Scared for Your LIIFE Film Festival brought international terror to Long Island on Oct. 28. This was the festivals 6th year as its own branch of its larger sister festival the Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE).
The festival presented 18 tales of terror from filmmakers around the globe, a vendors room, sponsors to die for, and musical accompaniment from its undead host Jess-o-lantern, all at the festival’s new home-away-from-home: The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington.
Scared For Your LIIFE Film Festival
With its first year being presented at The Cinema Arts Centre, the festival has come full circle for its coordinators, “The Hauntsville Cryptcast,” as this venue is where they met and began their podcasting and festival-running journey during one of the Cinema Arts Centre’s horror movie marathons.
“Having the festival at a venue like the Cinema Arts Centre made us feel like we were where we needed to be: in a professional setting where our filmmakers could showcase their films in the quality they deserve to be seen, in a place that celebrates independent cinema, and gives them a chance for their voice to be heard, and that’s what Scared For Your Liife is all about,” said Anna Pembrey, festival coordinator.
The festival proudly totes Pembrey’s original sculpt of “The Creatures Claw” as its highly coveted trophy with 10 categories for filmmakers to win ranging from the first time filmmakers “Fresh Blood” award to the best of the festival’s “Scare of a Liifetime.”
An energetic audience of horror lovers filled the seats of the newly renovated Cinema Arts Centre, and audible gasps, screams, and cheers alike could be heard all the way into the cafe. Intermission gave audience members a chance to mingle with the filmmakers and get up close and personal to discuss their favorite films of the night and explore the vendors tables.
“It was an absolute blast vending at Scared For Your LIIFE! Everyone who attended and vended was so rad and all the films shown were fantastic. 10/10 spooktacular time,” said Chantel Maher, Caviar with Crows vendor.
The vendors list included Caviar with Crows, Hook and Wickery, Mass Graves Pictures, House of Babes NYC, a merchandise table for Jess-o-Lantern, and the festival’s featured vendor Strange Love Parlor, whose home base is in Lindenhurst.
The festival has attracted the eye of more than local vendors, with the presence of Paramount Pictures’ recent film “Smile,” Delirium Magazine, Deathwish Coffee, Deadbolt Mystery Society, Mixtape Massacre, and Horror TV as sponsors.
With the excited response of its attendees, the Long Island Film and Television Foundation and the Cinema Arts Centre can’t wait to bring more horror to Huntington.
“We were very excited to team up with the Huntington Cinema Arts center to present the 6th annual Scared for Your LIIFE Film Festival,” said Debra Markowitz, president of The Long Island Film and Television Foundation. “There’s a huge market for horror films and while our larger festival (the Long Island International Film Expo) has horror blocks, Scared for Your LIIFE caters solely to that horror contingent, and seeing the turnout we had, it was highly successful.”
Scared for Your LIIFE Film Festival’s sister festival, The Long Island International Film Expo, is now open for submissions at filmfreeway.com/LIIFETheLongIslandInternationalFilmExpo.
