Kdents TV Spotlight: Filmmakers in the Second Annual Horror Film Festival
Still from John Sadler's film, featured in this year's Second Annual Horror Film Festival .
By Jessie Fidler
KdentsTV’s Second Annual Horror Film Festival is an opportunity for young filmmakers to experiment with and expand their filmmaking experience. Two of this year’s filmmakers were interviewed on filmmaking and their experience working on the Horror Film Festival.
John Sadler, who directed “The Case of the New Castle Witch” last year, is reprising his work at the Horror Film Festival with an unnamed film featuring “…two students who go grave robbing in hopes of finding some sort of artifact for their AP history project, only for it to go horribly wrong.” With a small cast, John handles all of the technical aspects of production, including the writing, directing, and editing of the film.
On the opportunity to work again on the Second Annual Horror Film Festival, John praised the festival’s creative freedom, the opportunity for criticism, and remarked “I love filmmaking, so I was incredibly excited to be able to participate in a film festival that accommodates filmmakers like myself who have a budget of practically nothing to shoot a short film.”
As for his filmmaking process, John shared that he wanted to produce “…something that rewards proactive viewing… next step for me is to just sit down with my laptop and start writing until I have a satisfying opening and basic storyline. Then I’ll do a shot list based on the script, and I rarely storyboard simply because my art skills aren’t exactly the best.”
Stills from John Sadler's film from last year's festival, "The Strange Case of the New Castle Witch".
His advice for aspiring filmmakers includes a quote from one of his filmmaking inspirations, Tarantino: “…just ask yourself ‘what have I never seen before[?]’ It’s always fun to make an homage to existing material, and I do that often as well, but when it comes down to the core plot or message of a film, try to do something that you think hasn’t been done… And when it comes to writing… seek out inspiration, and then you’ll have plenty of ideas on the backburner cued up at your disposal”. John’s last remarks include encouraging advice, “Cliché as it is, remember to have fun.”
The second filmmaker spotlight for KdentsTV’s Second Annual Horror Film Festival is Marcus Dowd, who in the festival’s previous year provided a horror screenplay. Marcus commented “…amidst the chaos of 2020, KdentsTV and the Horror Film Festival in particular helped me find new ways to continue making theatrical art.” Marcus’s previous work filming for KdentsTV includes a mockumentary titled “MAHBAGYAAHD”, parodying professional nature documentaries with a tour through his backyard.
For the Horror Film Festival this year, Marcus is working alone on his own film, “I think it’s pretty ambitious, but I really wanted to push myself… I wanted to really learn more about the post production side of filming this year, so I took on the whole film to learn as much as I could.” Marcus’s previous experience in film has primarily revolved around screenwriting. He shares, “my writing often stems from a single shot that I think would look good, then it’s a puzzle working forward and backwards piecing together a story.”
Marcus references Mike Flanagan’s series on Netflix as his biggest inspirations in horror filmmaking, with such works as The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass. He notes “…[they] all carry a tension throughout the entire series and it’s truly captivating and worth a watch.”
One of the major challenges Marcus faced during filming for this year’s festival was the challenge of working alone. He comments, “I’m pretty concerned about my technology not being strong enough to play my short film. It has caused a bit of struggle throughout the editing process, but I’ve been able to get around most of it and hopefully it doesn’t get in the way anymore.” Through all the challenges, Marcus cherishes the opportunity to learn more about himself through his work on KdentsTV’s Horror Film Festival.
Stills from Marcus Dowd's film from 2021.
Finally, Marcus gives advice for amateur filmmakers to, “set a small personal goal. I think the personal growth far outweighs the outcome of the film itself. I learn by trying new things, so if you don’t know what to do, try attacking something you don’t know too much about. You never know what you might find!”
KdentsTV’s Second Annual Horror Film Festival is scheduled for October 29th—31st, 2021. Winners will be announced on Halloween after sundown.
Click here to read more about how to submit to KdentsTV Second Annual Horror Film Festival.
