For those of you that missed the awards party blowout, we’ve posted the winners from this year. Click on the ARCHIVES tab to see who took home the skulls for 2012.

Featured on A Year Without Rent, fest director Johnathan McFarlane wrote a “journal” of his experience with the fest this year. It’s an interesting look behind the curtain at the operations, trials, and tribulations of a film fest. Check it out by clicking HERE.

With the fifth annual Festivus Film Festival wrapped up, it’s with bittersweet feelings we say goodbye to yet another amazing year.

Be on the lookout for some post-fest filmmaker Q&A’s to help shed those blues, and our list of award winners this year. Until then, we just want to give a shout out to everyone who was a part of our staff that made it such an amazing experience–AGAIN! And last but not least, a gracious thank you to the filmmakers who spent their weekend with us. We saw familiar friends and met new ones. It just goes by way too quickly…

We’ll see you next year!!

Today is day four, the inevitable conclusion to an incredible weekend of films from all over the globe. The plan is to kick things off a little later today to give everybody some recuperation time after last night’s Awards Party. The response so far from filmmakers about their festival experience has been incredible. You guys are the reason we do this!

Today, we’re getting into rehab mode with our Rehab Sunday Shorts block at 3PM. That’s followed by Ross McQueen’s Blockhouse Blues and the Elmore Beast at 5PM. You can read our interview with Ross here!

And last but not least, at 7PM we have our Locals Only Shorts Showcase, to give you a taste of our homegrown filmmaking talent.

It’s all happening at the Bug Theatre. So get down here! Day four starts…now!

We still haven’t fully recovered from yesterday, and Day Three begins just moments from now. With a full day and night of films there’s a lot to tell you about!

It all gets started at 2PM, with a block of experimental short films at the Bug Theatre, just to blow your mind early.

At 3:45PM we proudly present the world premiere of Sridhar Reddy’s Lilith at the Oriental Theater, with guest Julia Voth in attendance! We promise you will not want to miss this amazing horror film, then stay for the post Q&A.

It will be followed by a block of shorts called Twisted Tales at 6PM, and then at 8PM we have the very funny detective comedy, Searching for Sonny by Andrew Disney.

Over at the Bug, we kick off a matinee shorts block at 4pm, followed by the ice-cool skiing documentary Facets of Winter at 6PM.

Whatever you decide to see, we will unite everyone at the Blake Street Tavern in downtown tonight at 10:30PM for our awards party presented by Buffalo Trace Bourbon. German electro kraut rockers Total Ghost will provide the soundtrack to the festivities, and we’ll give out our famous skull awards. We plan on celebrating until we can’t feel our legs anymore.

And then it all starts again tomorrow!

Join us?

Festivus 2012 has officially begun! Last night we screened our Opening Night film, Heaven Strewn at the Bug Theatre. Director JT Gurzi was on hand to answer questions about his feature debut. We couldn’t have asked for a better opening film and it’s been a blast to have JT with us. Audiences really enjoyed it, along with our fun shorts block, with several of the filmmakers in attendance. This year we’ve set a record filmmaker attendance!

There’s still much more to come, with Day Two tonight at the Oriental Theater.

If you want laughs and good music, get a seat at 6:45pm. We kick things off with an offbeat buddy comedy, Cell Mates, followed by a block of Laugh Track Comedy Shorts. Then for your listening pleasure, we have Wire Faces joining us to finish the night strong with a great live set. If you haven’t checked out this band, tonight is the night!

Come one, come all!

One of our short film programs we’re really excited about is called Twisted Tales Short Films. Among the tales of the twisted is “The Science of Death” by Daniel Bury. We asked him a few questions about it.

You can get tickets for Twisted Tales Short Films by clicking here.

Festivus Film Festival: What is “The Science of Death”?

Daniel Bury: At some point in each individual’s life, the reality of our mortality and eventual death suddenly becomes evident. Each person deals with the powerful truth of death in different ways. Many bury it deep away and ignore it, carrying on with their everyday lives. Others create elaborate myths and fairy tales to soften the truth with Romanticism. But what happens when one attempts to understand death through science? Will they forever remain overwhelmed by the harsh reality of our short existence? Or is there something deeper waiting to be discovered? “The Science of Death” is a film for those in this third category.

FFF: Describe the day you decided to make this film. What inspired you?

DB: Although I never have had a near-death experience myself, I became fascinated by stories and accounts of people who have had out-of-body experiences. Interestingly, all of these accounts seem to have a common element, in which the moment of death is a moment of white light and pure bliss. Thus began my mission to capture this beautiful aspect of death on film. The moment that really inspired me to go forward with this film was when I met with my professor Jeff McCracken and he told me about his own near-death experience from years ago. Because of this, I felt comfortable making this film because I knew I had a mentor who understood my goal.

FFF: What films inspire you?

DB: I truly believe that film is a powerful art that has the ability to forever alter the thoughts of viewers. Therefore, I am inspired by films that take risks and cause people to deviate from their standard way of thinking. My favorite films are the ones that present ideas that stay with people long after the film is over.

FFF: What’s next for you?
DB: I have a lot of exciting plans for my future. Currently, I am writing a feature-length version of “The Science of Death.” In order to truly achieve my goal of emulating a near-death experience on film, I definitely need more than the 15 minutes of screen time given in the short film. I have been extremely inspired lately, and all that I can say at this point is that the feature film is going to be very different than the short. While writing, I plan to take a year to live abroad in Australia and work in the film industry there. Then, I aspire to travel throughout Southeast Asia and India, and perhaps make a few exotic short films abroad before returning to the US to begin production on my feature. I am very excited to absorb new experiences abroad, because I know it will enrich the content of my future films.

Check out Jason Congialosi’s coverage over at Yahoo Movies! Thanks Jason!

Festivus brings in films from all over the world. With “Blockhouse Blues and the Elmore Beast” we bring a flavor of Australia to Denver this year. It screens Sunday, Jan 15th – 5:00PM at the Bug Theatre. Get your tickets here!

Here’s the writer/director, Ross McQueen, discussing how he made it:

Festivus Film Festival: This is your first feature film and it must be very exciting for you. Describe what your experience was as a first time filmmaker, and what kind of lessons you could pass onto other filmmakers who are attempting their first feature?

Ross McQueen: Yes, it was very exciting. Gruelling also. It all starts with a great script and the best cast you can get. They go in hand in hand. If the script is good enough you should be able to attract good actors even on a limited budget. Unless your family and friends are professional actors, don’t cast them. They can’t act.

Something we did pretty well was be organised. You can’t be too organised. The shoot is going to be insanity whatever, but if you plan well you can make it easier. We managed to shoot the film in 16 days, which is pretty amazing, but more so considering we were at a new location virtually every day.  Good planning and preparation is vital, and doesn’t cost anything.

Finally, get good sound. Good sound is more important than pretty visuals.

FF: Your screenplay was submitted to Trigger Street, which begs the question: did the film start there? Was the film developed from that submission with any useful feedback?

RM: Trigger Street (the online writer’s group, started by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti) is an incredible resource for writers and taught me a great deal, especially about the craft of writing and how to present myself and my work in a professional manner. Specifically in terms of this script, it didn’t help so much – the version I uploaded is pretty much the shooting script. I guess the feedback showed me that the script was what I wanted it to be and wasn’t for everyone. But generally Trigger Street can be a fantastic resource for writers.

FFF: What were the biggest challenges you faced in directing a comedy? How do you know the jokes are good if you’ve been with them for awhile, especially as a writer? Did you use any techniques to keep your comedy “fresh” in your mind?

RM: There’s always an element of self-doubt with comedy. “Is this funny?” “Am I the only one who thinks it’s funny?” You just have to trust your judgement I guess. I think it comes back to the script and the actors. Being a writer director is pretty big advantage, because you know the script so intimately. I was confident the humour was on the page.

During the shoot there wasn’t time to contemplate the comedy or much else. Shooting 6 or 7 pages a day there’s always a key scene to shoot coming up or a tricky thing to get right or something to worry about.

We had some really strong actors, particularly the main four, who got their characters straight away and understood the type of film we were trying to make. They really respected the script too, so essentially we shot it word for word, which was important, given the time constraints.

It’s more now, a year and endless post production work down the track. Now, someone laughs at a joke and I think “Oh, that’s right, that’s funny.”

FFF: What would you say is the hardest part about making a feature length movie? And to post script that question: does doing it in Australia make it any easier?

RM: The hardest thing I found about making this movie was the sheer volume of work. The less money you have the more you tend to substitute hard work for additional crew members. For example, on a regular film whole teams of people work on the post production – for Blockhouse the entire post production (with the exception of composing the music) was completed by just two people. So, two of us did everything from syncing the sound, to editing the film, to creating and recording all the foley, to final sound mix and picture grading, to duplicating and sending out the DVDs for festivals. It’s an enormous amount of work.

I’m not sure making it in Australia makes it at all easier. There are a lot of very talented people down here, so that helps. Australia also has government funding bodies that invest in films, which I am sure would make things easier, if you were lucky to be deemed worthy of their funding. For me though, it’s probably not much different from making a low budget film anywhere in the world. I wanted to show what I could do as a writer and director. No one was going to just hand that to me. The only way it was going to happen was to scrape together what I could and create the opportunity for myself.

We do. She’ll be here for the WORLD PREMIERE of Lilith, along with Nancy Telzerow (who plays Julia’s Mom in the film.) Saturday, January 14, 3:45pm @ The Oriental Theater. Pre-sale tickets are still available and a limited number will be available at the door. Filmmaker Sridhar Reddy was born and raised in Denver, so show some support for a hometown hero! Check out the trailer for the film by clicking HERE.

Worlds collide when hardened Ku Klux Klansman Leroy Lowe (Tom Sizemore) and Mexican field laborer Emilio (Hector Jimenez) are forced to share a prison cell. The unlikely relationship takes an unexpected turn when the chatty Emilio slowly chips away at Leroy’s gruff exterior in writer/director Jesse Baget’s offbeat buddy comedy. Producer Karuna Eberl will be present. Get your tickets by clicking HERE.

As we ramp up for the fest the buzz continues to build! Check out some great coverage thanks to Jason Cangialosi over at Mile High Cinema.

We are absolutely thrilled to be hosting the WORLD PREMIERE of Lilith, a great psy-thriller-horror by Sridhar Reddy. As a special promotion, we are giving away a full-sized glisee print of the movie poster, signed by Mr. Reddy himself. This thing is beautiful, definitely something you will want to hang on your wall (in fact I really wish I could keep it for myself!) Along with the print we will be including 2 tickets to see the film. Bring the print with you and actress Julia Voth will be there to sign it as well! All you have to do to enter is send an email to info@festivusfilmfestival.com with LILITH PROMO in the subject line. We’ll be picking a lucky winner on January 9th. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

A great write-up in the Denver Post courtesy of Lisa Kennedy, mentioning a variety of our great films. Check it out!