(November 3rd, 2015) Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, now entering its third season, will screen 31 feature films shot in Western New York, and a total of 104 films, over an eight day period, starting this Thursday at November 5th at Flix Stadium 10, and this Friday November 6th – 12th at Eastern Hills Cinemas. The festival focuses on genre films from around the world – science fiction, fantasy, horror, action and thrillers – but accepts films of any genre from local filmmakers.
“I don’t think any other festival in Western New York has ever made this kind of commitment to films produced in the region before,” says co-chair Gregory Lamberson. “Except for the 3D kickoff screening of Aztec Blood at Flix on November 5th, we’re showing a different Western New York feature or short feature every night of the week, in addition to many short films. We’ve got films shot in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Binghamton. The creators of these films will screen their work on a big screen, in the company of other filmmakers. This is why we believe Buffalo Dreams truly serves the community.”
Lamberson points to The Search for Silverspear, an animated film from Rochester filmmaker Curt Markham, as an example of the kind of support Buffalo Dreams offers local filmmakers.
“Curt started his film at the age of 13 in 1987, using a Super 8 camera. The Search for Silverspear is a fantasy epic created using paper cutouts and stop motion animation; he animated the film one frame at a time, and it took him two years to complete that end of the work. Years later, he used modern technology to restore the footage, and added vocals, sound effects and a score. This project took 25 years to complete. It’s a real passion project, and we’re holding its world premiere.”
The Search for Silverspear premieres at 6 pm on Monday, November 9th, as part of a block of animated films from around the world that begins at 5:30. Markham will have a short Q&A after the film.
Other films shot in WNY screening at the festival include the features Model Hunger, directed by actress Debbie Rochon; the drama Sugar Wonder Blues, based on Darryl Schneider’s play Two to the Head; Lamberson’s own comedy Killer Rack; the action opus Dick Johnson & Tommygun vs. the Cannibal Cop; Christopher Seaver’s nerd comedy The Weirdsies; the zombie epic Stand Off; the found footage horror film Wolf House; Frankenstein’s Patchwork Monster, an experimental look at the mad scientist and his creations; and The Outlaw: Virus, the fifth installment of heavy metal musician Aceifer Genovese’s avant garde fantasy series.
“Our festival celebrates imagination, and we have an abundance of that right here in our own backyard,” says Lamberson.
For a complete schedule, visit www.buffalodreamsfilmfest.com. Advance tickets are available at www.dipsontheatres.com.