Etheria Film Night Event and Reviews
Because Zombeavers has become a fairly recognizable film, I have been able to attend special events as a celebrity guest. Define “celebrity” : The state of being well-known… hmm… Well I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but it’s nice none-the-less to be able to attend events and dress up to walk the red carpet.
Saturday, June 13th, Getty Images photographer Al Ortega took these snaps of me and my cute outfit. I am usually a thrift store junkie, or I recycle clothes; however, I wanted to look cute, so I bought something new. I really don’t like spending money on clothes, unless it’s a $2 shirt from a thrift shop, but I ended up spending money on this adorable romper and vegan shoes by Guess. (Vegan, meaning no leather.) Maybe someday I can collaborate with designers and wear their clothes. Cross promotion!
Etheria Film Night represents women filmmakers in the genre world of horror, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, and action. The genre world has a great little community where it’s a small-world type feel. Upon exiting the carpet I ran into a few people I knew and we chatted a bit about everyone’s upcoming projects, Zombeavers, and the exciting films that were about to be showcased. The line-up was as follows:
Sheila Scorned: USA Directed by Mara Gasbarro Tasker 
Shevenge: USA Directed by Amber Benson
El Gigante: CANADA/MEXICO Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero
Gödel Incomplete: AUSTRALIA Directed by Martha Goddard
De Noche y De Pronto: SPAIN Directed by Arantxa Echevarria
Slut: USA Directed by Chloe Okuno
I loved all the films. Each one was unique and not cookie cutter. Each film had an interesting story and a fantastic story-teller.
First, Sheila Scorned reminded me of a Tarantino film with interesting lighting choices and a sexy-powerful female lead. Yet, I think this movie failed to do what had intended , which was to put a strong female character in a role that isn’t something a man would create, feminism at its finest; However, if that was the intention then you don’t make the character a scantily-clad, stripper who kills a bunch of bad guys with martial arts and a lead pipe. Instead of going against the grain of what a male would want, I think Sheila Scorned was hand delivered. That’s not to say the film was bad, because it was actually quite good. I enjoyed the art direction/cinematography/editing.
Second, Shevenge was a cute little revenge flick where three girls dream up of fantasies of how to kill their significant others. Each girl had a vignette of how they would do the dirty deed, and each vignette was different: one was very Mad Men, One was Tarantino, and the last one was very hokey with intentionally bad special effects. Props to this film because they were able to pull off a variety of different moods and still make the story cohesive.
Next, El Gigante was quite disturbing, which means that it was really well executed. Every part of the film was great from the visual effects, to the blood, to the gore, to the costumes, props, hair, and make-up . Very much The Hills Have Eyes. It was based on a novel, which according to Gigi, was the basis for her inspiration because the novel was very descriptive. To me the film was a metaphor for society’s gluttony with an underlying theme of violence, and the cannibalism is actually a metaphor for the mass consumption of animal flesh. I don’t think that was intentional, but to me and a few others, that is how it came across.
Fourth, Gödel Incomplete was a time-travel love-story that was shot very beautifully. I really enjoyed all the elements of this film. It was a great authentic story and it was told very elegantly. The lighting design was stunning and the main actress was charismatic and compelling to the story line. I would like to see this film as a feature.
Next, El Noche y El Pronto was a favorite of mine and I actually voted for this film on my ballot. The story was told in an interesting way filled with special visual effects and specific story-telling. Nothing about this film was run-of-the-mill and it was captivating from start to finish. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It’s no wonder that the judges of the festival chose this film as their top pick. Very well done and congratulations!
Finally, Slut! Slut was the audience favorite and walked away with the audience choice award. It was well deserved. This film was set in the 60’s and was shot on film. (applause already). The story was exactly what women empowerment should be like. A young 16-year old girl dreams of being liked and in doing so she loses who she is. A stranger doesn’t take too kindly to that and tries to put her back in her place. Little does he know, she is a force to be reckoned with when she sticks to her roots. It’s a great little film and it was very well done and very excited that Chloe won the audience choice. Congratulations!
- Special congratulations to a trailblazer for women in filmmaking, Jane Espenson, who lends her voice to the best in the business and is paving the way for women in film.
Special thanks to the festival’s sponsors: Fangoria, Horrible Imaginings, Digital Bolex, Monstrosity, Birns & Sawyer Hollywood
Thank you for the invite by Heidi Honeycutt and for the photos by Al Ortega!
I will miss the deadline for a film submission for next year. But I will submit a film the following 2017 year!
The Starving Actor's Forum 