This particular announcement landed in the wrong e-mail folder but I still feel like pushing this one. The Etheria Film Festival is back for its eighth year as initially reported by Variety the other day, and with an official short films showcase line-up also slated to stream exclusively on AMC’s premiere horror streamer, Shudder, from Friday, June 25 through July 25.
Moreover, Gale Anne Hurd (EP on The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, producer on Universal’s upcoming The Walking Dead movie) will be on hand for the festival, paying tribute to Angela Kang (Showrunner/EP on AMC’s The Walking Dead) with the 2021 Etheria Inspiration Award, which the announcement describes as an award “given annually to a person in the entertainment industry who has inspired women to pursue careers working in genre film and television.”
“The 2021 lineup has some of the funniest things we’ve ever programmed alongside some of the darkest and most disturbing things we’ve ever programmed,” says Etheria Director of Programming Heidi Honeycutt. “And we’re so happy to be screening on Shudder for the second year in a row!”
“As a life-long fan of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and thrillers, I am truly humbled to be in the company of the incredible women Etheria has honored over the years with their Inspiration Award, not least the incomparable Gale Anne Hurd.” said Kang. “I am on a trail she blazed and love that Etheria is showcasing new genre films created by women who want to travel the same exhilarating path.”
“The Etheria Film Festival is the preeminent forum showcasing the many talented women working in the genre field. As The Walking Dead’s first female showrunner, Angela Kang has proven herself to be a visionary in the horror/sci-fi medium, and she is also one of the most talented people working in television today,” says Hurd. “Being a previous recipient of the Inspiration Award myself, I am honored to pass the torch to Angela.”
Kang joined the show’s writing staff in season two as a story editor, quickly rising the ranks to co-executive producer by season five. Her promotion to showrunner was announced in January 2018, going into season nine of the acclaimed series. Kang is also currently co-creating The Walking Dead Universe’s Untitled Daryl & Carol Spinoff.
Check out all nine short films listed below and head over to www.etheriafilmnight.com and shudder.com for details!
The 2021 Etheria Film Festival Short Film Lineup includes:
THE FOURTH WALL
Directed by Kelsey Bollig (11:30 min) (Horror) (Switzerland/France)
Chloé fights for her moment in the spotlight. How far will she go to upstage the annoying actors with whom she is forced to perform Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’?
NARROW
Directed by Anna Chazelle (10 min) (Sci-Fi/Horror) (USA)
In a post-apocalyptic world where survival means never stepping off a thin narrow path, a lone woman must evade a creature that stalks her every move.
YOU WILL NEVER BE BACK
Directed by Mónica Mateo (13:30) (Sci-Fi/Horror) (Spain)
After Ana and David say goodbye like any other day, something extraordinary happens that alters reality.
BOOTSTRAPPED
Directed by Katy Erin (7:30 min) (Sci-Fi) (USA)
A physicist travels back in time to try to save her relationship – and in turn, the world.
MISFITS
Directed by Ciani Rey Walker (18 min) (Thriller) (USA)
When they learn their friend has kidnapped a cop on the night of MLK Jr.’s assassination, two sisters and leaders of the Black Panther Party must set aside their differences to navigate one of the most turbulent nights in history.
THE GRAY
Directed by Myra Aquino (9:30 min) (Fantasy) (USA)
A former cop works in purgatory and processes people going to heaven and hell. One day, his 20-year-old son appears.
POLVOTRON 500
Directed by Silvia Conesa (11 min) (Sci-Fi) (Spain)
In the year 2065, a man enters an old holographic sex booth intending to take a nap, but he accidentally activates the sex hologram.
EYE EXAM
Directed by Aislinn Clarke (2:30 min) (Horror) (U.K.)
A woman regrets attending a free eye exam when she begins to suspect that her optometrist has nefarious intentions.
WHO GOES THERE
Directed by Astrid Thorvaldsen (23 min) (Horror/Western) (U.K.)
When a stranger appears on their prairie in 1880 Minnesota, Ingrid invites him in to heal her dying sister, but she doesn’t realize that a supernatural force is crossing her threshold.
The 2021 Etheria Jury includes numerous development and acquisitions executives, agents, managers, showrunners, critics, journalists, filmmakers, and distributors.
Past Etheria Film Festival official selections have included films from directors Axelle Carolyn (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Roseanne Liang (Shadow in the Cloud), Natalie Erika James (Relic), Anna Biller (The Love Witch), Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor), Jill Gevargizian (The Stylist), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Into the Dark: Culture Shock) and Bridget Savage Cole (Blow the Man Down).
