Stanley Film Festival was a horror film festival located in Estes Park, Colorado. Founded in 2013, the festival showcased independent horror films, including features, shorts and special events with guest filmmakers. The festival was named for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park where it is held, a neo-Georgian hotel that was the inspiration and setting of Stephen King's horror novel The Shining. The festival also held a student film competition titled, The Stanley Dean's Cup.
2013 Festival
The inaugural festival was held May 2–5, 2013. Opening night film: The Purge with director James DeMonaco and producer Jason Blum in attendance. The 2013 festival was curated by Programming Director Landon Zakheim and programmer Michael Lerman, with films from 13 different countries.
Selected Films
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Bloody Acres | AUSTRALIA | Colin and Cameron Cairnes | |
| Aftershock | USA, Chile | Nicolás López | Closing Night |
| All the Boys Love Mandy Lane | USA | Jonathan Levine | |
| Beneath | USA | Larry Fessenden | |
| Berberian Sound Studio | United Kingdom | Peter Strickland | |
| Big Bad Wolves | Israel | Navot Papushado & Aharon Keshales | |
| Black Rock | USA | Katie Aselton | |
| Cabin Fever – UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT | USA | Eli Roth | |
| Frankenstein's Army | NETHERLANDS | Richard Raaphorst | |
| Here Comes the Devil | MEXICO | Adrián García Bogliano | |
| Macabre | Singapore, Indonesia | Kimo Stamboel & Timo Tjahjanto | |
| Maniac | USA | Frank Khalfoun | |
| No One Lives | USA | Ryûhei Kitamura | |
| Room 237 | USA | Rodney Ascher | |
| Sightseers | United Kingdom | Ben Wheatley | Centerpiece |
| The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | Germany | Robert Wiene | |
| The Purge | USA | James DeMonaco | Opening Night |
| The Rambler | USA | Calvin Lee Reeder | |
| The Shining | USA | Stanley Kubrick | |
| Tower Block | United Kingdom | James Nunn & Ronnie Thompson | |
| V/H/S/2 | USA, Canada, Indonesia | Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sánchez, Timo Tjahjanto & Adam Wingard | |
| Vanishing Waves | Lithuania, France, Belgium | Kristina Buozyte | |
| Wither | Sweden | Sonny Laguna & Tommy Wiklund |
Special Events
- "Secrets of The Shining" panel discussion about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, which complimented a screening of Room 237.
- It included Room 237 director Rodney Ascher and subject Jay Weidner, Leon Vitali, who was Kubrick's personal assistant on The Shining,
- Mick Garris, director of The Shining (TV miniseries), and moderated by Badass Digest writer Devin Faraci.
- Presentation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with live piano score by performer Hank Troy.
- "Composing for Genre Cinema" - a panel discussion with film score composers, Nathan Barr, Jonathan Snipes, William Hutson, Hank Troy and Mark Schulz.
- Live performance by the John Chaos Sideshow.
2013 Awards
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Eli Roth | Example |
| Audience Award for Feature | Franck Khalfoun | Maniac |
| Audience Award for Short | Ryan Spindell | The Root of the Problem |
| Stanley Dean’s Cup | John McSween | Peak of Terror |
2014 Festival
The 2nd annual festival took place April 24–27, 2014.
Selected Films
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doc of the Dead | USA | Alexandre O. Philippe | Opening Night |
| What We Do in the Shadows | New Zealand | Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement | Closing Night |
| The Babadook | Australia | Jennifer Kent | |
| Blood Glacier | Austria | Marvin Kren | |
| Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead | Norway/Iceland | Tommy Wirkola | |
| Eyes Wide Shut | UK/USA | Stanley Kubrick | |
| The Fall of the House of Usher | France/USA | Jean Epstein | |
| Gremlins | USA | Joe Dante | |
| Housebound | New Zealand | Gerard Johnstone | |
| Late Phases | USA | Adrian Garcia Bogliano | |
| Lesson of the Evil | Japan | Takashi Miike | |
| LFO | Sweden/Denmark | Antonio Tublen | |
| Moebius | South Korea | Kim Ki-duk | |
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | USA | Henry Selick | |
| Nothing Bad Can Happen | Germany | Katrin Gebbe | |
| Open Windows | Spain/USA | Nacho Vigolando | |
| Ragnarok | Norway | Mikkel Brænne Sandemose | |
| R100 | Japan | Hitoshi Matsumoto | |
| Rigor Mortis | Hong Kong | Juno Mak | |
| The Sacrament | USA | Ti West | |
| Sleepwalkers | USA | Mick Garris | |
| Starry Eyes | USA | Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer | |
| The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears | Belgium / France / Luxembourg | Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani | |
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 40th ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION | USA | Tobe Hooper | |
| Witching and Bitching | Spain | Alex de la Iglesia | |
| Who Can Kill a Child? | Spain | Narciso Ibáñez Serrador |
2014 Awards
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Elijah Wood Daniel Noah Josh Waller |
Founders of SpectreVision |
| The Master of Horror Award | Joe Dante | |
| Audience Award for Feature | What We Do In The Shadows | |
| Audience Award for Short | Here Be Monsters | |
| Jury Award for Short | Ghost Train | |
| Stanley Dean's Cup Jury Award and Stanley Dean's Cup Audience Award | Wormbug |
2015 Festival
The 3rd annual festival took place April 30 - May 3, 2015.
Opening night film: Cooties with SpectreVision production company partners Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, and Elijah Wood in attendance.
Selected Films
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Nightmare | USA | Rodney Ascher | |
| We Are Still Here | USA | Ted Geoghegan | |
| Body | USA | Dan Berk & Robert Olsen | |
| The Boy | USA | Craig Macneill | |
| Deathgasm | New Zealand | Jason Lei Howden | |
| Director's Commentary: The Terror Of Frankenstein | USA | Tim Kirk | |
| The Final Girls | USA | Todd Strauss-Schulson | Closing Night |
| Cooties | USA | Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion | Opening Night |
| Goodnight Mommy Ich Seh Ich Seh |
Austria | Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz | |
| The Hallow | United Kingdom | Corin Hardy | |
| Hollow | Vietnam | Ham Tran | |
| The Invitation | USA | Karyn Kusama | Centerpiece |
| Let Us Prey | United Kingdom | Brian O'Malley | |
| Over Your Dead Body Kuime |
Japan | Takashi Miike | |
| Scherzo Diabolico | Mexico | Adrian Garcia Bogliano | |
| Shrew's Nest Musarañas |
Spain | Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel | |
| Some Kind Of Hate | USA | Adam Egypt Mortimer | |
| Stung | USA | TBenni Diez | |
| Sun Choke | USA | Ben Cresciman | |
| The Treatment | Belgium | Hans Herbots | |
| When Animals Dream Når Dyrene Drømmer |
Denmark | Jonas Alexander Arnby | |
| Shivers | Canada | David Cronenberg | Retrospective |
| Re-Animator | USA | Stuart Gordon | Retrospective |
| The Bride Of Frankenstein | USA | James Whale | Retrospective |
| Diabolique Les Diaboliques |
France | Henri-Georges Clouzot | Retrospective |
| Repulsion | United Kingdom | Roman Polanski | Retrospective |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | USA | Jim Sharman | Retrospective |
2015 Awards
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Tom Quinn | RADiUS-TWC co-president |
| Audience Award for Feature | The Final Girls | Director Todd Strauss-Schulson |
| Audience Award & Jury Award for Short Film | The Babysitter Murder | Director Ryan Spindell |
| Stanley Dean's Cup Colorado Prize | Moon Studios | Director Merritt Crocker |
| Stanley Dean's Cup International Prize | Inherent Noise | Director Karol Jurga |
External links
- Official Site - www.stanleyfilmfest.com
References
- Hunter, Rob. "Stanley Film Fest Paints the Hotel Walls Shining Red with 'The Purge,' 'Maniac,' 'Aftershock,' 'Black Rock' and More". Reject Media, LLC. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- Kit, Borys. "Ethan Hawke's The Purge to Open Inaugural Stanley Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- McHargue, Brad. "Stanley Film Fest Unveils Lineup for Inaugural Festival, May 2–5". Dread Central Media, LLC. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- Lindsay, Taylor. "And the Awards For Horror Go to Elijah Wood, Joe Dante, 'Ghost Train' and More at the 2014 Stanley Film Festival". Indiewire. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- Sharf, Zach. "Stanley Film Festival Announces 'Cooties' As Opening Night Film". Indiewire. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- Canfield, David. "Stanley Film Festival Announces Winners of 2015 Horror Showcase". Indiewire. Retrieved 11 May 2015.