The second edition comes of the Overlook Film Festival has come to a close, with the Festival announcing its second year juried and audience awards. Culled from a stellar lineup of 41 films (23 features and 18 short films from 12 countries), the festival’s features and short film juries deliberated over the course of the event, publicly revealing the winning selections at the festival’s closing night screening presentation of A24’s HEREDITARY.
The features jury consisted of the Los Angeles Times’s Jen Yamato, Toronto Intl. Film Festival Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky, and producer Toby Halbrooks (A GHOST STORY, PETE’S DRAGON). The jurors chose to honor director Joko Anwar’s SATAN’S SLAVES from Indonesia with the Feature Film Jury Prize. Additionally, the jurors highlighted Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s CANIBA, giving it the festival’s scariest feature award.
Actress Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, THE PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH), New Orleans Film Society Artistic Director Clint Bowie, and filmmaker Misty Talley (ZOMBIE SHARK) comprised the short film jury. The jury awarded their prize to Anna Roller’s PAN with an honorable mention going to Mariama Diallo for HAIR WOLF, and L. Gustavo Cooper’s AMY receiving the honor of scariest short film.
The Overlook Film Festival’s Audience Award for 2018 went to WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS: A Documentary directed by André Gower.
In addition to the film lineup, the Overlook showcased 6 live performances, 5 virtual reality experiences, 4 curated immersive theater productions, 3 panel presentations and 1 weekend long alternate reality game.
Discussing his experience at this year’s fest, The Overlook Film Festival’s 2018 Visionary award recipient Leigh Whannell said, “The Overlook Film Festival is a celebration of horror fandom, and I’ve been a horror fan for so long that to be recognized by the festival with an award is a complete honor. I’m happy just to be at this festival – hanging out with my fellow fans, watching amazing movies and taking part in the immersive games that are a staple of the weekend – that to take home a beautiful, shiny axe with my name engraved on it is merely the bloody cherry on top of it all.”