Event Report: 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival

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The Blacklist Art & Film FestivalThis past August 28th saw the San Diego debut of the Blacklist Art and Film Festival, and your local Dread Central staff members were on hand for the event. We’re happy to report a good time was had by all, and even though we’d seen a couple of the horror shorts shown during the film fest portion already, they really popped thanks to the enthusiastic crowd.

What types of films were there? Only several of the best shorts the genre has seen in some time: Jason Eisener’s hilariously brilliant “Treevenge” (review here), the clever and surprising Aussie flick “Spider” from Nash Edgerton, and Ryan Spindell’s quite well made “Kirksdale” (the longest entry of the night with a runtime of 21 minutes). These three came in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Beast in Show, respectively, and were all well deserving. They were joined by:

  • Trevor Jimenez’s animated “Key Lime Pie” (a crowd favorite)
  • An intense early work by Victor (Return to House on Haunted Hill, Mirrors 2) Garcia – “El Ciclo” from 2003
  • The super ambitious “Next Floor” from Denis Villeneuve
  • The one-minute, origin-unknown “Il Bruto”
  • Phil Mucci’s far out “Far Out” (review here)
  • Another quickie – “Demi-Urge Emesis” from Voltaire, clocking in at just 2-1/2 minutes
  • The interesting and artsy “Majini” from Africa, directed by Fernando Apodaca
  • The humorous yet oddly touching “Zombie Movie” from New Zealand’s Ben Stenbeck
  • Rodrigo Gudino & Vincent Marcone’s beautifully haunting “The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow” (review here)
  • “Danse Macabre” from Pedro Pires, which started off disturbing and unique but went on a little too long to keep its shock value
  • The twin brothers who presided over the Blacklist, Jeff and Chris Speed, made sure every detail was perfect at the fest’s new home, the Birch Theatre in North Park (2891 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92106). The artwork on display ranged from the wild and trippy to the gorgeously grotesque. As someone who’s lived in San Diego for the majority of my adult life, it’s great to see an event like this take hold in the generally culturally conservative city. And judging by the crowd’s turnout and appreciation for both the artwork on display and the films shown, it should only grow and improve in years to come.

    Event Report: 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival

    Event Report: 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival

    Event Report: 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival

    Jeff dropped us a line afterward with a report on how the show compared to its previous incarnation in Lake Tahoe: “Overall it was a great event. The place was pretty packed, the atmosphere was awesome, and everyone had a blast. Every film in our program had multiple votes with most films reaching double digits, pretty incredible. I’ve been getting nothing but positive feedback. Big thanks to the artists, filmmakers, sponsors, and guests that made it all possible. The San Diego community really came out to support this thing. The horror and underground culture in SD has needed an outlet like this for a long time, and we are proud to fill that void. Hopefully we can find enough support to keep this beast going.”

    We can promise that Dread Central will be there again next year with all the support we can provide. For more info on the event, including how you can submit your own short films, visit the official Blacklist Art & Film Festival website or email Jeff Speed at jspeed@1134films.com.

    Event Report: 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival
    Rinse your mind of mainstream slime. Salvation is here.

    Click here for our full gallery of photos from the 2010 San Diego Blacklist Art & Film Festival.

    Debi Moore

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