After being included in our normal Women in Horror Month celebrations earlier this year, Lowrie Fawley is back to talk about her upcoming festival The Magic of Horror Film Festival. Get all the details about what to expect of this years' celebrations, how to submit your film for consideration and more details about the event.
Me: Hello and thank you for returning for a new interview. You've launched the new edition of the Magic of Horror Film Festival, what specifically about this year's festival are you most looking forward to?
Lowrie Fawley: I am most looking forward to being able to go “live” again and mix and mingle with all of the great filmmakers whose works we have to share this year. One of the best parts about this festival is the chance to talk to the cast and crew, to the writers, to the people involved in these projects. It is a time to share ideas and also to share our passions.
Me: As a festival centered around and run by women, how did that come about? What appealed to you to focus the festival in that manner?
LF: This really was not a “plan” so much as it was based on the fact that, when I met Shiva Rodriguez after being cast in a project of hers, we discovered that we both shared a love for the gorier aspects of the horror industry. We were women working in what has often been seen as a man’s domain (with women largely being the victims in horror). And I started to share her passion for SFX. I learned a great deal from her in this area. When we started to see a need for festivals that give greater opportunities to horror filmmakers, we created the festival to celebrate our love for the art as both content creators and as women. In doing so, we also hope to increase diversity, to celebrate all people who want to be a part of this industry no matter their gender, and to increase the visibility of films that move beyond established gender tropes.
Me: What are some of the special services the festival offers for entrants looking to submit a feature film, short or music video to the festival?
LF: One thing we offer to ALL entries is feedback from our judges. All too often, when a film, screenplay, or video is entered in a festival, it is either accepted or not accepted. When the film is not accepted, in particular, filmmakers have spent their money and essentially gotten nothing in return. Our judging team is reviewing and commenting on all of the work already, so we felt that it is only right for that feedback to be shared with the submitters. There is no way that we can accept all of the films, but this way content creators can see what they did well, what the judges liked, and also what areas they can improve on. We ask our judges to be fair but honest, to offer constructive criticism, and to give advice that can help filmmakers grow.
Me: You use a panel of judges from both in and outside of the film community. How did this come about? What specifically are you looking to accomplish with this setup for the festival?
LF: One of the first things we wanted to do was to create a festival that was open to all. We have seen fests that clearly treat films created by their friends preferentially. We have a great many friends in the industry, and we did not want to do that, even if we were not doing it intentionally. So we put ourselves on the back seat and brought in judges who would have less of a potential bias. The decision to use judges who were from both inside of and outside of the industry was a part of this plan. People in the film industry look at the technical details. They can spot things that a casual viewer or a fan would not see. So they are important, for sure. But in the end, it is the audience whose opinion matters. Ultimately, what do genre fans think about the films? Which films really get them excited? So we end up with a balance - technical scores and popularity scores if you will. I think this leads to a very balanced selection of great films for the audience.
Me: What can we expect from the complete festival experience? What are you looking to build upon for the 2021 edition that was missed from not having the festival in 2020 due to the stare of the world at that time?
LF: Because the pandemic forced us to go “virtual” last year with our awards, we are holding a TWO DAY festival in 2021. On Saturday, November 13th, we will screen and honor the films that were our selections from 2020. Then, on Sunday, November 14th, we will screen the 2021 films and hold an awards ceremony for the winners. We hope this means that there will be even larger crowds (we will be working with the venue on numbers and social distancing) and that we have a chance to meet new faces. We are also going to be screening the grand prize winner from our feature film contest. We just added this contest for 2021 to give feature filmmakers a chance to get feedback and we decided that we would screen the “best film” winner from that contest as well. Additionally, we have added categories for cosplay, SFX and artwork - we will be sharing those winners throughout the festival on the screen to keep the audience entertained between films and to give people a chance to share and promote their creations. Lastly, we added a “show us your worst” category! We will be screening these films during the gap while we calculate audience choice awards. Think of it as a chance to come and share your best MST3K skills! ALL filmmakers have that one film that did not come together as planned, but they used it as a chance to grow. By sharing these, we share something that we all have in common, and we do it with a laugh and a smile because in the end, we know that we have all been there!
Me: Lastly, what else about the festival that hasn't been mentioned you'd like to let our readers know about? Thank you again for your time!
LF: We hope that you will come and play with us! If you are a filmmaker, we want to see your films. In particular, we hope to see more features! If the desire is there, we will expand the festival in future years so that we can screen more films. We want to grow FOR the horror community. Virginia is a great place to visit, so we hope people will follow us and make plans to come to the festival. Ticket information will be posted online, and there are links to FilmFreeway on our page that you can use to submit your films. There are NO date restrictions, so older films are eligible. Visit www.magiofhorror.com to check out winners from previous years, see updates, watch trailers, and see exclusive content when it becomes available. We love to promote our filmmakers and the horror community. Reach out to us! We don't bite (ok, maybe that’s not true….but let’s just keep that part quiet, ok?)
This interview ran as part of our Women in Horror Movement! Click the banner below to find everything we've published for this occasion:
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