We announce the Official Selections of the BEST SHORT FILM category of the DarkVeins Horror Fest 2020, a festival dedicated to horror cinema, now in its fourth year.
The winners of all categories (Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Original Soundtrack and Best Trailer) will be published on January 31, 2020.
For the category BEST SHORT FILM, the following short films were selected from the competition films:
– Perturbado (Mexico - 2019) by Fernando A. Fisher
– Perfect (USA - 2020) by Jeremiah Kipp
– Snake Dick (USA - 2020) by David Mahmoudieh
– Long Pig (Italy - 2020) by Riccardo Suriano
– The Barber (Ukraine - 2020) by Sergiy Pudich
– Mannequins (Russia - 2020) by Maksim Noginov
– The Great Parody (Portugal - 2019) by André Carvalho
– Arris Remembers (USA - 2020) by Jim Stramel
– Ms. In-between (Ireland - 2020) by Brian Durcan
Below is more info on the nine short film finalists competing for the award BEST SHORT FILM:
Written and directed by Fernando A. Fisher (here directing his second short film), Perturbado (aka Disturbed) stars Jose Chinchillas Olaiz as Mario, a man who can no longer distinguish imagination from reality and who will end up a victim of his own sadistic thoughts. To put his own mind in order, the young man will contact a psychologist.
Cast: Jose Chinchillas Olaiz.
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Written by Anthony Guilianti, Perfect features Jeremiah Kipp, the director of The Sadist, Black Wake and several horror shorts such as Slapface and Painkiller.
In Perfect, Audrey is a woman desperate to find the perfect man. After several dates with strangers, the young woman will try to "build" her ideal partner, piece by piece.
In the cast: Ashley Tyler, Logan Roberts, Lucas Rainey, Cole Critchell, Kyle Tuck, and Brandon Fox.
The film is produced by and stars Ashley Tyler.
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David Mahmoudieh writes and directs Snake Dick, a short horror film in which two seemingly fragile girls will be able to defend themselves against two shady characters.
Plot: Jill has the snake. Julia has the flute. Alone they have nothing but together they have a secret weapon to fight evil.
In the cast: Poppy Drayton (Unhallowed Ground), Sierra Pond, Micah Fitzgerald (Bastard) and Ross Francis.
The photography of Snake Dick is by Chris Saul while the soundtrack is by Anthony Scott Burns.
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Long Pig marks the directorial debut of Riccardo Suriano, who also handled the screenplay. The film offers a reflection on violence, a voluntary action exercised even by unthinkable subjects.
The photography of Long Pig is by Piero Perilli, who also appears in the film's production along with Riccardo Suriano and Miranda Angeli.
Plot: the town is marked by a series of mysterious disappearances. Meanwhile, in a trailer, a woman prepares dinner for herself and an elderly man who is not in good health.
In the cast: Evelina Meghnagi and Fernando Ferrari.
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Produced, written and directed by Sergiy Pudich (Not True), The Barber features a barber and his latest customer.
Plot: a rough-mannered biker shows up at the barbershop when the latter has just closed the salon. However, the man decides to please his customer....
In the cast: Sebastian Anton and Yuriy Sorge.
The photography of The Barber is by Alex Milokost while Pontus Ullerstam handled the soundtrack.
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Dummies come to life in Mannequins, the horror short film produced, written and directed by Maksim Noginov.
Plot: before closing the store, a saleswoman sets up the new batch of mannequins on the premises. At the stroke of midnight, however, the girl will experience moments of unspeakable terror.
In the cast of Mannequins: Evgeniya Kozyreva, Prokhor Chekhovskoy, Nataliya Efremova and Pavel Garbuzov.
Alena Eremicheva was in charge of the film's soundtrack.
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André Carvalho produces, writes, directs and performs The Great Parody (aka A Grande Paródia), a short film with symbolic references related to the artist who strips himself of values and principles in order to be accepted by his peers in society. According to Carvalho, such a process is an artistic death; it is the rape of an artist's natural way of being.
Plot: a filmmaker falls asleep in front of the TV and dreams of selling his soul in exchange for success.
The photography of The Great Parody Is by Nuno Martini.
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Jim Stramel is the producer, screenwriter and director of Arris Remembers, a short film presented as a "visual poem that is part Grindhouse, part Arthouse ... An incredibly beautiful music box."
Renee W. Stramel appears in the film's production while Margaret Rolicki stars in this barely 5-minute short.
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Ms. In-between is an approximately 3-minute short film written and directed by Brian Durcan.
In Ms. In-between, the protagonist is a drunken prostitute (Emer Gannon) who will have difficulty returning home.
T.C. De Witt co-wrote the screenplay for the short film with Brian Duncan. Photography is by Niall Flynn while the soundtrack is by Michael Fasoulas.
