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Queer Fear Film Festival
Saturday, 12 October 2024 until Saturday, 12 October 2024
The transgressive nature of horror has always skewed queer. Queer Fear's mission is to fling open the closet door and spotlight the rainbow end of the horror and genre film spectrum. Gays lost in the woods? We're into it. Lesbian vampires? We want them (really, call us). Trans Final Girls? Send them in. Experimental animation through a queer lens? Yes, thank you, more please. Like sexuality, our definition of horror is pretty fluid. Sci-fi, thrillers, dark fantasy, harrowing documentary, and cinematic experiments are all welcome. If your story faces down the darkness in the world or within, we probably want to see it.
Be part of the South's only exclusively queer horror and dark genre film festival! We set ourselves apart by building a community dedicated to queer creators and queer stories, from the campy to the truly skin-crawling. Horror has always embraced The Other, and queer folx around the world know a thing or two about being Othered. But we're not alone.
Our fourth annual event will be in-person at a/perture cinema in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Our judge's top picks for Best Short, Best Feature, and Best Student Film, as well as our Audience Choice film, will all receive cash prizes and a coveted Golden Unicorn statue.
Best Feature Film | Prize: $250
Best Short Film | Prize: $250
Audience Choice Film | Prize: $250
Best Student Film | Prize: $250
2024 films...
LIGHT HORROR SHORTS...
STAN BEHAVIOR | Dir. Tyler C. Peterson | Short | 15:01
A drag queen embarks on a quest for better workplace rights, but finds herself in a dicey situation when her new layer, a tone-deaf straight woman, is revealed to be a drag super fan.
CLOSE FRIENDS | Dir. Eleanor “Ellie” Propp | Short | 11:11
A young woman comes face to face with a Thing that she hasn't seen since her childhood.
STRANGERS ON THE A TRAIN | Dir. Rachel Kerry | Short | 06:07
Two different podcasts create very different experiences for two commuters riding the A Train, with disastrous results. FILMMAKERS ATTENDING
SAFETY STATE | Dir. Jeanette L. Buck | Short | 15:37
In the dystopian near future, a gay and a lesbian couple form an unlikely friendship as they flee the midwest for safety in New England.
POPPY’S SATURN | Dir. Nicole Tegelaar | Short | 14:35
When nightclub singer Poppy is confronted by a black-eyed man she is overcome by fear. The event triggers a buried sexual trauma that she has to overcome in a kaleidoscope world of glitter, music and blood.
THIS FEELING WILL PASS | Dir. Neil Willoughby | Short | 07:00
Following a disturbing dinner party conversation, Tessa's intrusive thoughts begin to impede their reality. FILMMAKERS ATTENDING
BURIED | Dir. Asleigh Becker | Short | 12:02
While looking back on a failed love, a woman tries to make sure that her heart isn’t broken beyond repair. FILMMAKERS ATTENDING
SANGUINE | Dir. Robin Careless | Short | 11:23
A first date takes an unexpected turn as Mirabel finds herself captured and experimented on by shady figures who believe she isn’t what she seems.
HORROR SHORTS...
LADY PARTS | Dir. Ariel McCleese | Short | 15:24
When Iris thinks of Ellie, she gets wet. Very wet. She’s heard it’s normal, but this seems different. And When you’re in High school, different is dangerous.
HADO |Dir. Rubi Rock | Short | 11:59
Javi, an unfaithful, powerful man, drives down a poorly lit infrequently traveled road by night. He’s returning home from a supposed work trip. In the blink of an eye, one mistake will change Javi’s life forever.
CASTING KILL |Dir. MArk J. Parker | Short | 15:20
During a last minute casting session at a production office after hours, an overworked casting director realizes that an actor he’s invited to audition is more interested in killing than acting.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS | Dir. Stu Silverman | Short | 20:00
Two girlfriends pick up a traumatized woman near the scene of an accident. But something isn’t right about their passenger and soon the good Samaritans are trapped in a nightmare ride they’ll never forget.
THE APPRAISER |Dir. C.J. Arellano | Short | 09:30
Gary takes his partner Nico to his family’s farm, where both men are possessed by unseen forces.
THE THAW | Dir. Sarah Wisner, Sean Temple | Short | 16:31
In 19th-century Vermont, a young woman’s parents drink sleeping tea to survive the harsh winter, but an early thaw leads to horrifying results.
THE POWER OF THE STRIKE | Dir. Dima Barch | Short | 15:00
One totally f***ed up night in a bowling alley. FILMMAKER ATTENDING
FEATURE...
THE REBRAND | Dir. Kaye Adelaide | Feature | 1:19:00
Nicole, an eight months-pregnant bisexual videographer is hired by a lesbian lifestyle influencer couple to film a redemption documentary after they've been publicly canceled, but Nicole quickly discovers that the couple have nefarious ulterior motives. FILMMAKERS ATTENDING
WEIRD & WILD SHORTS...
POSSUM | Dir. Daisy Rosato | Short | 15:00
When the leader of an artist residency kills the possum that’s been eating their cauliflower, the residents come to a shocking consensus.
IRREGULAR FEMININE FORMS | Dir. Emma Underwood | Short | 10:00
After surviving a suicide attempt, a trans woman named Bela must enter her own mind in order to banish her darkest demons once and for all, or stay trapped inside forever.
MAURICE’S BAR | Dir. Tzor Edery | Short | 15:00
In 1942, on a train to nowhere, a former drag queen remembers a night from her past in one of Paris’ first queer bars. Remnants of customer gossip recall this mythic bar and its mysterious Jewish-Algerian owner.
THE JOURNEY HOME | Dir. Noah Lei Underwood | Short | 03:00
A creature considers its current bindings and finds them wanting.
IT’S A MATCH | Dir. Michelle Mary Schaefer | Short | 13:05
When a hearing bi-curious woman matches with a deaf lesbian named “Leatherface” on a dating app, she has high hopes for the relationship- but she must contend with the fear that lurks beneath the surface.
FROM MY ROTTING BODY | Dir. Sol Casimiro | Short | 12:37
A trans-masculine sex worker grapples with internalized fetishization and a condition in which their skin splits open due to emotional trauma.
LES BÊTES | Dir. Michael Granberry | Short | 12:37
A mysterious rabbit with a set of magic keys summons a host of strange creatures to entertain a wicked king and his decadent court in this dark stop-motion animated fantasy inspired by the works of Ladislas Starevich.
SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT | Dir. Frankie Campisano, SG Egan| Short | 14:59
An offbeat odyssey into the world of dead shopping malls, fast food secret menus, and basement beauty pageants.