Horrible Imaginings Film Festival revealed the second wave of their 2021 lineup featuring five more films and five more short film blocks.
The 12th edition of the festival returns to The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California over the Labor Day weekend from Thursday, September 2nd through Monday, September 5th.
Returning to a hybrid model for the 2021 edition, the California based genre film festival will showcase a diverse slate of voices and narratives within the cinema genres of horror, science fiction, dark drama, black comedy, and fantasy.
“Much of what the programming team has assembled for Horrible Imaginings’ 12th annual event showcases, is a unique brand of energy, bore from a pandemic era filmmaking community, not limited in ingenuity nor scope. We feel our catalog presents a vessel to further exorcise our newfound anxieties & hope to widely extend this cathartic experience for our audience in the form of our first hybrid event.” – HIFF Programming Director Sterling Anno
HIFilmFest Second Wave: Features
Charon – Jennifer Zhang (73:00/USA)
A notorious hacker trapped under strict house arrest has her isolated, regimented world turned upside down when her boyfriend mysteriously begins dialing in with dark and unusual requests.
Shorts Playing Before Charon: [Within the Frame], Afterbirth, and The Lovers
Followers – Marcus Harben (83:00/UK)
Jonty, an influencer with an ambition to reach over a million followers, will stop at nothing to become famous. When a demonic presence appears in his student house, Jonty decides to stream it and gain millions of followers. But at what cost? (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Hunger – Manu Herrera (1:48:00/Spain)
A ballet dancer finds himself completely engulfed by his passions for dance, for music, and for…something else. Something ravenous that shakes him to his core. He is terrified of who he is and repulsed by his own cravings.
Short Playing Before “Hunger”: Curiosities
Take Back the Night – Gia Elliot (1:30:00/USA)
Fronted by an all-female cast, Take Back the Night is an allegorical tale of the dangers of victim blaming wrapped in a classic monster movie. (SoCal PREMIERE)
Shorts Playing Before “Take Back the Night”: Reptile House and Hell of a Pitcher
Trans – Naeri Do (1:32:00/Korea):
Minyoung Go is a girl who dreams of becoming a transhuman by transmitting electric shocks to her brain. After facing a serious assault from Taeyong Ma’s posse, she plans a revenge for the boys that bully her for having an eating disorder. She conducts an electrical baptism and falls into trans.
Shorts Playing with “Trans”: Just for the Record and Venus
HIFilmFest Second Wave: Short Film Blocks
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 – Short Film Showcase: Truther (5:00 – 7:00 PM)
Perhaps one of the most terrifying new words of the new millennium is “truther.” It signifies within its two ironic syllables how up is down, 2+2=5, facts can be “Alternative.” The very questioning of reality, of truth, is at the heart of these shorts.
Programmed Shorts: The Thing That Ate the Birds / Hunter’s Cabin / Se7en Green Bottles / Voices / Our Bed is Green / Gold / NOVA / Itch / Flock / While We Stayed, Home / Chef ‘s Kiss / Die at Home
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 – Short Film Showcase: Dangerous Knowledge (10:30 AM – 12:30 PM)
Is ignorance ever preferable to knowledge? Stories have, throughout history, warned of the dangers of learning beyond what we should. These stories explore this concept. Sometimes it is tragic, sometimes fun–and sometimes it is well deserved…
Programmed Shorts: My Religious Family / Santayana’s Passage / Midnight Snack As Good As Dead / In These Parts / Sacred Mother / Aquarium / Audio Guide Philosopher’s Tofu / The Expected / Tutu Grande / The Curse of Pizza Mike
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 – Short Film Showcase: Social Anxiety, Broken Trust, and the danger of knowledge (1:00 – 3:00 PM)
Humans are a social species, which is part of what makes fears around our ability to relate to others so distressing. What makes things worse? Many times, those fears are founded! These short films each deal with fears or dangers with human interaction.
Programmed Shorts: The Shape of You / Scopaesthesia / Karaoke Night / The Fuzzies Chatty / RONG / Backward Creep / J’ai Le Cafard / Weee Wooo / All of You / Glow Dorris / Her Release
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 – Short Film Showcase: Long Form (1:00 – 3:00 PM)
Short films longer than 19 mins that we just couldn’t say no to these long form nightmares. Programmed Shorts: Hannya / Fjallnas / Tumble / I Live Alone
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 – Short Film Showcase: A Failed Trust (10:30 PM – 12:30 AM)
Trust is a word that is full of weight. The more of it we give; the more devastating the consequences of its breaking. These stories all deal with trust–trust in family, trust in the system, trust in authority, trust in our own bodies–and what can happen when it fails.
Programmed Shorts: Minimally Invasive / King & Queen / SĪBĬLUM / Bed / Morbus / Get Home Safe / Stuck / Strayed / Dar-Dar / A War on Friendly Grounds / Koreatown Ghost Story