Aug 17, 2022
Guns of Eden, an action movie written and directed by Buffalo-based filmmaker Gregory Lamberson, will have its World Premiere at Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival this Friday, August 19th at 7:00 pm, with an encore screening Sunday, August 21st at 4:30 pm. The Friday premiere is already sold out. Buffalo Dreams runs Friday, August 19th – Thursday, August 25th at Dipson Theatres Eastern Hills Cinema. Lamberson programs the festival with Chris Scioli.
Guns of Eden was conceived as an action epic in the “Rambo” mold, with a female lead. New York City actress Alexandra Faye Sadeghian and B-movie icon Lynn Lowry star, with local actors Bill Kennedy, Peter “Trazz” Johnson, Nicole Colon, and Dominic Luongo in key supporting roles.
Writer Director Greg Lamberson (Right) on set with actor Bill Brown (Left).
Lamberson wrote the screenplay in 1996, but put it in a drawer because the action was too ambitious to pull off on a low budget.
“The film has scores of characters, gunfire, fights, a car chase, and a helicopter,” Lamberson says. “But 90% of the story takes place outside, so suddenly, during the pandemic, the most challenging screenplay I was sitting on became the most practical to produce.”
Lamberson produced the movie with his wife Tamar, cinematographer Chris Cosgrave, and Keith Lukowski. Executive producers include Erin Elizabeth Heald, Kim Piazza, Armand Petri, Brooke Lewis Bellas, and Marc J. Makowski. Lamberson and his team raised $100,000 on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to make the film, which they shot last summer, primarily in downtown Buffalo, Chestnut Ridge Park, Clarence Nature Center, Akron Falls Park, and Little Rock City.
After Buffalo Dreams, Guns of Eden will screen at two out of state film festivals yet to be announced, and will be released commercially before the end of the year.
Aug 17, 2022
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film will honor Jerry Stoeffhaas with its Local Service Award, in recognition of his significant contributions to the Western New York film industry. Past recipients include Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner Tim Clark, Buffalo Niagara Film Office Director of Operations Rich Wall, City of Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, New York State Film Commissioner Pat Kaufman, and WBBZ TV station manager/Off Beat Cinema producer John Di Sciullo. Buffalo Dreams’ ninth season runs August 19th – 25th at Dipson Theaters’ Eastern Hills Cinema, and Stoeffaas will receive his award at the Dreamer Awards presentation on Sunday the 21st.
Stoeffhaas served as the Deputy Director of the New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture & Television Development for over 20 years before retiring last year, working with film and TV productions across the state and helping launch the state’s highly successful Film Production Tax Credits, and continues to serve as Senior Advisor. Prior to that he was the founder and Director of the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film and Video Office, the first dedicated film office in Upstate New York.
With his creative partner Jeff Ureles, Stoeffhaas co-wrote, produced and directed the feature film Cheap Shots, filmed in Batavia, which had a limited US theatrical run via Hemdale and played at festivals around the world, including Sundance, London, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo. After receiving his MFA in Film from Syracuse University he worked as an independent Location Manager covering Central and Western New York.
Stoeffhaas is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East since 1980 and has taught screenwriting, film production and criticism at various Upstate institutions including Syracuse University, Writers & Books and Rochester Institute of Technology.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival http://www.buffalodreamsfantasticfilmfestival.com/
Jul 26, 2022
Buffalo, New York – Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival announces its first wave of feature film premieres screening during its ninth season, August 19th – 25th at Dipson Theatres’ Eastern Hills Cinema in Williamsville. Buffalo Dreams is a seven-day celebration of independently produced action, animation, comedy, horror, and science fiction films from around the world. Submissions are open via FilmFreeway.com until July 24th.
Chicken Ranch
Among the initial round of Official Selections is the highly anticipated New York Premiere of Bashira, a stunning “J-horror” film directed by special visual effects artist Nickson Fong at various Buffalo locations including the Buffalo Filmworks soundstage. Chicken Ranch, an offbeat comedy from Oklahoma City writer-director-actor Cate Jones, will also have its New York Premiere at the fest. Jones first came to the attention of Buffalo Dreams when she played Priscilla Presley in Mickey Reece’s Alien, and last year made a splash with her directorial debut, She’s the Eldest.
Galaxy Warriors
Exclusive World Premieres include Galaxy Warriors, Canadian filmmaker Brett Kelly’s loving homage to campy sci-fi flicks from the 1980s; Mask of the Devil, UK director Richard Rowntree’s retro horror film about supernatural mayhem on the set of a porn film; and Pact of Vengeance, an action film from Pennsylvania filmmaker Len Kabasinski, starring Leo Fong and Jon Mikl Thor.
Guns of Eden
Buffalo Dreams will host the World Premieres of two non-competition features: festival director Gregory Lamberson’s Guns of Eden, an action movie in the vein of First Blood, filmed in and around Buffalo and starring Alexandra Faye Sadeghian and Lynn Lowry; and Showdown in Yesteryear, a fantasy western starring Jeff Grennell as a contemporary ranch hand who travels through time to the wild west. Showdown was produced by Tim O’Hearn, directed by Aaron Bratcher, and co-stars Vernon Wells and Debra Lamb.
Lamberson and festival co-founder Chris Scioli will present the Lois Weber Award, named after the iconic silent era director, to Anne-Marie Frigon from Ottawa, Canada for her contributions to the medium. Frigon produced Galaxy Warriors, as well as 20 other features and many shorts, and has worked in numerous areas of production.
Western New Yorker Terry Kimmel, president of Buffalo Movie-Video Makers, will receive the festival’s Local Hero Award for his longtime contributions to the Buffalo film community. BMVM is the oldest film club in the country.
Additional Special Awards and Official Selections, including shorts and yet to be produced screenplays, will be announced July 25th. Buffalo Dreams only holds in-person screenings, frequently with filmmaker Q&As.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival www.buffalodreamsfilmfest.com
Buffalo Dreams on FilmFreeway https://filmfreeway.com/BuffaloDreamsFantasticFilmFestival
Buffalo Dreams on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloDreamsFilmFestival
Buffalo Dreams on Twitter https://twitter.com/BuffaloDreams
Dec 7, 2021
Jeff Fahey grew up in Lackawanna and North Buffalo and started his acting career at the old Studio Arena Theatre on Main Street(current of of the Town Ballroom) he went on to feature and starring roles on television with The Marshall and Lost as well as in film with Lawnmower Man and Clint Eastwood directed White Hunter Black Heart.
Cindy Abbott Letro sat down with Jeff while he was in Buffalo scouting for a future feature film as well as a stage play.
Nov 4, 2021
Buffalo, New York – Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival returns to Dipson Theatres’ Eastern Hills Cinema for in-person screenings, premieres, and filmmaker Q&As Fiday, November 5th – Thursday, November 11th. Filmmakers from around the country will attend and network with local artists and moviegoers. Over 90 films will screen, primarily from the genres of action, horror, science fiction, and animation. In addition, sound mixer Adam Bloch will receive the festival’s Local Hero Award for his many contributions to the western New York film community at the Dreamer Awards presentation held at the WBBZ TV studio in the Eastern Hills Mall on Sunday, November 7th.
Among the festival highlights:
A 40th anniversary screening of Fear No Evil, an Omen-like horror film directed by Frank LaLoggia in Rochester, which programmers Greg Lamberson and Chris Scioli credit as the first horror feature produced in the area. Friday, Nov. 5th, 7 pm.
The western New York premiere of New York Ninja, a campy martial arts film shot in New York City in 1984 and only completed this year, featuring the talents of Don “the Dragon” Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock. Sat, Nov. 6th. 7 pm.
The World Premiere of Self Isolated, a pandemic-related suspense thriller written and directed by Chad Ridgely, who will attend. Sat, Nov. 5th, 4:30 pm.
The North American premiere of the thriller Mystery Spot, about travelers drawn to a mystical roadside attraction, written and directed by Mel House, who will attend. Sat, Nov. 6th, 9:30 pm.
Clowns in the Woods, a comedic horror film directed by Rochester filmmakers Adrian Esposito and Curt Markham, who will attend. Sat, Nov. 6th, 1:30 pm.
The NYS film festival premiere of The Last Frankenstein, filmed in Central New York, with writer-director David Weaver.
Abyssal Spider, a Taiwanese film about a giant spider-crab hybrid that attacks the crew of a freighter, with outstanding special effects. Wed, Nov. 10th, 4 pm.
Advance tickets are available at Dipsontheatres.com, and All Festival Passes are available at the box office. Admission is $10 per screening, $20 for a Day Pass, and $70 for an All Festival Pass. Visit www.buffalodreamsfilmfest.com for additional details.
Oct 5, 2021
No big city mayor has been a bigger supporter of film production than Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. From the jobs created to the overall economic impact, the Mayor’s partnership and support have been a key element in creating a sustainable industry in our region. On this edition of Behind the Camera, Cindy Abbott Letro had a chance to interview Mayor Brown and review the big production wins for the City of Buffalo and talk about his hopes for the future.
