One of the most beloved genre film festivals on the planet, Australia's long-running A Night of Horror International Film Festival, is changing venues... to the other side of the world!
And festival founder, Australian ex-patriate Dean Bertram, has returned to the helm.
A 2021 Dread Central article noted that A Night of Horror was “Australia's top genre festival” and attributed this ranking to “Dean Bertram's discerning curatorial eye” and his insistence in selecting “films from blind submissions, as opposed to sourcing from other festivals, distributors, or sales agents.”
Bertram now lives in Wisconsin, where he launched another film festival - MidWest WeirdFest - in 2016.
According to FilmFreeway, the industry’s leading film festival submission platform: MidWest WeirdFest is ranked by filmmakers as one of the “top 100 best reviewed festivals… out of more than 12,000 film festivals and creative contests” around the world.
“I've long thought of MidWest WeirdFest and A Night of Horror as being part of the same global brand,” says Bertram. “Both fests are based on the same guiding principals of championing independent cinema, building programs from films that are submitted by filmmakers, and bringing filmmakers and audiences together in intimate and accessible environments, something which has spawned dozens of lasting friendships and successful professional relationships of the years.”
A Night of Horror's new primary venue will be the iconic Micon Cinema in beautiful downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In its first year in the US, A Night of Horror will run concurrently with MidWest WeirdFest. Each festival will have it's own screen, and unique program, at the Micon Downtown from March 1-3, 2024. This will allow MidWest WeirdFest's loyal audience to also dip their toes into the bloody waters of A Night of Horror.
Submissions are now open for A Night of Horror’s 16th edition.
For more details visit: www.anightofhorror.com or enter via FilmFreeway.