An ex-professor (Breaking Bad's Betsy Brandt) and her gang of student radicals kidnap a famous news anchor and force him to read the "real news" live on the Internet. Participating panelists include Perri Nemiroff (producer, Child Eater).
In this short action/adventure/fantasy film about a young couple on the run, dinosaurs have invaded Earth but neither Tommy nor Stacey cares anymore, now that they've met each other. They escape the war, but whether they dive to the bottom of the ocean or fly to Outer Space, conflict always seems to find a way into their lives. Participating panelists include Michael Lukk Litwak (writer/director/editor), Jean Claude Billmaier (producer), and Dan Romer (composer).
The town of Ferro Grande is being threatened by Dirt Man Duke and the Lightning Gang ever since the Governor's son rolled into town. Participating panelists include Gui Pereira (director, Pizza Me Mafia), Guile Branco (producer/actor, Why We Train), and Lara Horton (producer).
Three high school students discover that their chemistry teacher has been living a secret double life as a crime-fighting power ranger during an after-school detention, and they unwittingly become embroiled in a showdown with an escaped mutant lobster. A hybrid throwback to the educational after-school specials of the '90s and the Japanese Tokusatsu genre. Participating panelists include Jon Truei (writer/director), Eric Lim (actor/executive producer), and Lincoln Smith (visual effects artist/executive producer).
On a first date, you always come armed. That's what Jack and Sara discover when they decide to be deadly honest with each other to see if it's really meant to be. Participating panelists include Geordie Sabbagh (writer/director), Jordan Gross (producer), and Master Tommy Chang (stunt coordinator and EP).
When a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out overnight, suspicion falls on the lone survivor. But a roll of photos the survivor took that night tells a different story. Participating panelists include co-writers/producers/directors Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan.
A doctor struggles with his professional obligations as he attempts to diagnose a little girl's alarming symptoms on the eve of a viral outbreak. Starring C. S. Lee (Dexter). Participating panelists include Iris K. Shim (director), Brian Birch (producer), and Lily Niu (producer).
Location scouts work with the director and production designer to translate their cinematic visions to reality by traveling the world to seek out exactly where the movies will be made. Six location scouts will discuss the creative and logistical aspects of their jobs, relate some exciting anecdotes, and answer audience questions. Moderator Scott Trimble (Tomorrowland) joins panelists Chris Baugh (Transcendence), Mandi Dillin (Iron Man 3), Ann Goobie (X-Men: The Last Stand), J. J. Hook (Transformers: Age of Extinction), and Michael John Meehan (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End).
A psychological thriller about a singer who loses her voice on the precipice of her first world tour, We Wanted More is a hypnotic fever dream about the sacrifices a young artist makes for her career. Participating speakers include Jennifer Shin (producer) and Margaret Rose Lester (writer, Avenue of the Stars).
Alex has been convinced for some time that something otherwordly lives in the bookstore where he works. He takes a late-night inventory shift to find it once and for all, but whatever he's looking for is about to find him first...Participating panelists include writer/director Colin Johnson (artistic director, BattleStache Studios) and lead actor Joshua Han (co-founder, BattleStache Studios).
A recently single mother must learn to let go of her fear and obsession over her abusive husband in order to save her son from the Slender Man hiding in the woods near their new home. Participating panelists include Nicolas Wendl (director), Jamil Afzali (producer), and Cameron McIntyre (actor).
Proof that there's nothing lurking in the attic of her childhood home is the only thing standing between Isabelle and freedom. But even with her doctor's insistence, something still feels dreadfully amiss. Participating panelists include Ethan Young (director, writer, editor), Hannah Baker (production designer), and Adrien DeFontaine (director of photography).
As a girl prepares to go to college, she's haunted by a recurring nightmare and obsesses over what it means. Then, on the one day she tries to forget about it, she's unexpectedly confronted with the horrifying truth. Participating panelists include Valerie Roque Ontiveros (executive producer), Jeffrey Schultz (producer), Austen Emme (assistant director), and Jeremy Lei Ontiveros (writer and director).
Two individuals fall in love, and their lives intertwine together, but when they begin to lead each other down a destructive path, they face the difficult decision to continue or go separate ways. Participating panelists include director Matt Gibson (Towers of Terror), producer Chet Callahan (Winter Gardens), and actor Aleksander D'Avignon (The Turtle).
Lisa's excitement over her potential new job quickly dissipates when interviewer Marie begins asking her a series of increasingly bizarre and pointed questions.
Day 2 of this four-day course on microbudget moviemaking focuses on the specifics of production, from shooting techniques, to lighting on the cheap, to crew positions you need (and don't need), to costuming, props, and set decorating for as little money as possible. Panelists for the class include Valerie Perez (producer/star of the Paula Peril series), Vera Vanguard (producer of The Building of Good and Evil), Nick Murphy (writer/director of Pizza and Bullets), Jack Conway (producer of Machinima ETC ), and Sean Rourke (writer of Ballistica).
Constantly running away in a world that doesn't accept him, a man will have to find, in the depths of himself, a way to turn his difference into a strength. He will then be able to stop hiding. Participating panelists include Bastien Belvaux (director/animator).
The Retribution Industry is born: You pay cash, they kick ass. Second-generation martial arts mega-duo Ebony & Ivory embark on their first live broadcast mission with their team at Justice-For-Hire, Inc. Adapted from the critically acclaimed and most downloaded MMA comic book series. Participating panelists include Jan Lucanus (co-creator and director), Zach Shelton (lead animator), and voice actor Ahmed Best (Star Wars and Robot Chicken).
An adaptation of Walt Curtis's poemThe Time the Drunk Came to Town and Got Drunker Than a Skunk, or So He Thought, about a western town that torments the local drunk. Animator/director Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels, Cheatin') will introduce the film.
When Emily is kidnapped by foxes and forced to work in the secret underground blue goo mines, she must use her determination to get back home only to uncover the foxes' secret plan. Introducing the film will be director James Stewart.
Meet Ed and his extraordinary life. Fifty years of an unforgettable journey. Many loves, adventures and remarkable stories. What nobody knows is why Ed wants to end it. Participating panelists include Gabriel Garcia (director) and Messias Cunha (animation supervisor).
A young mad scientist sets out to create a pet monster within parallel worlds of an imaginary laboratory and the reality of the boy's bedroom. A comedic, handcrafted stop-motion film, shot entirely in a dorm room. Participating panelists include Dan MacKenzie (director) and Scott Kennell (creative assistant).
This film was produced in a one shot-movement. In a hotel hallway, the camera plunges into the microcosm of the corridor carpet. Between crystal structures and inhabitants of this world, we see an American house dust mite at work.
An animated heavy metal rock opera about a self-proclaimed pancake master who demands Satan to answer the looming question that will unravel the core of his consciousness: Why does he make pancakes? Participating panelists include Ari Grabb (animator and director)and Gabriel Acosta (sound mixer).
From creator Chris Moore (Project Greenlight, American Pie, Good Will Hunting) and producer Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Heroes, Margin Call), The Chair is a documentary competition series that follows two first- time feature directors, Shane Dawson (ShaneDawsonTV on YouTube) and Anna Martemucci (Break Up at a Wedding), each given the same screenplay and budget to make their own films. Zachary Quinto and both directors, as well as screenwriter Dan Schoffer and producer Josh Shader, join together for a panel moderated by Chris Moore, including exclusive clips from both films (Untitled Shane Dawson Movie and Hollidaysburg) and from the Starz TV show, premiering this fall.
Tomas live in a small trailer on the outskirts of the city. One day at school he is commissioned to write a short essay about his father, an active products industry worker.
When Doug lands a date with Rita, he's finally got a shot at happiness-but only if he can keep his humanity concealed until he convinces her that it's okay when some like it bot. Participating panelists include Russell Nauman (twenties: the series), Alex U. Griffin (director, Under the Sand), and Jessica Ruth Goldberg (writer,Zombie Addiction).
After a bizarre body switch, Doug, a shy puppeteer, finds himself inside the body of his ventriloquist puppet, Sid, while Sid has now come to life and taken over Doug's body. Doug has to learn to gain control of Sid before Sid gains control of the woman Doug loves. Participating panelists include Jason Baumgardner (The League), Alex Griffin (Some Like it Bot), and Michael Van Orden (Called to Serve).
On a mission he is neither equipped for nor completely understands, wannabe hero Alec protects Aurora, the girl of his dreams, from an army of deadly ninjas. Alec tries to remain distant, but as he finds himself falling for Aurora, a number of potentially deadly secrets threaten to tear them apart.
Matthew Benson wakes up excited to celebrate his birthday. However, as his day progresses, it gradually dawns on him that nobody else seems to have remembered this special date. Participating panelists include Chester Howie (director/producer), Ryan Zwirner (writer/producer), and Matthew B. Walsh (actor).
Two robotic blue-collar workers take a brief hiatus to discuss delusions of grandeur. Participating panelists include Diego Kontarovsky (co-writer) and Alejandro Kontarovsky (co-writer).
A little girl's favorite stuffed animal is kidnapped and brought to life by her evil genius baby brother. Fluffystein was written by a group of 6th graders for the 2013 Pens to Lens student screenwriting competition. Participating panelists include Matt Shivers (voice actor/sound designer), Thomas Nicol (director/animator), and Anne Lukeman (Pens to Lens program producer).
A 20-minute documentary chronicling the evolution of the most popular zombie franchise from comic book to TV show. The documentary includes interviews with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, actor/comedian Patton Oswalt, actor Chris Hardwick, as well as members of the AMC series The Walking Dead.
Featuring the first recorded interview with Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson, this documentary is the ultimate love-letter to comic strips. The films brings together over 60 of the world's best cartoonists behind strips, includingGarfield, Cathy, Foxtrot, Mutts, Penny Arcade, The Oatmeal, Hark A Vagrant, and more-to talk about the past, present, and future of comic strips and what happens to the artform as it moves from print to pixels. Participating panelists include directors Dave Kellett (Sheldon) and Fred Schroeder (Four Sheet to the Wind).
Through interviews with prominent artists, scholars, and cultural critics along with images from the comic books themselves, this film examines the degree to which early black superheroes generally adhered to common stereotypes about Black men. From the humorous to the offensive, early black superheroes are critically considered. Participating panelists include Jonathan Gayles (Georgia State University, writer/producer/director), Julian Chambliss (Rollins College, co-editor: Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men), and Adilifu Nama (Loyola Marymonut, author ofSuper Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes).
Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, The X-Men-characters recognized all over the world, gaining wider popularity through television and film. What may not be as well known is that for several decades, Filipinos have contributed significantly to these and other characters' mythologies. Illustrated By is a documentary tracing the phenomenon of Filipinos breaking into the U.S. mainstream. The film aims to pay tribute to many of these ignored, unacknowledged talents and showcase their gorgeous artwork.
Before Mickey there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. During Walt Disney's early career in animation, he created and animated a cartoon rabbit for Universal Studios. The rabbit was mischievous, cheeky and fun: an instant hit. But when Walt lost the rights to Oswald, he replaced him with Mickey Mouse, and the most beloved cartoon character of the '20s was lost and forgotten in time, replaced by his younger brother.
Day 3 of our course on micro-budget moviemaking deals with how to direct actors, organize a crew, and keep them all happy without anybody making a dime. Panelists for the class include Valerie Perez (producer/star of the Paula Peril series), Vera Vanguard (producer of The Building of Good and Evil), Nick Murphy (writer/director of Pizza and Bullets), Jack Conway (actor, Nazis at the Center of the Earth), Sean Rourke (writer of Ballistica), and actors Josh Perilo, Megan Rees, and Bradley Upton.
Six-year-old boy "Thin Foot" strives to become the hero of his own life. Participating panelists include Christopher Guinness (director, Pothound) and Leizelle Guinness (producer, Pothound).
Denny Burke is finally about to graduate from high school. Senior year has been one bad thing after another: a broken leg, a broken heart, and-worst of all-a broken home. With four of his closest friends, Denny goes on one last rock- climbing trip to prove he's ready to start his adult life. On their trip, the five teens receive a genetic boost beyond anything they'd ever imagined. Denny's soon faced with the first big decision of his adult life: Does he give up these powers and stay a normal teenager, or does he keep them...and graduate from the human race? Participating panelists include Kyle Roberts (director), Sterling Gates (writer), and Lindsay Sawyer (actress).
Havoc, a wannabe villain, gets the chance to follow his dreams and prove himself a worthy heir to a supervillain legacy through a seemingly opportune "Day in the Life" news segment, only to come face-to-face with Doom, his powerful father. Participating panelists include Clarence Ma (director/producer), Mindy McKoin (producer), Christopher Glennon (co-writer), and Peter Sebastian (editor).
Do you have an idea for a film or a concept for a video? Is money the first thing standing in your way? This panel of producers and financing experts will discuss the players in film financing and the best strategies to help your movie get made. Griff Furst (development executive and director of Ghost Shark, Arachnoquake, and other SyFy Originals), Steven Kaplan (president of Rainstorm Entertainment with features from $3 to $50 million in development), Will Wallace (award-winning producer/director with distribution deals with Lionsgate and Warner Brothers), Christi Matthews (sales & marketing strategist, supplying promotional materials used in crowdfunding campaigns), and Brad Littlefield (producer and organizer of numerous high financing seminars for Angel Investors), with a special guest appearance by Thunder Levin (writer of Sharknado and Sharknado 2). Panel and Q&A moderated by Eric Forsberg (writer/director of the SyFy original movie Mega Piranha).
An imaginative little girl and a petty burglar become unlikely accomplices when she mistakes him for her favorite comic book superhero in this coming-of-age drama. Participating panelists include Puja Maewal (writer/director).
Gho is not just the down-and-out creator behind the comic book Badbug but also the protagonist who protects mankind from mutant vermin. He goes on a quest each night to annihilate the bad bugs. When the line between fiction and reality is blurred, what could it be that Gho is really fighting for? Participating panelists include Moogen (director) and Deon Lee (film composer).
The land of Cambria is devastated by a decade of war. Towns and villages are piles of debris, as is the hope of their inhabitants. Three brothers, divided in their childhood, grew up nurtured by a hatred that corrupts and drives them to hunt each other. The battlefield becomes the stage where Mordraud and the proud Eldain's rebels on one side, and Dunwich with the Imperial Lances and Loralon's Chanters on the other, will consume their tragedy.
In a dying land where the ancient practice of magic is forbidden, Princess Irana embarks on a journey to save her wounded mentor from certain death. With the help of Arcker, a banished warrior, the fugitives struggle to reach the summit of Mount Oriud, where legend tells of a mystical pool that holds the power of healing. But their journey may be for naught, for in the shadows, an even greater evil awaits them. Participating panelists are Brian Ulrich (director), Kevin Ulrich (director of photography), and Skyler Christensen (puppeteer of Sieck).
Francesca and Joe are astronauts who've become lovers. Bunkered up in their little spaceship, Earth is a distant reality; everything they want is right here. But now their mission is ending, and Joe's wife is waiting for him back home. Thinking she's going to lose him, Francesca takes desperate measures, leading to terrible and unintended consequences. Participating panelists include Sabrina Doyle (writer/director), Matilde Barbagallo (producer), Lizzy Davis (actor), and Brian Groh (actor).
Set in an original sci-fi/fantasy future where nuclear war has torn through Europe,Valiant is the story of three air pirates, The Valiant Three, as they set out on an unexpected mission to return a lost princess to her father. Valiant is a short film as well as a fully crafted new world, launching a universe for feature films, TV shows, interactive media, comic books, and more. Panelists include Shyam Sundar Sengupta (producer), Robin G. Phillips (writer/director), Scott Baba (writer), Gil Darnell (Ronnie, Reign), Camden Toy (King Mortimer, Buffy), and Fon Davis (miniatures supervisor, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars Episode III).
Brace yourself for a rough landing as kick-ass comic book heroine Connie Radar attempts to prevent the first moon landing. With robots, astronauts, and lots of guns, it's an epic battle of the sexes and there can only be one winner. Participating panelists include director James Cunningham (Rotting Hill and Shelved).
Zero is a small android who leaves his home planet just before it is destroyed and discovers Earth in 1918. He leaves Earth in 1939, sensing a negative change in our culture. He returns to Earth 74 years later, only to find how things have changed. Panelists include director William Wall (The Immortal Edward Lumley) and Steve Terrones (co-producer & puppeteer).
Boy meets girl in a bunker during the robot apocalypse and can't help flirting up a storm despite the threat of evil killer robots outside. Participating panelists include director Ned Ehrbar (Co-op of the Damned), and stars Jordan Hinson (Eureka) and Paul Telfer (The Vampire Diaries).
In a devastated world, Yonatan, the developer of a device that allows the reexperiencing of recorded memories, becomes obsessive about the last recollections of his late wife.
Would you like to die the same way your icon did? Would you like to imitate the death of some memorable scene? Euthanas Inc.: For those who need or want to put a legitimately spectacular end to their lives.
Hollis (Brett Stimely) pulls together the surviving crew of an exploded spaceship cargo carrier. The deeper he digs in the moments before his almost certain death, the greater his risk of discovering what matters. Are memories really worth more than dreams? Participating panelists include director Eric Tozzi (Dirty Bomb Diaries), Brett Stimely (protagonist, producer, writer, Watchmen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon), and possibly a surprise panelist.
The final day of our comprehensive course on micro-budget moviemaking will revolve around what to do after your movie is shot. Panelists will go over the basics of postproduction on your home computer, as well as what software to use for editing, graphic design, sound design, visualFX, and finally, how to optimize your movie for uploading to the internet. Panelists for the class include Valerie Perez (producer/star of the Paula Peril series), Nick Murphy (writer/director of Pizza and Bullets), Jack Conway (producer of Machinima ETC), and Sean Rourke (writer of Ballistica).
The films have been shown; now it's time to award the recipients of the 2014 Comic-Con Independent Film Festival with their trophies and recognition! Comic-Con's Adam Neese talks to this year's trio of judges, Dave Gallegos (editor of last year's CCI: IFF Judges' Choice award for Incident on Highway 73), actor Doug Jones (best known for his portrayals of otherworldly creatures, superheroes, and odd humans in films and TV series such as Hellboy 1 & 2, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, andPan's Labyrinth) and actress, cosplay model, and co-head of the Comic-Con Film School series Valerie Perez (Paula Peril), about the films and presents prizes and trophies to the winners.
The awards have been given out, now sit down and see all the winners in one afternoon! This block of screenings presents all 7 of the category winners from this year's Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival. Catch them before they get famous!
