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THE 2021 BLOODIES AWARDS



BEST PICTURE:
Vicious Fun
Cody Calahan - Director
Chad Archibald and Cody Calahan - Producers

BEST SHORT FILM:
They're Here
Sid Zanforlin - Director
Patricia Gomez Zlatar - Producer

BEST DIGITAL SERIES (web series, music video or TV series):
Narcoleap: Season Two
Kate Green - Director
Jon Cooksey, Kate Green & Amber Orchard - Producers

BEST MICRO SHORT (15 seconds):
Little Red
Savanna Oliver - Director and Producer

BEST LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE:
Sera-Lys McArthur (Don't Say Its Name)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE:
Benjamin Charles Watson (The Family)

BEST LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT FILM:
Sera-Lys McArthur (kwêskosîw (she whistles))

BEST SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT FILM:
Grace McDonald (Duppy)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Cody Calahan (Vicious Fun)

BEST SCREENPLAY :
Rueben Martell, Gerald Wexler (Don't Say Its Name)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Scott McClellan (The Righteous)

BEST EDITING :
Funhouse (Jason William Lee)

BEST SPECIAL FX (makeup) :
The Butcher Shop FX (The Chamber of Terror)

BEST POSTER :
Geneva Haley (Peppergrass)





2021 THE ROYAL THEATRE LINEUP




Films will screen at The Royal Theatre in Toronto with Q&A to follow.


Program Booklet 👈🏿



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18th





With Open Captioning and ASL Interpreter

8:00 pm

VICIOUS FUN (Dir. Cody Calahan) (100 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (Toronto Theatrical Premiere)
Joel, a caustic 1980’s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in with his homicidal surroundings or risk becoming the next victim.



Opening with the short films:

THE CALL OF CABLEULHU (Dir. Ryan Couldrey) (5:18 mins)
Do you really need MORE cables when the pile of old ones in the storage boxes are starting to gain sentience?


THE MONSTER UPSTAIRS (Dir. Ryan Couldrey) (2:07 mins)
*STOMP STOMP STOMP* goes the "little monster" upstairs at 2 in the morning.



FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19th





6:45 pm

FUNNY FRIGHTS (87 mins in total)
A feature length program of our horror comedy shorts and generally things on the lighter side of death!


Opening with the shorts:

15 SECOND THEATRE (4:00 mins)

SEE YOU TOMORROW! (Dir. Andrew Simpson)
THE CREEPY PASTA CREEPYPASTA (Dir. Sean Patrick Kelly)
MOTHER (Dir. Kevin McGuiness)
CLEAN FREAK (Dir. Garbo Kwan)
PLAY WITH ME (Dir. Garbo Kwan)
REMAIN CALM (Dir. Naomi Silver-Vézina)
HERE ALONE (Dir. Trish Rainone)
SHORTBREAD (Dir. Mike Trebilcock)
SHOWTIME (Dir. Ian Johnston)
BREAKFAST (Dir. Jamie Francis)
BABY FOOD (Dir. Kyle Dunbar)
KNIFE P.O.V. (Dir. Pasquale Marco Veltri)
BABYSITTING (Dir. Octavian Kaul)
BOTULISM (Dir. Rich Johnson)
EUREKA! (Dir. David Creighton)
LITTLE RED (Dir. Savanna Oliver)



THE SNOW BALL (Dir. Rick MacDonald) (4:44 mins)
An over-imaginative kid crashes a sophisticated snowman party. When he receives a cold reception, things heat up!


DANCE DANCE KILL (Dir. J.K. Robinson) (7:39 mins)
A ten-foot tall Canadian goose kills a gang of spandex dance artists.


HELL IN A HANDBASKET (Dir. Lee Chambers) (5:00 mins)
Dale, a lonely research scientist in the Arctic struggles to maintain his solitary existence. With the world failing from a global pandemic, all hopes fall on Dale's shoulders as he represents the last stand for humanity.


THE PHONE INTERVIEW (Dirs. Kassy Gascho, Melissa Jones) (7:27 mins)
After being rejected from her dream sorority, a determined girl kidnaps a local cashier in hopes of achieving community by working at a boutique grocery store.


LUNACHICKS (Dir. Jess Joy) (12:32 mins)
Reclusive Marla Strange longs for a friend, but her infamous father has other ideas.


WOLF IN A DUDE'S CLOTHING (Dir. Solmund MacPherson) (12:57 mins)
A starving wolf finds a suit of human skin, crawls inside, and becomes a man.


FRUIT
(Dir. Ivan Li) (3:25 mins)
An in-depth technical analysis on Fruit.



HEART ATTACK MAN
(Dirs. Taye Alvis, Jamie Rogers) (8:42 mins)
Roommates Nick and Dave are attacked by a masked, hulking figure that has broken into their house. You'd think that'd be the worst of their problems, right? Yeah. You'd think.


EXTRACTION
(Dir. Zac Fudge) (8:00 mins)
A special ops agent has a bad day when he is called in to work on his day off.


PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
(Dir. Trey Anderson) (15:40 mins)
An aspiring rapper travels through the Palm Springs desert with her DJ and manager after receiving a suspicious request to perform at a secret Coachella afterparty.




9:30 pm
PEPPERGRASS
(Dirs. Steven Garbas, Chantelle Han) (92 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (Canadian Premiere)
During a pandemic, a pregnant restaurateur tries to rob a priceless truffle from a reclusive veteran.



Opening with the short films:

SLEEP WITHOUT A DREAM (Dirs. Benji Robert Irwin, Prudence Wangu) (7:45 mins)
Young Mirri narrowly escaped death when her campsite was attacked by a large animal, her boyfriend getting left behind. Frantically searching for help, Mirri finds Vic alone in the woods. Relieved to find help she collapses at Vic’s campsite, only to discover she may have crossed paths with a darker evil.



SELF-ACTUALIZATION OF A WEREWOLF WOMAN (Dir. Conall Pendergast) (4:00 mins)
A werewolf thinks she has her life figured out until a late night chance encounter changes her mind.



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20th





6:45 pm

DARK VISIONS (1OO mins)
A feature length program of our darkest, creepiest and weirdest films at Blood in the Snow.



SMILE (Dir. Joanna Tsanis) (6:35 mins)
When a young woman struggles to smile, her depression becomes something truly monstrous.


AN UNINVITED GUEST (Dir. Richard B. Pierre) (3:22 mins)
Three White people and one Black man wordlessly enjoy dinner while in the front yard a dishevelled Black man is brutally assaulted by police.


BREAK ANY SPELL (Dir. Anton Jøsef) (12:56 mins)
When April sets off for a quest in the world of live-action-role-playing, her mother's early-onset Alzheimer's reaches a breaking point.


I WANT TO BE LIKE YOU (Dir. Caitlyn Sponheimer) (4:58 mins)
Two women fall into a cycle of changing their appearance in order to find happiness.


HUNTER'S CABIN (Dir. N'cee van Heerden) (15:58 mins)
A young father withdraws to a remote cabin to face his curse alone, but he's not the only one with a dark past in the woods tonight.


ANNIE'S LAMP (Dir. Denman Hatch) (3:37 mins)
A psychological thriller about a woman, her lamp, and all the horrible memories that come with it.


HAUNTED BLIZZARD
(Dir. Aviaq Johnston) (10:37 mins)
A teenage girl walks home in a burgeoning blizzard, happy to have an unexpected snow day. Ignoring an Elder's warning about the terror the blizzard holds, she finds herself alone in her home with an unseen presence stalking and tormenting her.


ITSY BITSY SPIDER
(Dir. Brodi-jo Scalise) (16:04 mins)
A psychological-horror that follows a man struggling to maintain his sanity after discovering a menacing spider in his boyfriend’s apartment.


LA VÉILLÉE
(Dir. Kerrin Rafuse) (6:00 mins)
A young boy wanders out into the night in search of otherworldly adventure, as his Grandmother recounts the story of her own father's encounter with the Fairies.



HE COMES AT NIGHT
(Dir. Joseph Covello) (9:56 mins)
On a stormy night, an anxious eight-year-old from a fractured home wakes up to the terrifying realization that the monster under her bed may be real.


KWÊSKOSÎW (SHE WHISTLES)
(Dir. Thirza Cuthand) (12:16 mins)
En route to her girlfriend's place on a night when the Northern Lights are out, a 2-Spirit nêhiyaw woman is assaulted by her cab driver. Amidst the struggle, she discovers a deadly supernatural power that may help her solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance.





9:30 pm

THE CHAMBER OF TERROR (Dir. Michael Pereira) (93 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (World Premiere)
Nash Caruthers is on a deadly collision course with the people that tore his world apart...along with something unexpected. Something far more sinister.



Opening with the short films:

THEY'RE HERE (Dir. Sid Zanforlin) (12:00 mins)
Unable to cope with the death of her grandmother, Sam becomes convinced that her body is harboring an alien being that must be removed.



BEHIND YOU (Dir. Graham M. Sheppard) (2:19 mins)
While walking home alone Lucy feels that someone or something is behind her.




SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST





6:45 pm

EMERGING SCREAMS (1O3 mins)
A feature length program of new or first time Canadian genre directors.



THE WRAITH OF RUSTICO VALE (Dir. Justin O'Hanley) (13:42 mins)
A ghost story enthusiast investigates a supposedly haunted abandoned community in the country, and soon finds herself in very real, very mortal danger.


THE BACKWARDS GAME (Dir. Zaki Farow) (5:24 mins)
When a mysterious stranger appears in a young couple's home, they must play his game in order to survive.


RED STRING OF FATE (Dirs. Lovina Yavari, Lance Fernandes) (10:00 mins)
In the year 2090, a robotics engineer tries to bring her fallen lover back to life.



GOOD MORNING (Dir. Ethan Cabral) (6:16 mins)
“Good Morning” takes place in the psyche of a compartmentalized hitman. We sit in as he explores his mind through the eyes of god. His love of death and hatred of himself spreads like cracks in ice until he breaks through, sheds his cocoon, and is born anew.



THE SCRITCHING HOUR (Dir. Karlee Morse) (5:11 mins)
In a nightly ritual, a small dog sneaks away from his sleeping master - but where does he go, and what is he hiding?


BREATHE (Dir. Sandra Foisy) (5:48 mins)
A woman is drawn to a lake by an unforeseeable force that keeps her there.


MUTE
(Dir. Constance Hilton) (16:41 mins)
Mute follows a middle aged woman as she unloads the details of her husband's infidelity on a deaf hitchhiker. What starts as just a ride becomes something much more sinister.


THE YOUNG WIFE
(Dir. Cleo Brown) (12:02 mins)
In the wilderness of northern Ontario in the early 20th century, the neglected young wife of an unscrupulous fur trapper is visited by a handsome stranger with suspicious motives.


MOORE'S VOID
(Dir. Brad Bangsboll) (15:53 mins)
A grieving mother attempts to speak with her deceased son.


SARAH'S SONG
(Dir. Arturo LeDuc) (12:56 mins)
Sarah, a teenage girl living in a post-apocalyptic world must overcome her fears and past trauma to help her only ally Wade, survive a life-threatening injury.





9:30 pm
FLEE THE LIGHT
(Dir. Alexandra Senza) (75 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (Toronto Premiere)
A mystical horror-thriller where reincarnation, demons and sorceresses intertwine to tell the story of a spiritual search gone wrong. A psychology student (Annie Tuma) delves into her sister’s (Ariana Marquis) psychosis, exposing herself to an ancient predator who hunts souls. Also stars Jane Siberry.



Opening with the short film:

DUPPY (Dir. Andrew Hamilton) (29:09 mins)
Pulled from Jamaican folklore, DUPPY is a horror-driven meditation on the displacement of diaspora written and directed by Andrew Hamilton. When a disturbing occurrence befalls a young man packing up a shuttered bookstore on Eglinton West, or as it's better known to the people of Toronto, the neighborhood of Little Jamaica, he comes face to face with a terror greater than anything he could ever imagine.



MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND





8:00 pm
WOODLAND GREY (Dir. Adam Reider) (91 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (World Premiere)
A man living alone in the deep woods finds Emily, a hiker, unconscious and laying on the forest floor. He brings her back to his home and helps her get back to health so she can leave the forest and get home. After a few tense days coexisting, Emily makes a discovery. She finds a crudely built shed behind the man's home. When she opens it, she unleashes something truly haunting. As Emily and the man come to terms with what has been released, they also attempt to find a way out of the forest which isn't exactly what it seems.


Opening with the short films:

IN THESE PARTS (Dir. Gavin Michael Booth) (7:34 mins)
A man struggles to get the woman he loves off his mind.



PRO RE NATA (Dir. Julie Bruns) (4:12 mins)
A woman struggling with dementia is forced by her daughter to revisit her past - but sometimes memories are better left forgotten.



TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD





8:00 pm
THE FAMILY (Dir. Dan Slater) (104 mins)
Cast and Crew in attendance (North American Premiere)
On an isolated farm in what appears to be the 1800s, a family is led by their tyrannical father who preaches fire and brimstone and their devout mother who preaches obedience. They live in fear of a higher power and an existential threat living beyond their farm. Promising eternal salvation and protection against these outside forces, the father demands blind faith and back-breaking labor.



Opening with the short film:

MUMMERING LEGENDS (Dir. Shane Mills) (13:1O mins)
An elderly woman recounts the disturbing history of Mummering in 1920’s Newfoundland. Eve witnesses a murder; her only escape is into the woods. Mysterious pursuers, untamed forest and terror press her journey as a darker truth comes to light.


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2021 SUPER CHANNEL LINEUP




Films will screen on Super Channel with Q&A to follow.

Program Booklet 👈🏿



FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29th





9:00 pm EST
DON'T SAY ITS NAME (Dir. Rueben Martell) (94 mins)
The quiet of a snowy Indigenous community is upended by the arrival of the mining company WEC who have signed an agreement to drill the land. But before drilling starts, WEC employees begin to turn up dead, attacked by a mysterious force. As a local peace officer and a park ranger investigate, they come face to face with the vengeful spirits that have haunted the land for generations.




Opening with the short film:

ᓇᓄᕐᓗᒃ GIANT BEAR (Dirs. Neil Christopher, Daniel Gies) (5:01 mins)
A timeless Inuit legend about a solitary man, a giant bear and their daunting foes: each other.





11:00 pm EST

MOURNFUL MEDIUMS (88 mins)
Not too short, not too long! New for 2021, a shorts film program of the best in Canadian medium length shorts:



THE DOOR (Dirs. Reem Morsi) (19:31 mins)
THE DOOR follows a Syrian refugee family who moves to Canada after suffering a terrible loss.



ELLA (Dir. Grant McNair) (17:53 mins)
After being sent to live with her Aunt for unexplained reasons, Emma, a troubled eight-year old girl, struggles to relate to her new caretaker. After increasingly common episodes in which she loses touch with reality, Emma starts to believe that her malicious "sister", Ella, has returned to haunt her.



ESCAPE: A GHOST STORY (Dir. Robin Careless) (17:27 mins)
A group of escape room employees must face their fears and overcome a series of murderous puzzles set by a malicious ghost who haunts the building, or face dire consequences.



THE DEATH DOULA (Dirs. Amanda Parris, Lucius Dechausay) (17:52 mins)
In a near future world where the date of one's death is predicted by an app, a death doula is tasked with helping his first love reach her final hour.




WATERSHED (Dir. Maxime Beauchamp) (14:26 mins)
While scavenging around an empty city after a water-borne virus has killed off most of the Earth’s population, a lone survivor finds a sliver of hope when she encounters a young Mandarin girl who may be able to chemically manufacture clean water.



SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30th





7:00 pm EST

A SERIES OF WEB BITES (83 mins in total)
A feature length program of highlights of the best Canadian horror and sci-fi digital programming:




CREEPY BITS - CHAPTER 1 "BABY FACE" (Dir. David J. Fernandes) (2:59 mins)
Zara, a tired new mom, contends with a baby monitor showing her things in the room that shouldn't be there.




IT'S MY HALLOWEEN PARTY (Dir. Justin Snikkar) (3:56 mins)
In the tradition of the classic Monster Mash. Dr. Snik Presents a Halloween party song that crosses the Leslie Gore classic It's My Party, Too Sexy For My Car by Right Said Fred and Rob Zombie. Featuring Mitch Markowitz as Super Hippy from the 1970's Canadian TV show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (50th Anniversary in 2021) starring Vincent Price.



NARCOLEAP: S2 (Dir. Kate Green) (15:00 mins)
When college student Kelsey Atkins unexpectedly begins to leap into the bodies of other people during her bouts of narcolepsy, she becomes a target in the deadly world of military espionage.



GHOST - A PRIMITIVE EVOLUTION (Dir. Terra Joy McNerthney) (7:13 mins)
In a desolate post-apocalyptic dreamscape, two lone survivors search for connection. Radio waves call to them, but what will they find at the source of the signal?



MIDNIGHT LUNCH BREAK (Dir. Émilie Poirier) (5:00 mins)
Radio host Becka has a caustic sense of humour to match her egomania. After wrapping up the Halloween edition of her show, she realizes she may have pissed off the wrong listener as an assassin rampages through her office after hours. But Becka will be damned if she becomes his next victim!



THE REVENGE OF THE SNOW FLAKES (Dir. Carlos Soriano) (15:00 mins)
Antonia only wants to celebrate her new project with her boyfriend Hubert when she becomes the victim of a bullying campaign by baby-boomers on social media. She quickly realises that she’ll have to take justice into her own hands and decides to pay a little visit to her tormentors. She discovers an unbridled love for violence, while Hubert uncovers a fiery sexual appetite for his girlfriend’s violent prowess.



FOLLOW YOUR SHADOW
(Dir. Steven Cerritos) (20:00 mins)
Autumn has begun to have nightmares and dark visions of a mysterious entity. She thinks it might be remnants of her recent breakup. Her psychiatrist thinks there may be more to what meets the eye. Together, they'll discover ancient archetypes dwelling in the unconscious region of her mind.



COHERENCE
(Dir. Patrick Scopick) (26:00 mins)
A musical odyssey inside a strange world torn apart by psychedelic incoherence, where music alters reality.





9:00 pm EST

MOTHERLY (Dir. Craig David Wallace) (81 mins)
Single mom Kate will do anything to protect her daughter Beth from a dark and disturbing past that haunts them both. They have started a new life in an isolated farmhouse in the middle of the woods, far from the prying eyes of other people. Over the course of one day, Kate begins to suspect that something sinister is happening around them. As the danger becomes clear, Kate’s motherly instincts are put to the test. How far will she go to protect her daughter?


Opening with the short films:

THE CHILD WITH NO NAME (Dir. Chad Costen) (8:50 mins)
11,000 BCE. A lonesome child left alone by her tribe discovers a mysterious wand that gives her the power and insight to create the friend she's always dreamed about only to release a creature as old as time itself.



WE ALL DREAM
(Dir. Daniel Stark) (7:14 mins)
“We All Dream” is a melancholy horror short film about a sleepwalking girl, a midnight mission for ice cream, and the uneasiness of growing up in a jaded world.






11:00 pm EST

THE RIGHTEOUS (Dir. Mark O'Brien) (96 mins)
A burdened man feels the wrath of a vengeful God after he and his wife are visited by a mysterious stranger.



Opening with the short film:

PROMISES (Dir. Jim Morrison IV) (3:34 mins)
A woman believes she is going on a romantic date, what happens instead comes as a complete surprise.




SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31th 🎃





9:00 pm EST

FUNHOUSE (Dir. Jason William Lee) 106 mins)
When 8 celebrities from around the globe are invited to compete in an online reality show, they soon realize that they are playing for their very lives as those voted off suffer horrific consequences, broadcast live to the entire world.




Opening with the short film:

THAT HALLOWEEN (Dir. Mike Hickey) (13:00 mins)
On October 31, 1955, June & Frank Marsters met their grisly end when an escaped killer known as the Willow Woods Wolfman broke into their home. In the decades since the night has grown to be the stuff of local legend, but what really happened THAT HALLOWEEN?






11:30 pm EST

TIN CAN (Dir. Seth A Smith) (99 mins)
As the world enters quarantine, a front-line parasitologist is imprisoned in a life-suspension chamber. To escape she must destroy the last of her kind.




Opening with the short film:

DISQUIETUDE (Dir. Michael Marino) (10:00 mins)
A young musician struggles to escape when suddenly stuck in an anechoic chamber, known as the quietest place on Earth, causing her to lose her sense of reality from the sensory deprivation.






THE 2021 BLOODIES AWARD NOMINATIONS



BEST PICTURE:
Peppergrass
The Righteous
Vicious Fun

BEST SHORT FILM:
That Halloween
They're Here
We All Dream

BEST DIGITAL SERIES (web series, music video or TV series):
Creepy Bits
Narcoleap: Season Two
Revenge of the Snowflakes

BEST MICRO SHORT (15 seconds):
Babysitting
Breakfast
Little Red

BEST LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE:
Henry Czerny (The Righteous)
Evan Marsh (Vicious Fun)
Sera-Lys McArthur (Don't Say Its Name)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A FEATURE:
Ari Millen (Vicious Fun)
Madison Walsh (Don't Say Its Name)
Benjamin Charles Watson (The Family)

BEST LEAD ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT FILM:
Onna Chan (Red String of Fate)
Sera-Lys McArthur kwêskosîw (she whistles)
Mya McNair (Ella)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT FILM:
Aidan Devine (kwêskosîw (she whistles))
Grace McDonald (Duppy)
Bronwen Mantel (They're Here)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Cody Calahan (Vicious Fun)
Mark O'Brien (The Righteous)
Seth Smith (Tin Can)

BEST SCREENPLAY :
Break Any Spell (Anton Jøsef, Lisi Purr)
Don't Say Its Name (Rueben Martell. Gerald Wexler)
Tin Can (Seth A. Smith, Darcy Spidle)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Flee The Light (Billy Buttery)
The Righteous (Scott McClellan)
Tin Can (Kevin A. Fraser)

BEST EDITING :
Funhouse (Jason William Lee)
Tin Can (Seth A. Smith)
Vicious Fun (Mike Gallant)

BEST SPECIAL FX (makeup) :
The Chamber of Terror
Tin Can
Vicious Fun

BEST POSTER :
Kweskosiw (she whistles)
Peppergrass
He Comes at Night