Slime City Massacre’s Greg Lamberson and The Bunny Game’s Adam Rehmeier have both said that there aren’t too many film festivals they care about these days. But PollyGrind isn’t your average film festival and both award-winning alumni will have their latest projects screen at the event in Las Vegas this October.
Festival founder and director Chad Clinton Freeman recently announced the official lineup for PollyGrind IV: A New Hope. After a record-breaking 777 entries, more than 100 films from 13 countries will screen,with filmmakers ranging in age from 11 to 67 years old.
Eighteen features will have world premieres, including Rehmeier’s Jonas, which is playing throughout the event, October 9-13, in six verses.
Rehmeier’s The Bunny Game won PollyGrind’s top award, dubbed the Biggest Baddest Mother, in 2011.
“We aren’t planning on doing many festivals for the film, but yours is one I really wanted the film to be shown at,” said Rehmeier, who released Jonas online for free at www.jonasmovie.com on September 11. “Your programming is eclectic and fantastic!”
Lamberson’s Dry Bones, which he co-directed with Michael O’Hear, gets a west coast and film festival premiere at PollyGrind on Oct. 11.
Slime City Massacre won the festival’s top prize in 2010.
“When I submitted Slime City Massacre to Chad, PollyGrind was a start-up and I didn’t know what to expect,”Lamberson said. “Then I saw the first schedule and realized he had a real vision for the programming. We took home two awards, which was great, but what impressed me was Chad’s promotion of the festival and its films.”
“I’m a programmer too, and I see the logic in his choices and the passion in his schedule,” continued Lamberson,co-founder of Buffalo Screams, now known as Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. “Ticket sales are important, but a film program as an aesthetic is just as important. When I finished Dry Bones, I made a list of four festivals that I gave a rat’s ass about screening at, and PollyGrind was at the top.”
Other world premieres at the event this year include To Jennifer, 13/13/13, Slaughterhouse Bride, House of Forbidden Secrets, Buried In Flesh, Desolate, Darkest Days, American Girls, Sweet Leaf, Diet of Sex, The Minstrel Killer, The Synthetic Man, The Yellow Bellies, Sacrifice: In the Name of Goddess Gadhimai, Tricks, Eye of the Bennu and Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher.
“I love that the number of world premieres grows each year when PollyGrind doesn’t even focus on that,” Freeman said. “We had five world premieres in 2010, seven in 2011 and 13 last year. This year we have 18. That tells me that filmmakers understand, respect and trust PollyGrind.”
Benny Loves Killing, A Measure of the Sin, Nightmare Box, Desolate, I Am Death, Little F’er, The Cohasset Snuff Film, Leave It on the Track, What I Love About Concrete, Boys Cry, Blood Soaked, Truth or Dare, The Commune, Billy Club, Barbazul, China White Serpentine, Beast: A Monster Among Men, Savage Witches, Locomotive, Purgatorium, Cheeseballs and Coyote round out the festival’s feature film lineup.
“There’s a mix of everything in there this year,” Freeman said. “PollyGrind has always been about bringing arthouse and grindhouse together and I think this year the diversity really shines through. On display there will be drama, dramedy, horror, thriller, true crime, documentary, fantasy, experimental, sci-fi and more with sex, blood, snuff, Nazis, a blackface killer, cults, religion, ritualistic sacrifice, roller derby, zombies and then some on display. Lines will be blurred, boundaries will be pushed and questions are sure to be raised with this curated trip through the best outsider cinema of today.”
Ten of the films are from repeat PollyGrind filmmakers. Besides Rehmeier and Lamberson, James Cullen Bressack, Rob Grant, Julian Grant, Mitchel A. Jones, John R. Hand, Eric Stanze and Tom Martino all have films screening.
Bressack, who world premiered Hate Crime last year, gets the2013 festival started on Ocober 9 with a Special Asylum Showcase of 13/13/13. His found footage film To Jennifer, the first feature shot and edited on the iPhone, follows. On a side note, the screening of Gordon Bressack’s short film Keeper makes the Bressacks the first father and son duo to ever have projects at PollyGrind.
Rob Grant (Mon Ami) world premieres his experimental sci-fi thriller Desolate on October 10. Julian Grant (F-load of Scotch Tape) world premieres his crime thriller Sweet Leaf on October 11.
Hand (Scars of Youth) world premieres his latest oddball arthouse project The Synthetic Man, while Jones (After the Dawn) has the Nevada Premiere of Boys Cry, a relevant story of high school bullying that just won a NAFCA African Oscar, both on Oct. 12.
Stanze (Ratline) celebrates the tenth anniversary of China White Serpentine, which he co-directed with Robin Garrels with a Special Underrated Gem Showcase on Oct. 13, and Martino (Race War) has a west coast premiere of his latest horror comedy Cheeseballs during PollyGrind’s Encore Weekend, which runs Oct. 25-26.
Filmmakers screening for the first time at the event include the likes of Todd Sheets (House of Forbidden Secrets), Adam Ahlbrandt (BuriedIn Flesh: An Adam Ahlbrandt Double Feature featuring The Cemetery and Cross Bearer), Jon Keeyes (Nightmare Box), Travis Miller (Purgatorium), Mike Muscal (Little F’er), Ben Woodiwiss (Benny Loves Killing), Jeff Wedding (A Measure of the Sin), Paul Orehovec (I Am Death), Edward Payson (The Cohasset Snuff Film), Eric Pereira (American Girls), Elisabeth Fies (The Commune), Amy Hesketh (Barbazul)and the duo of Clara Pais and Daniel Fawcett (Savage Witches).
Jessica Cameron brings her directorial debut Truth or Dareto the festival after winning best cameo for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in last year’s The Black Dahlia Haunting. She is also featured in three other films – American Girls, 13/13/13, and To Jennifer.
An international film festival steeped in artistic freedom, PollyGrind celebrates individuality, diversity, creativity, and empowerment by showcasing the work of filmmakers with defiantly independent visions.
Ashley Lonardo is the festival’s youngest filmmaker. She was 11 when she directed Madlo Show, a comedic variety webseries, with her13-year-old sister Jessica. Opal Dockery, 67, is the oldest filmmaker of PollyGrind. The first-time filmmaker’s short documentary looks at discrimination and the injustice of women’s rights to be topless in public. Additionally, more than 25 percent of the works being shown were helmed by women.
Named one of 2012’s “25 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine, PollyGrind has seen its official selections earn distribution deals from LionsGate, Alternative Cinema, Showtime, IFC Midnight, Wild Eye Releasing,Chemical Burn, Hannover House, Troma, Synapse Films, Cult Epics, Autonomy Pictures, and a slew of other outlets.
Giving away more than $30,000 in prizes and swag this year, PollyGrind was founded in 2010 as a festival that pays homage to the spirit of the highly creative and innovative works of indie film pioneers of the past, such as Herschell Gordon Lewis, Ted V. Mikels and Doris Wishman.
“PollyGrind’s reputation for presenting the best of the best of indie genre films grows bigger every year, so if you find yourself in or near Vegas this October, be sure to check it out,” Stanze recently wrote in a column for FearNet.
For more information on PollyGrind, please visit https://www.PollyGrind.com or https://www.Facebook.com/PollyGrind.
The Fourth Annual International
PollyGrind Film Festival
POLLYGRIND IV: A NEW HOPE
2013 SCHEDULE
All screenings are subject to be changed, rearranged and have additions or cancellations
At theatre7
1406 S. 3rd St, Las Vegas, NV 89104
https://theatre7lv.com/
#POLLYXPOSED
FEATURING 18 WORLD PREMIERES
SCREENINGS ARE $7 IN ADVANCE VIA POLLYGRIND.COM OR $10 AT THE DOOR
SEATING IS LIMITED
$77 FOR VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP PASSES GOOD FOR ALL SCREENINGS
FREE GRINDCORN (POLLYGRIND POPCORN) AT EVERY SCREENING
OCTOBER 9
WEDNESDAY
OPENING DAY
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 1 (11m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
2:15 p.m. – Special Asylum Showcase: World Premiere, 13/13/13 (86m, U S A) dir. by James Cullen Bressack
w/ Malea Beloved (12m, U S A) dir. by Vincent McLean
w/ Gold (3m, France, Israel) dir. by Uzi Amir
4 p.m. Block
4 p.m. – World Premiere, To Jennifer (70m, U S A) dir. by James Cullen Bressack
w/ Keeper (22m, U S A) dir. by Gordon Bressack
w/ Foxed! (5m, Canada) sub. by James Stewart
w/ Paper Cup To Heaven (3m, U S A) dir. by Barbara Carroll
6 p.m. Block
6 p.m. – World Premiere, House of Forbidden Secrets (98m, U S A) dir. by Todd Sheets
w/ The Night Pullers (14m, U S A) dir. by Joe Lujan
8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 2 (13m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
8:20 p.m. – World Premiere, **Buried In Flesh: An Adam Ahlbrandt Double Feature (158m) featuring The Cemetery (85m, U S A) dir. Adam Ahlbrandt / Cross Bearer (73m, U S A) dir. Adam Ahlbrandt
w/ Abyssus Abyssum Invocat (9m, U S A) dir. by Wes Simpkins
w/ Harlequin (16m, U S A) dir. by Tara Alexis
w/ Kim jest Arvid Pekon? (13m, Poland, Sweden) dir. by Patrik Eriksson
w/ Clutch: Episode 2×00: Aftermath (5m, Canada) dir. by Jonathan Robbins
w/ Flight (Kairo Kingdom Remix) by Moonbeam feat. Leusin (5m, Russian Federation) dir. by Pavel Khvaleev
Midnight Block
Midnight – World Premiere, Slaughterhouse Bride (79m, Australia) dir by Zoë Rae and Luke McEwan
w/ Fist of Jesus (15m, Spain) dir. David Muñoz & Adrian Cardona
w/ Joan’s Song (12m, U S A) dir. by Adrian Frost
w/ April 13th (15m, U S A) dir. by Brandon Crowson
w/ Familiar Act (4m, Spain, Sweden) dir. by Saray Blades
*JONAS (111m), a film by Adam Rehmeier, is being shown in six verses as it was originally intended.
**The Cemetery (85m, U S A) and Cross Bearer (73m, U S A) are being shown as the double feature event Buried in Flesh, as filmmaker Adam Ahlbrandt originally intended them.
AFTER PARTY / PRE PARTY AT THE HISTORICAL ATOMIC LIQUORS, 4 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT
OCTOBER 10
THURSDAY
FREE FRIGHT NIGHT 2 POSTER DAY
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, Benny Loves Killing (100m, England) dir. Ben Woodiwiss
w/ Trailer, Fright Night 2 (1m, U S A) dir. by Eduardo Rodriguez
w/ Deer Head Valley (10m, U S A) dir. by Travis Greene
4 p.m. Block
4 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, A Measure of the Sin (76m, U S A) dir. by Jeff Wedding
w/ Arkham Rising (5m, Canada) dir. by Aristides Guillen
w/ The Lone Wolf (2m, U S A) dir. by Lee Arter
w/ World Premiere, Some Girl Who Tells Stories (11m, U S A) dir. by Whitney Johnston
w/ I Feel Strange Love (4m, U S A) dir. by Vincent McLean
6 p.m. Block
6 p.m. – U.S. Premiere, Nightmare Box (90m, U S A) dir. by Jon Keeyes
w/ Rude Geeks (8m, Canada) dir. by Jennifer Jelfs
w/ Cast a Pall of Win (10m, Turkey, U S A) dir. by KiNo Poet of Sound and
Image
8 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 3 (26m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
8:30 p.m. – World Premiere, Desolate (73m, U S A) dir. Rob Grant
w/ World Premiere, Reflections (7m, U S A) dir. Paige Lauren Billiot
10 p.m. Block
10:15 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, I Am Death (78m, U S A) dir. by Paul Orehovec
w/ Ambience (15m, U S A) dir. George Maria
Midnight Block
Midnight – Nevada Premiere, Little F’er (82m, U S A) dir. by Mike Muscal
w/ Corvus (10m, Canada) dir. by Darcy Van Poelgeest
w/ Redemption: Episode 1: Dreams (11m, U S A) dir. by Vincent McLean
AFTER PARTY / PRE PARTY AT ATOMIC LIQUORS, 4 P.M. TO 8 A.M.
OCTOBER 11
FRIDAY
ATOMIC DAY
FREE POLLYGRIND SHOT GLASS – GOOD FOR A FREE SHOT AT ATOMIC LIQUORS
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, The Cohasset Snuff Film (85m, U S A) dir. by Edward Payson
w/ The Breast Around (3m, U S A) dir. by Ryan Suits
w/ SYMBOL (34m, U S A) dir. by Garrett Hammel
4 p.m. Block
4 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 4 (19m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
4:30 p.m. – World Premiere, Darkest Days (62m, Australia) dir. by Danny Field
w/ Mile Marker 48 (29m, U S A) dir. by Anna Cano and Cynthia Cano
6 p.m. Block
6:15 p.m. – West Coast Premiere, Dry Bones (85m, U S A) dir. by Greg Lamberson and Michael O’Hear
w/ Consumed (6m, U S A) dir. by Elisabeth Fies
w/ Mean Motherf’er (3m, U S A) dir. by Jay Mager
8 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – World Premiere, American Girls (92m, U S A) dir. by Eric Pereira
w/ Happy Hands (20m, U S A) dir. by Honey Lauren
10 p.m. Block
10 p.m. – World Premiere, Sweet Leaf (92m U S A) dir. Julian Grant
w/ World Premiere, A Moral Discord (17m, U S A) dir. by Douglas Farra
w/ Snow Day (2m, U S A) dir. Trey McGriff
Midnight Block
Midnight – World Premiere, Diet of Sex (71m, Spain) dir. by Borja Brun
w/ The Jelly Wrestler (15m, Australia) dir. by Rebecca Thomson
w/ Everybody Masturbate (3m, U S A) dir. by Katie Preston
AFTER PARTY / PRE PARTY AT ATOMIC LIQUORS, 4 P.M. TO 8 A.M.
OCTOBER 12
SATURDAY
COSPLAY DAY
DRESS UP IN YOUR BEST COSPLAY, HALLOWEEN OR ZOMBIE OUTFIT – GET IN FREE; WIN SWAG!
Noon Block
Noon – Nevada Premiere, Leave It on the Track (80m, U S A) dir. by Benjamin Pascoe
w/ 88 Miles to Moscow (20m, U S A) dir. by Karen Glienke
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – West Coast Premiere, What I Love About Concrete (97m, U S A) dir. by Alanna Stewart and Katherine Dohan
w/ She (8m, U S A) dir. Nick McCallum
w/ One Toy Soldier (13m, U S A) dir. by Tony Clifford
w/ Madlo Show (11m, U S A) dir. by Ashley Lonardo and Jessica Lonardo
4 p.m. Block
4:15 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, Boys Cry (100M, U S A) dir. by Mitchel A. Jones
w/ A Perfect Day (20m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rubin
6 p.m. Block
6:20 p.m. – Special Wild Eye Releasing Showcase: Nevada Premiere, Blood Soaked (72m, U S A) dir. by Peter Grendle
w/ Vitamin Z: Episode 7 (10m, U S A) dir. by Douglas Farra
w/ The Working Dead (5m, U S A) dir. by Lee Arter
8 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 5 (22m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
8:22 p.m. – World Premiere, The Minstrel Killer (90m, U S A) dir. by Michael Fredianelli
w/ World Premiere, The Window (5m, U S A) dir. by Alex Colonna
w/ World Premiere, The March (16m, U S A) dir. by Joe Lujan
10 p.m. Block
10:15 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, Truth or Dare (94m, U S A) dir by Jessica Cameron
w/ Bruised (17m, Canada) dir. by Jennifer Campbell
Midnight Block
Midnight – World Premiere, The Synthetic Man (74m, U S A) dir. by John R. Hand
w/ Elizabeth (5m, U S A) dir. by Robert Meyer Burnett
w/ Tits (7m, U S A) dir. by Opal Dockery
w/ Black Jesus (10m, U S A) dir. by Adam Hart
AFTER PARTY / PRE PARTY AT ATOMIC LIQUORS, 24 HOURS
OCTOBER 13
SUNDAY
CLOSING DAY
Noon Block
Noon – World Premiere, The Yellow Bellies (68m, U S A) dir. by Joe O’Neil and Joe Buck
w/ Point of Interest(20m, U S A) dir. by Johnny Bones
w/ Special tEd (8m, U S A) dir. by Brian Burstein
w/ A Conversation about Cheating with My Time Travelling Future Self (8m, U S A) dir. by Pornsak Pichetshote
w/ Jack & Justin in Hollywood: Episode 3 (9m, U S A) sub. by Justin Nijm
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – World Premiere, *JONAS: Verse 6 (24m, U S A) dir. by Adam Rehmeier
2:30 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, The Commune (91m, U S A) dir. by Elisabeth Fies
4 p.m. Block
4 p.m. – DISTRIBUTION PANEL HOSTED BY WILD EYE RELEASING
6 p.m. Block
6 p.m. – West Coast Premiere, Billy Club (90m, U S A) dir. by Nick Sommer and Drew Rosas
w/ It Found Me (12m, U S A) dir. by Joe Lujan
w/ World Premiere, Whirlwind (4m, U S A) dir. David Rosen
8 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – U.S. Premiere, Barbazul (107m, Bolivia) dir. by Amy Hesketh
w/ Skyline (12m, Canada) dir. by Paige K Boudreau
10 p.m. Block
10:15 p.m. – World Premiere, Sacrifice: In the Name of Goddess Gadhimai (75m, U S A) dir. by Chandan Gupta
w/ Legitimate (6m, U S A) dir. by Izzy Lee
w/ Behind The Bush (12m, France) dir. by Yoann Luis
w/ Rocksteady (5m, U S A) dir. by Jacob Stark
Midnight Block
Midnight – Special Underrated Gem Showcase: Nevada Premiere, China White Serpentine (70m, U S A), dir by. Robin Garrels and Eric Stanze
w/ La Luz Del Mundo (16m, Spain) dir. by Fernando J. Martinez and Alfonso Garcia
w/ Room For Rent; Man (8m, U S A) dir. by Ben Lanoha
PRE PARTY / PUB CHURCH AT ATOMIC LIQUORS, 9 A.M.
ENCORE WEEKEND
OCTOBER 25
FRIDAY
NEVADA DAY
6 p.m. – Marty’s House (32m, U S A) dir. by Ginnetta Correli
w/ Lights in the Sky (4m, U S A) dir. David Rosen
w / A Creepy Pasta Short Film – White With Red (4m, U S A) dir. Brandon Christensen
w/ Exquisite (5m, U S A) dir. by Sean McGlynn
7 p.m. Block
7 p.m. – World Premiere, Tricks (75m, USA) dir. by Med Jast
9 p.m. Block
9 p.m. – PollyGrind Rewind, Beast: A Monster Among Men (72m, U S A) dir. by Mike Lenzini
w/ Severance (9m, U S A) dir. by Douglas Farra
w/ Ella (16m, U S A) dir. by Austin Ethridge
OCTOBER 26
SATURDAY
Noon Block
Noon – Nevada Premiere, Savage Witches (70m, U S A) dir. Clara Pais and Daniel Fawcett
w/ The Mystery in Old Bathbath (44m, U S A) dir. by Ms Pussycat / Panacea Theriac
w/ Candy Cane (3m, U S A) dir. by Rachel Woods and Victor Masters
2 p.m. Block
2 p.m. – World Premiere, Eye of the Bennu (83m, U S A) dir. by Paul Madariaga
w/ Pretty Pieces (25m, Canada) dir. by Leigh Ann Bellamy
w/ Mahi (11m, U S A) dir. by Kai Winikka
4 p.m. Block
4 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, Locomotive (76m, U S A) dir. by Jeremy Waltman
w/ World Premiere, Dots (21m, U S A) dir. John Zhao
w/ Loathsome Malady (4m, U S A) dir. by Nathan Maulorico
w/ Justice Woman (13m, U S A) dir. by Vanessa Verduga
6 p.m. Block
6 p.m. – Nevada Premiere, Purgatorium (83m, U S A) dir. Travis Miller
w/ World Premiere, The Black Telephone’s off at the Root (11m, U S A) dir. by Whitney Johnston
w/ The Company of Thieves (17m, U S A) dir. by Shilpa Sunthankar
8 p.m. Block
8 p.m. – World Premiere, Legend of The Hillbilly Butcher (99m, U S A) dir. by Joaquin Montalvan
w/ Alex (3m, Germany) dir. by Florian Frerichs
w/ Jackie (13m, U S A) dir. by Justin Brown
10 p.m. Block
10 p.m. – West Coast Premiere, Cheeseballs (87m, U S A) dir. by Tom Martino
w/ Chasing Moonflowers (20m, U S A) dir. by Cortland Wilson
Midnight Block
Midnight – West Coast Premiere, Coyote (75m, U S A) dir. by Trevor Juenger
w/ Dickhead Dave (17m, U S A) dir. by Jaison H. Costley
w/ Boundaries: The End (5m, U S A) dir. by Edward Enciu
w/ Treibjagd (13m, Germany, U S A) dir. by Christiane Hitzemann
w/ Parasite Choi (10m, France) dir. by Damien Steck
