
Brian Wimer as Brian in FAUX PAWS
Best Short
HOW TO BE A VILLAIN
Best Animation
AIRJUNKIE
Best Short Horror
ROOM 731
Best Short Comedy
WORM FOOD
Best Short Sci-Fi
FLY SPY
Best Short Fantasy
SPARKS
Best Director
Wesley Gunn — YOTLUNGERDAL
Best Actor
Terence Harvey — HOW TO BE A VILLAIN
Best Kill Scene
BAR TALK
Most Cringe Worthy
HARMFUL SENSATIONS
Best Practical SFX
DATING MATERIAL
Best Costuming
YOTLUNGERDAL
Best CGI
FLY SPY
Best Cinematography
FLY SPY
Best Creature
TIME TO EAT
Best Stand-Out Moment
ROOM 731
Best Sound FX
TRAPPED
Best Homage
UNA MUJER SIN PRECIO
Best Musical
KADDISH!
The Grindhouse Award
THE LAST JUNKIE ON EARTH
We Want More Award (Needs To Be An Ongoing Series or a Full Feature)
AS THEY CONTINUE TO FALL
Best Screenplay (Feature)
CHARLIE ON THE MTA
By Kieran Hair
Best Screenplay (Anthology)
THE APOCALYPSE CHRONICLES
By Nathan Ludwig
Special Award for Comedy
I’M A ZOMBIE
By Patrick Pindiur
Best Graphic Novel (Complete)
THIN
By Jon Clark
Best Graphic Novel (Script)
INVISIBLE HANDS
By Laszlo Tamasfi
Honorable Mentions
SOMEBODY’S DARLING
BUBBA THE REDNECK WEREWOLF
THE STRAY