The 34th Raindance Film Festival has concluded its inaugural dedicated horror programming slate by awarding Rob Alicea’s ‘Serena’ with the Inaugural Roger Corman Award for Best Horror Feature. The Oscar-qualifying festival also kickstarted an awards campaign for its three main short winners including Jocelyn Charles’s horror animated short ‘God is Shy.’
The launch of The Horror Strand accompanied a broader celebration of genre filmmaking throughout the festival. In addition to the inaugural Roger Corman Award for Best Horror Feature, the initiative also introduced the festival’s first Official Horror Ambassador, actor, writer and genre film advocate Catherine Corcoran (‘Terrifier’) in partnership with FareStream Pictures and opened with the U.K. premiere of Michel K. Parandi’s sci-fi thriller ‘April X’, starring Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie.
The expanded genre focus was further underscored through Raindance’s Icon Awards, honoring performers and filmmakers with deep roots in horror, including legendary filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman, acclaimed actress Miriam Margolyes (genre credits: ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ ‘End of Days,’ ‘The Sandman’), and Brian Cox, whose genre credits include ‘The Ring’, ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ and the first on-screen portrayal of Hannibal Lecktor in Michael Mann’s ‘Manhunter.’
The horror feature lineup included ‘Bloodlust,’ ‘Occupy Cannes!,’ ‘The Devil Whispered My Name,’ ‘Corporate Retreat,’ ‘ Pinocchio: Unstrung,’ ‘Sacrificios,’ ‘Nameless, and ‘The Home,’
Short films “Pankaja,” “The Oath” and “God is Shy” are now all eligible for Academy Award consideration after winning the respective Oscar- qualifying awards at Raindance: Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animation Short. All short films screened in competition at Raindance meet eligibility requirements for awards consideration by BAFTA. The festival is also BIFA-qualifying for British features,
The awards cap a landmark year for horror at Raindance, as the festival’s initiative further cements genre cinema as a central pillar of its programming and its commitment to supporting the next generation of horror storytellers.
More About Raindance:
Raindance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the UK and it has been recognised by Variety as “one of the world’s top 50 unmissable film festivals”. Raindance showcases the boldest, freshest content from British and international filmmakers. Industry and the public attend cutting-edge panels, talks and workshops. Raindance is a qualifying festival for Oscars®, BAFTA and BIFA. Raindance is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film around the world. Founded in 1992, it combines the Raindance Film Festival, film training courses, and Raindance Higher Education. Training courses are at the heart of the Raindance structure, aiming to give individuals the tools to start shooting their film, and covering screenwriting, production, directing, and virtual reality. Moreover, Raindance has developed three fully accredited Higher Education Film Programmes, becoming the only major film festival in the world to offer higher education. www.raindance.org
