AKRON, Ohio — Local filmmakers planning the first-ever Akron Independent Horror Short Film Festival are putting out a call to horror-enthusiast filmmakers across the Greater Akron and northeast Ohio community.
The film horror short fest is set for Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Akron Civic Theatre, where fest organizers plan to air the films on multiple screens throughout the event, said Festival Director Neil Sudhakaran.
Submissions close July 15 for films that fall under two categories: horror-short films between 20 and 40 minutes, and horror-short subjects under 20 minutes, he said. Filmmakers will be notified by Aug. 15 whether their work was accepted.
Sudhakaran is an award-winning filmmaker, projectionist and sound designer from Cleveland. He recently received a Cleveland Critics Circle Award for his film/projection work on “Angry Fags” at convergence-continuum, a theater in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.
He currently has three films active on the film-festival circuit, and another in the works, he said.
To produce the Akron horror film fest, Sudhakaran partnered with Francine Parr, artistic director of the Millennial Theatre Project and the Arts Inclusion Incubator at the Akron Civic Theatre.
A director, actor and playwright, Parr co-wrote, “Say it Loud,” a play that takes a close look at systemic racism and at how Akron can progress to create a better community.
Both Sudhakaran and Parr are horror-genre aficionados, but the film fest is also a way to offer the region something a little different than a traditional film fest, he said.
The Cleveland International Film Festival and the Short. Sweet. Film Fest. are great events, but the featured filmmakers come from all over the world — rarely from northeast Ohio, he said.
Sudhakaran and Parr’s Akron horror fest will be hyper local — filmmakers who wish to submit their work must live, or have lived, within a 150-mile radius of Akron, he said.
“So really it's a film festival, but it's more of a showcase of local talent film festival within the horror genre,” he said. “So, getting really niche.”
However, that’s not to say a Cincinnati filmmaker who wants to submit work would be turned away, Sudhakaran said.
Filmmakers can submit an unlimited number of films, and films produced at any date will be accepted, he said. Films can be no longer than 40 minutes, including credits, and must be in the horror genre, or horror adjacent.
Great content has already been submitted, Sudhakaran said, and the organizers are hoping to end up with about 30 short films to feature at the fest.
“We're going for things that are going to showcase real skills for filmmakers, and additionally, things that are going to entertain the audience,” he said. “So, taking those two things in consideration, it's more about the mindset of, if I was in the audience would I find this enjoyable? Would I be sitting through this the whole time? Would I be checking my watch, or my phone?”
The organizers are also working to ensure the event supports diversity and inclusion, which is especially important to Parr as founder of the Arts Inclusion Incubator and a person of color, Sudhakaran said.
To that end, the panel of four judges includes two women and two people of color.
In addition to Sudhakaran and Parr, judges include local filmmaker Sarah Smith, and celebrity judge Charlie from Rover's Morning Glory, a nationally syndicated, drive-time radio talk show originating on Cleveland rock station WMMS.
Films can win in 13 categories, from best acting, writing and directing to best sound, cinematography and editing.
Categories specific to horror include best kill and best gore.
Best of the festival, best short subject, best short film and audience favorite will also be awarded.
Sudhakaran points out that the recently restored Akron Civic Theatre opened its doors in 1929 as Loew’s Akron Theatre, so the film fest is a return to the Civic’s theatrical roots.
The Civic is one of only a few remaining theaters in the U.S. with domed, “atmospheric ceilings,” in which the audience can see stars twinkling and intermittent clouds moving across the darkened sky above during performances.
Filmmakers interested in submitting their work can do so online at Akron Independent Horror Short Film Festival on Film Freeway, where more information will be posted as it becomes available, Sudhakaran said.
Filmmakers who submit work should provide a photo, a bio, a film trailer and poster for each submission. Those with questions can send the organizers an email.