BUFFALO SCREAMS HORROR FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL SELECTIONS, GUEST OF HONOR

DATE: September 21, 2010
CONTACT: Greg Lamberson, glamberson@verizon.net

INAUGURAL ‘BUFFALO SCREAMS HORROR FILM FESTIVAL’ ANNOUNCES SHORTS AND FEATURES FROM THE WNY REGION AND AROUND THE WORLD

Buffalo, New York - Gregory Lamberson and Emil Novak, Jr., founders of the Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival, today announced the lineup of films competing in the festival’s inaugural edition. Buffalo Screams runs from Thursday, September 21st through Sunday, October 24th at the Screening Room, located in the Northtown Plaza on Sheridan Avenue on Amherst. “Buffalo has a large community of independent horror filmmakers, so the audience is there for an event like this,” says Lamberson, an independent filmmaker and published author best known for his cult horror film SLIME CITY and his award-winning novels Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons. “We want to bring films and filmmakers from around the world to this festival, we want to spotlight local filmmakers, and we want to put on a festival that visiting filmmakers will speak well of when it’s over, so more filmmakers will want to attend the following year.”

Competition categories for the festival include Best Horror Short, Best Western New York Horror Short, Best Horror Feature, Best WNY Feature, and the “More than Horror” categories, which include other genres like crime dramas, westerns, and science fiction. In addition, awards will be given in the traditional categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Special Make-Up Effects, and Best Special Visual Effects. “Good film festivals are not about awards though,” Novak explains. “They’re about audiences seeing movies they might not be able to see otherwise; they’re about filmmakers interacting with those audiences, and they’re about filmmakers interacting with other filmmakers. We want to be the most filmmaker friendly festival in the region.”

Buffalo Screams will screen several WNY horror films, including the feature HOUSE OF HORRORS: THE MOVIE, the shorts THE BLACK CAT and DAVIS, and the world premieres of WHAT ARE THEY and IT’S IN BACK.

A number of Canadian films will screen, including the feature WEREWOLF FEVER and the shorts RED, EYES BEYOND, THE FAMILIAR, and THE GALLERY. Other international films include the Australian feature EL MONSTRO DEL MAR! and the French short CABINE OF THE DEAD. Non-horror films include the western DAMN YOUR EYES!, the local crime dramas BORN TO DIE and NO ROAD OUT, the Canadian superhero film AVENGING FORCE: THE SCARAB, and the psychedelic science fiction feature TRIPTOSANE.

Special “Showcase” films not in competition include the documentaries HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE and UNDER THE SCARES, the nihilistic zombie feature THE DEFILED, the short film THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MISTER HOLLOW, Novak’s short ADRIFT and Lamberson’s SLIME CITY MASSACRE. In total, 33 films will be shown over four days, climaxing in a casual awards dinner sponsored by My Tomato Pie.

The festival’s Guest of Honor is Debbie Rochon, the iconic actress who has appeared in over 150 films, many of them in the horror genre. Rochon writes a column, “Dawn of the Deb,” for Fangoria magazine and recently appeared as a judge on VH1’s reality series SCREAM QUEENS 2. She helped organize Troma’s POULTRYGEIST when it filmed in Buffalo and co-starred in SLIME CITY MASSACRE, which was shot around Buffalo’s Central Terminal Station.

“Debbie was our first choice as Guest of Honor,” says Lamberson. “Not only does she have connections to Buffalo, but she’s beloved by her colleagues and fans in the horror community, and she’s a fierce champion of independent filmmaking. She’s very down to earth, with no ego, and perfectly meets the criteria we want to set for our guests: someone who will watch the films and interact with the filmmakers and audience, fostering a community spirit. We’re lucky to have her.”

Day passes for Buffalo Screams will cost $13.00 per day, and will be available at the Screening Room on a same-day basis only. Four-day passes for the entire festival will cost only $39.00 (one day free), and will be available beginning Thursday, September 23rd at Novak’s Queen City Books on Main Street and at the Screening Room.

For a complete list of films showing at Buffalo Screams, and additional information, visit www.buffaloscreams.com.

The Screening Room – 3131 Sheridan Avenue, in the Northtown Plaza.

Queen City Book Store – 3184 Main Street, Buffalo

Friday, September 10th 2010

Artvoice Screen Shots: http://artvoice.com/issues/v9n35/screen_shots

Thursday, July 8th 2010

The Bloodsprayer Screams for Buffalo Screams: http://www.bloodsprayer.com/interviews/the-bloodsprayer-screams-for-buffalo-screams-an-interview-with-organizers-greg-lamberson-and-emil-j-novak/

Wednesday, June 23rd 2010

Ominous Events: http://ominous-events.com/news/archives/5
Fear Zone: http://www.fearzone.com/blog/buffalo-launch
Horror Yearbook: http://www.horroryearbook.com/5410556/buffalo-screams-horror-film-festival-call-for-entries

FILMMAKERS LAUNCH ‘BUFFALO SCREAMS’ FILM FESTIVAL

CONTACT: Greg Lamberson – glamberson@verizon.net

“Buffalo rocks. Buffalo Bleeds. Buffalo SCREAMS.”

Buffalo, New York – Two independent filmmakers, Emil J. Novak and Gregory Lamberson, are organizing a new horror film festival, Buffalo Screams, which will run for four days at The Screening Room in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, from Wednesday, October 21st – Sunday, October 24th. They are calling for entries and seeking sponsors through their website, www.buffaloscreams.com.

Both men have lived in New York State their entire lives, and Novak, a lifelong resident of Buffalo, is the owner of Queen City Bookstore, the Main Street comic book store his father started in 1969. In recent years he wrote and directed the feature films Tesla the Accumulator and Banshee, and is currently shooting the zombie anthology Decayed.

Lamberson, who grew up in Fredonia and now lives in Cheektowaga, is the award-winning author of Johnny Gruesome, Personal Demons, and the just released werewolf novel The Frenzy Way. He also wrote and directed the 1988 cult film Slime City, and last year he directed a sequel, Slime City Massacre, around Buffalo’s Central Terminal Station. Slime City Massacre recently won the Best Film and Best Actor categories at the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas.

“We have similar interests and influences,” says Lamberson of their partnership. “We know each other’s strengths and complement each other well. Emil is a graphic artist with deep ties to the community, and the comic store is a great base of operations; I know a lot of filmmakers from around the world and have a track record for promotion. We’re both actively involved in the Buffalo filmmaking scene, love horror films, and want to create a festival that will draw attention to this region. We decided to start with a four-day festival, rather than a one or two day event, to show how serious our commitment is.”

Novak explains why the duo chose to hold Buffalo Screams at The Screening Room: “Bob Golibersush, owner of the Screening Room, is one of Western New York’s biggest supporters of indie filmmakers and indie theater. Bob has been involved in the movie business for 1over 17 years. He also hosts the BM-VM (Buffalo Movie-Video Makers) society, established in 1934. The venue is attractive and inviting; it also serves, wine, beer and soft drinks.”

According to the pair, Buffalo has a large population of horror film fans due to its long history with the genre: Harvey Weinstein of Miramax and the Weinstein Company wrote and produced The Burning here in 1981; Local cinematographer James Gribbins directed Shadow Creature in 1995; and Lloyd Kaufman made Troma Entertainment’s Poultrygeist here in 2006. In addition, the area has seen a groundswell in grassroots productions such as Gore, The Pigman, House of Horrors: The Movie, and the currently lensing productions Dusk, The Perfect House, and The Final Night and Day.

“The audience is here,” Lamberson says. “Our job is to use our contacts in the industry attract films that people here may not see otherwise, and to create a unique atmosphere that will grow the event each year. I was a guest at the Beloit International Film Festival in Wisconsin for two years, and the visiting filmmakers unanimously proclaimed it the best festival they’d ever attended because of the generous support shown to them by the festival volunteers and community. We want to generate that same buzz here, with regards to our chosen genre.”

Buffalo Screams is a joint presentation by Novak’s production company, Buffalo Nickel Productions http://www.buffnickelproductions.com , and Lamberson’s website, http://www.slimeguy.com.