“The mythic horror movie, like the sick joke, has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized . . . and it all happens, fittingly enough, in the dark. For those reasons, good liberals often shy away from horror films.” - An Excerpt from “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King

Films & Television shows have been featured in the past, but for the first time in UNIV-CON history, a film festival is being brought to the conference. Now attendees will be able to enjoy a weekend filled with the top paranormal films and documentaries, selected by a group of film professionals. A panel of judges that range from directors to producers will review and select candidates for this years film festival. Selected films will be featured and screened before thousands of guests and attendees throughout the weekend event, and top selected films and documentaries could be offered an option to be reviewed by major national networks.

Currently Nominated Films

FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:

The following films/documentaries are currently nominated for selection at this years 2008 Film Festival. Official Selections will be announced in the coming weeks.

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SCARED! - CORE FILMS INC.

Director(s): Brian J. Cano & Chris Mancuso

Synopsis:

The SCARED! Crew,a team of paranormal investigators/urban explorers visit the Garibaldi-Meucci museum, attempting to validate or debunk the rumors heard about this location. Does the spirit of the tragic Italian inventor still remain in the house he spent his final years in?

SCARECROW CEMETERY - KINDRED MOON PRODUCTIONS

Director(s): Michael McDonald

SYNOPSIS:

This edge-of-your-seat thriller follows three couples on their journey through a local corn maze that was home to gruesome Civil War battles. Unbeknown to the couples, sadistically possessed scarecrows still roam the rows.

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WINDCROFT - HOBBIES ODD

Director(s): Evan A. Meszaros

Synopsis:
On a remote farm in the sweeping hills of Pennsylvania, three lives are torn apart by love, abandonment, deception and murder. After the death of his father, John and his new wife, Diane, arrive to claim the estate. But, his father bequeathed to him more than just the family farm, and as John’s past catches up with him, he is forced to face a heritage of madness and violence. With John’s attention becoming increasingly distant and more focused on the farm, Diane finds friendship with his childhood sweetheart, Mindy. Soon old feelings are rekindled, family ties are tightened to a noose, and Mindy’s own secrets crack the very foundation of house and home. Windcroft is a taught, suspenseful thriller combining doomed romances and epic scenery with isolation, madness and murder. With complex characters and shocking twists, Windcroft takes the audience on a journey into the darkest regions of the soul.

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THE GRAND THEATER - KINDRED MOON PARANORMAL

Director(s): Michael McDonald & Shelley Chirillo

Synopsis:

A paranormal investigative team, Kindred Moon Paranormal Society, is based in Columbia, Missouri and has traveled to many locations around the state that boast ghostly activity. In this film the group travels to Moberly Missouri to the historic Grand Theater, once home to traveling theater troupes and once the biggest attraction to this out-of-the-way town. From the very beginning of this investigation the group gathers a multitude of evidence on their EMF detectors, but is it actually paranormal activity or is there something else causing the high readings?

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41 - Breaking Branches Pictures

Director(s): Christian De Rezendes

Shadow People - Tornspace Films

Director(s): Keith Parker

Billionaire Clarence Martel has everything money can buy, but not everything he wants, namely immortality. Seeking to fulfill an ancient dark prophecy, Mr. Martel approaches Mikey, a gambler in way over his head, with a simple proposition. In exchange for a one night job, Mikey’s debt will be wiped clean.

Having no other way of clearing his debt, Mikey and his brother Paul agree to do the job. In an old abandoned house, they perform a ritual known as the “Drawing of the Shadows” and unwittingly unleash the demons of the darkness, the Shadow People.

Forced off the road by a storm, four unsuspecting friends seek shelter in the house and fall into the deadly trap already set in motion. If they want to survive, they must play a terrifying game of cat and mouse with the house’s murderous inhabitants.  

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Want To Submit Your Film/Documentary?!

Entry Fees and Deadlines

Fee: $25

All entries before July 1st will be peer reviewed, allowing notes and feedback to be given by the review officials. August 21st is the latest an entry may be postmarked and still be considered for competition. All entries submitted after August 21st will be denied.

Rules & Conditions

The UNIV-CON Film Festival is open to all films that demonstrate supernatural, paranormal or horror themes. All films must be the original work of the applicant or organization. All exhibition formats, regardless of original format, must be in DVD.

For more film submission form CLICK HERE

General Policies

Film and Screening are open to all pass holders. Seating for screenings is limited. Gold Pass Seating begins 30 minutes before the screening starts. Silver Pass seating begins 15 minutes before the screening starts.