Big Changes Planned

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Coulombe
T/ 323-604-9874
michael@bigbearhorrorfilmfest.com

Big changes planned for Big Bear Horror Film Festival

Big Bear Lake, California
January 10, 2011

In 2009 Horror was the biggest thing to hit Big Bear. In 2011 they again will be hit hard as Evil Kitty Productions brings back this year’s Big Bear Horror Film Festival but with a new and exciting twist: Sci-Fi!

Big Bear Lake, CA welcomes the Big Bear Horro-Fi Film Festival.

“We will still represent horror – it’s what we are known for,” says Jamie Kristen, Festival Director, “but we definitely feel it’s time to expand. Science fiction and horror are synonymous in so many ways.”

So to signify the inclusion of Sci-Fi into the festival the name has been changed to the Big Bear Horro-Fi Film Festival. Evil Kitty Productions promises to put together a great program of both Horror and Sci-Fi under this year’s Director of Programming Chris Gaida.

The dates for the 2011 festival will be held September 30 - Oct 2 in Big Bear Lake, CA. For more information please visit the festival’s official website www.bigbearhorrorfilmfest.com

A Scary Christmas and a Frightful New Year- Part 2

Black Christmas (1974) - Dir. Bob Clark

And we’re talking the original, for two reasons: 1) nobody’s yellow, 2) director Bob Clark also directed A Christmas Story, so that’s two holiday classics he’s got under his belt. Throw in a Margot Kidder (Sisters, Superman, The Amityville Horror), Olivia Hussey (Romeo & Juliet, It), John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, A Nightmare on Elm Street, From Dusk ‘til Dawn), a serial killer crashing a sorority house Christmas party and ***SPOILER ALERT*** “The calls are coming from inside the house,” you’ve got yourself Christmas classic.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1987) - Dir. Lee Harry

***SPOILER ALERT***

Now, you’re probably asking, “why the sequel without the first?” Well, the second film is essentially the “good parts” version of the original, almost literally “all killer, no filler.” In the first film, after witnessing the murder of his parents by a thief dressed as Santa, young Billy is scarred for life.

Consistently tormented by holiday cheer as he grows up, he, too, finally snaps, dons a Santa suit and goes on a killing spree, punishing those he deems have been naughty, before being gunned down in front of his little brother Ricky. The first film has a bit more plot development involving an overbearing nun. But the second film is almost entirely flashbacks of the kills from the first, as Billy’s brother Ricky recounts the incidents of the first film to a psychiatrist.

Meanwhile, Ricky awaits trial for his own amazingly gratuitous killing spree, attributed to the trauma of witnessing his brother’s death (such a vicious cycle), which he then recounts before escaping, donning a Santa suit of his own and going after the nun he blames for his brother’s death. But, essentially, Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is the greatest hits from the first film with a cherry on top.

Santa’s Slay (2005) - Dir. David Steiman

In this film, jolly St. Nick isn’t a willing purveyor of Christmas cheer. In fact, he’s not a saint either, not even close.

Bill Goldberg (yes, the former wrestler) plays the son of Satan, after losing a bet with an angel he’s forced to go around the world giving gifts and spreading joy for 2000 years. But, once the bet is off, he goes back to raising holy hell.

A Scary Christmas and a Frightful New Year- Part 1

I’m pretty sure this isn’t what they had in mind when they said, “keeping Christ in Christmas,” but scaring the be-jesus out of you is about as close as I’m gonna get to a religious Christmas. So, if spending the holidays with your relatives isn’t frightening enough, I offer my list of holiday-themed horror films, one for each of the 12 days of Christmas, to help you scream in the New Year.

The Last Stop on the Night Train (1975) - Dir. Aldo Lado

This is wonderful film to have in mind as you make the journey home for the holidays, gifts waiting under the tree, stockings hung by the chimney with care, parents cooking up the roast beast, a hyper-sexualized, homicidal trio holding you hostage in your train car…

In the world of high concept summaries, I imagine the pitch for this film went something like this, “It’s Last House on the Left on a train… but with more sex and violence.” Sold. Lisa and Margaret catch the night train from Germany to Italy to spend Christmas with Lisa’s family, but a chance encounter with two guys, a girl and a pocketknife puts a damper on their holiday. If you’re familiar with The Last House on the Left, then you know this story. It’s the same gist, with the terrible trio getting picked up by Lisa’s parents. If you like Last House, then you’ll like Night Train.

Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984) - Dir. Edmund Purdom

So many amazing things going on is this film. From the Halloween inspired killer-POV opening, you know you’re in for a treat, but not because this film is anything like Halloween. Instead, it’s because the heavy breathing over the POV makes it seems like Darth Vader is the killer who hates Santa.

Sadly, the madman loose in London, killing anyone he can find dressed as Santa, is not Darth Vader. I guess they couldn’t afford David Prowse. Still, gory deaths abound. And I’m pretty sure that Al McGoohan, credited for writing and directing additional scenes, comes from the world of porn, because there are some wonderfully random scenes that have almost nothing to do with the plot of the film and seem to serve no purpose other than provide some gratuitous nudity. This film might have you thinking twice about dressing up as Santa. It might also make you think twice about asking your girlfriend, who just witnessed her father’s murder, to pose nude for a photographer friend.

Christmas Evil–aka You Better Watch Out–(1980) - Dir. Lewis Jackson

Young Harry Stadling spies mom and “Santa Claus” doing a bit more than kissing underneath the mistletoe. When “Santa” unhooked mom’s garter belt he unknowingly unhinged Harry, warping his fragile little mind.

Once Harry’s all grown up, he’s got an unhealthy obsession with Christmas, spying on all the neighborhood kids, making his own list of who's naughty and nice. Imagine Travis Bickle, but instead of driving a taxi he works in a toy factory. And when he finally snaps, instead of donning a Mohawk, he super-glues a white beard to his face, dons a Santa suit, and spreads a little Christmas fear by killing those he deems naughty. But the nice need not fear him; he has no problem rewarding the good boys and girls. You won’t believe the ending.

Winning Film: PELT

PELT was the big winner this year. They won Outstanding Feature Film and Fan Favorite. The Big Bear Horror Film Festival was their World Premiere. Congratulations to the cast and crew of Pelt.

Winners of the Big Bear Horror Film Festival 2010

This past weekend, the Big Bear Horror Film Festival completed its second year on top by doubling the number of attendees over last year and presenting 10 awards to these outstanding people and films.

Outstanding Performance - The Cast of Clemency
Outstanding Director – Kevin McGuiness from RED
Outstanding Sound – The Unfun House
Outstanding Special Effects Make-up – Clemency
Outstanding Special Visual Effects – RED
Outstanding Animation - RED
Outstanding Short Film – Devil’s Creek
Fan Favorite – Pelt
Outstanding Feature Film – Pelt
Kerry O’Quinn Award – Victor Miller

“We were so honored to have Victor Miller, Creator of the original Friday the 13th attending the festival and also being honored with our most special award, the Kerry O’Quinn award,” said Festival Director Michael Coulombe. “We also had so many great films being shown this year and these winners should feel very proud.”

Year Two and Thank Yous.

I am excited about the possibilities that year two have to offer for the festival as well as for the filmmakers and the fans of the horror genre. The team has been working so hard this past year to ensure an amazing weekend.

I've been lax in posting this year. My sincerest apologies. There are so many wonderful things to share with you. We have many wonderful guests coming to this year's fest. We have wonderful new team members and also some amazing more promos that were done for the festival. Chris Gaida, our Director of PR and Media teamed up with Director, Vartan Nazarian to create some amazing videos for our viral marketing campaign.

Thank you also to my co-producer Jamie Kristen who has put it in a tireless amount of work and energy into the logistics of the fest. It's not easy, I know that but she has an amazing gift of pulling things together.

Here is to our second year. *cheers*

Emerging Artist: Amit Tishler

1)When did you find your love for drawing?

I think it was when I was about 8 years old, Pretty late to start. Up until that age I drew just like any other kid, Rough sketches with no solid line or any sign of special talent. My mom says that when I was 8 I came to her one day with a drawing of the Flintstones. I had a videotape of that cartoon back then and I looked at the cover and started drawing what I saw.

My mom looked at it and didn't believe I drew it because up until that moment I didn't show any signs of artistic talent, But after I did several more, she realized it was me. From that moment on I just kept on drawing. My first drawings were mainly tributes to my childhood heroes, but a few years later I already started to design my own characters and develop my own unique style.

Too bad most of my drawings were made during class!.

2)How would you describe your drawings? How would you describe your cartoons?

My drawings changed quite a lot over the years, both in terms of style and in terms of content. These days I mainly draw concept artwork for stories and characters I'm working on for several ideas I hope to develop to something big in my future career. Also, I'm highly influenced by Japanese animation and video games and it really shows. My designs may not be "Anime" but they're a mixture of my own line and a heavy "Anime" influence. Most of my drawings today are pretty dark, less humorous and kind of dramatic.

Unlike my artwork, my animation films are pretty different for now. Although my films have a dark tone to them, they're mostly comedies. They're colourful and cartoonish and sometimes over the top. The subjects themselves are also mostly humorous and tend to avoid over complexity in their storytelling. The main reason for this contrast is that I prefer to keep my more complex ideas for future productions, they're not something I can produce on my own and they're not short-film oriented materials.

3)Is horror your favorite subject to draw about?

You can definitely say so. Most of my animation shorts have a "Horror" genre touch to them. Most of the time it's in the mood, atmosphere and overall design- like in my short film "Born to be dead" which deals with the adventures of a cute little girl who gets thrown out of heaven into the pits of Hell.

I use the horror elements through sound and direction and it's a usage of classic horror elements more then violent horror elements. Although I did try my luck with some bloody gore in my latest film- "Winterhunt", and I have to admit it was a guilty pleasure.

It's also worth noting that I usually I mix the horror elements with colourful and often cute characters, which is something I really like. I think a part of it is because I'm a Jhonen Vasquez fan, the influence over my style is often hard to ignore.


4)Where do you come up with your ideas for the cartoons?

Good question. it's hard to put my finger on it, but usually when I want to start a new project I just sit next to a blank paper and start to sketch nonsense on it. After a while, with no direction whatsoever, something start to shape out of the sketches. A sign for an idea or a character worth developing.

Of course I have to again note that my main sources of influence also have a big part in this process. I watch a lot of films...and I mean, A LOT. I watch a lot of Anime and animation in general and I'm also a non-hardcore comics fan. So sometimes an idea pops when I watch or read something and get an idea for my own stuff.



5)Explain your process? Do you draw by hand or on the computer?

Good question. it's hard to put my finger on it, but usually when I want to start a new project I just sit next to a blank paper and start to sketch nonsense on it. After a while, with no direction whatsoever, something start to shape out of the sketches. A sign for an idea or a character worth developing.

Of course I have to again note that my main sources of influence also have a big part in this process. I watch a lot of films...and I mean, A LOT. I watch a lot of Anime and animation in general and I'm also a non-hardcore comics fan. So sometimes an idea pops when I watch or read something and get an idea for my own stuff.

6)Would you ever consider writing and/or directing live action films? Would they be horror?


Definitely YES! I always thought about it and hopefully I can do it one day, directing live action is definitely on my "to do" list. Now, as far as genre goes, yeah. I would probably deal with the horror genre as well in one way on another. If not as a pure horror only film than as a mixture of two genres like Horror/Sci-Fi, Horror/Fantasy especially.

And even if I'll direct something completely out of the genre, like most of my work, no matter what genre, it'll inevitably have a dark tone of some kind.

7)What current projects are you working on?

Well, these days I'm pretty over-loaded. I have a full time job as a senior Flash developer and I also work as a freelance character designer and animator. But my true main interest is to get into an MFA animation program abroad, finish it and start working outside my country. The industry here is very limited and the work conditions are harsh. I'm aiming for something bigger and hope that studies abroad will serve this cause.

But still, there is an idea me and my friends started working on for a short film. It's still I'm writing stages but if we actually pull it off- it'll surely be different from everything I've done so far. So, I don't want to give away any details but stay tuned to my Youtube account in the next few months and you might get a sneak peek!

Amit Tishler