American Mary Hits the Indie Wire

"Not long ago, 29-year-old Canadian twins Jen and Sylvia Soska were just another typically disgruntled pair of film school students struggling to cast and fina

nce their final project. Modeled on the exploitation trailers in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse,” the Soskas’ brazenly-titled short “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” was an absurdist, blood-spattered, lo-fi romp that cost the sisters their funding and earned them the disdain of school administrators. Having been expanded to feature length, however, in the wake of a raucous graduation-day screening, “Dead Hooker” was picked up last year by IFC Midnight for On Demand and DVD release, and won an eager following among horror acolytes that included Eli Roth, director of “Hostel” and the “Grindhouse” trailer “Thanksgiving.”

The Soskas return this year with their sophomore effort, “American Mary,” the disquieting tale of an abused, debt-burdened medical student who turns to performing unorthodox body-modification surgery as means of both profit and revenge. The film, which debuted in May at the Cannes Film Market, marks a significant jump in production value for the twins, and though it retains some of “Dead Hooker”’s clever camp, “American Mary” also probes dark sociological territory that broadens its appeal well-beyond the horror-junky market."

READ THE ENTIRE SWEET ASS INTERVIEW WITH with Chris Pomorski of Indiewire HERE!!

-Sylv

American Mary Reviewed for Best Horror Movies

"After seeing this movie, I’m torn between this and the masterful Loved Ones, as my favorite horror film so far this year (no doubt that Cabin in the Woods comes close, as well). One thing, I have no doubt about, though, is the fact that th

e Soska Twins are the future of horror. I am more excited than ever to see where they will go from here. Their artistic abilities and love for this genre makes them stand head and shoulders above much of their counterparts. To me, they are currently on a whole another level. As is this sexy, scary, darkly funny, and magnificent film. You simply must see this movie as soon as you are able to!"

Check out the whole rad piece by Giovanni Deldio for Best Horror Movies HERE!

-Sylv

My Vagina Isn't My Resume - The Women of American Mary

"As I'm greeted raucously by the Soskas and Tristan Risk, I notice a willowy blonde sitting in the corner observing us. "Dammit," I think, "that's Katharine Isabelle. I didn't know she was going to be here." Sensing my surprise, Jen laughs and says, "This is Katie. She flew in last night." 

Katharine stands and we shake hands. "Sorry," I say shyly, "but I didn't prepare for you." She smiles, then drops her head and makes an exaggerated sad face. Jen says, "It's okay. No one's

 prepared for Katie."

The Soskas are road warriors, relentlessly grinding it out on the film fest circuit the world over. I'm extremely curious about how they manage such an arduous schedule. I mention that I'm still recovering from the boozy karaoke party a few nights earlier, during which the Soskas commandeered the stage to the delight of the crowd and performed a passionate version of Aerosmith's "Dream On." If this is typical festival life, how do they manage it on a nonstop basis?

Sylvia Soska smiles, saying, "If we had the choice, we wouldn't do anything but this. It's kinda what we live for." 

READ THE WHOLE VERY HONEST & EXPLICIT PIECE WITH THERON NEEL HERE!!

-Sylv 

 

Hey, What're You Doing at 3:30am on Halloween? Watch Dead Hooker in a Trunk on Tv!!

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is on the Sundance Channel at 3:30am on ol’ Hallow’s Eve! I think our exact demographic is people still up at 3:30am on Halloween. Enjoy! And totally tell me and Jen all about it!!!

Fuck yeah, Dead Hooker in a Trunk.

-Sylv

Perth, Are You Ready?

Word on the Canadian streets is that Perth is a pretty fucking wicked awesome city. So we are beyond thrilled that Monster Pictures is not only bringing AMERICAN MARY to the fine people of Perth, but also bringing Jen and I so we can be there for all the necessary unnecessary surgical fun.

           

Like horror? Like having a rad time? Us too. Hope to see all your pretty faces at MONSTER FEST were you'll get to meet our Bloody Mary.

-Sylv

Women and Hollywood Guest Post: AMERICAN MARY sets out to Modify the way you think about Women in Horror

"The final girl has evolved from a terrified little girl to a powerful, independent woman for good reason. So have we."

Recently Sylvia and I have had the esteemed pleasure of writing a guest post for IndieWire's WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD. Our latest film, AMERICAN MARY, is largely an analogy for our own journey and misadventures in the film industry. It's a real privilege to live in a time where we get to see more and more women having a strong presence in film both in front of and behind the camera and it's a true honor to be even a small part of that.

It's amazing to see women have a stronger voice and for that voice to be heard thanks to amazing places like IndieWire's WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD.

Please enjoy our full guest post RIGHT HERE.

Fatally Yours,
Jen

Women In Horror & Sci-fi Panel at the Aliens to Zombies Convention Tonight!

Jen and I will be on the Aliens to Zombies Convention tonight with Christine Elise (CHILD'S PLAY), PJ Soles, (HALLOWEEN, CARRIE), and Lynn Lowry (I DRINK YOUR BLOOD) for the WOMEN IN HORROR & SCI-FI Panel tonight at 8pm at the W Hotel in Hollywood. 

See you there - DETAILS HERE.

-Sylv

Three Girls Walk into a Bar, They Find a Stairwell to Talk

"Leaving the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, the Soska sisters and I hunted for a place to chat. Clad in their usual armor of sultry micro-minis and sky-high heels, we made our way through the downpour outside, and into the Pauper’s Pub. Scavenging the building for a quiet place to talk proved difficult. Ultimately, our goal was met. 

Sneaking up the stairs leading to the Pauper’s famous roof-top patio, now closed for the season, we attempt to perch ourselves on one of the plateaus. Not so fast, it seemed. The manager of the pub sent security after us, and they attempted to coax us back downstairs. Unfamiliar with such situations, I was prepared to go find another location. The twins had other ideas. 

In a flash, they not only managed to secure us the Pub’s stairwell to conduct our interview, but to charm these two men into oblivion. I’m in awe. Quick witted and fiercely intelligent, they know exactly how to work a room, without an inch of compromise. It’s no wonder they’ve managed to take the indie horror film circuit by storm. Shortly after this interview they cleaned up at Screamfest, walking away with Best Picture, Best Directors, Best Actress for Katherine Isabelle, Best Cinematography, and Best Makeup. Each award skillfully earned and well deserved. 

With such acclaim comes much curiosity. The Soska twins have been flying just under the radar – until now. What fascinates me about these women is the quality of their work, and integrity of their work ethic. In a male-dominated industry, it’s a struggle to make a mark. The twins have what it takes not only to make their presence known, but to make a change, bringing female writers, directors, and producers to the foreground. Smart, creative, and driven, they’re starting an army, and are about to take the industry by storm."

I absolutely love this interview we did with Ariel Fisher at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. If you have a moment, please take a boo or two, fuck even three. It's one of my favourites that we've had the opportunity to do. Kudos to Ariel for killing it on the piece.

It's very easy to talk to such an intelligent, well versed woman in the industry and this interview gets some amazing insight on filmmaking, our experiences herein, and how we've gotten to the point that we're at.

AF: On that note, what’s your endgame? What do you ultimately want for your careers? 

JS: I would like our names to be synonymous with Horror. There are so many great male horror directors. I can’t name three great female horror directors. Mary Herron did American Psycho, and she’s done a couple of other things. 

SS: Mary Lambert – 

JS: done Pet Sematary – 

SS: They’re all Mary’s, aren’t they? I like Alice Guy-Blanche, I love her. She was the first director of fiction cinema. Most people don’t know that the first director that did non-documentaries was a woman. And it was because she was a woman that so much of her material- 

Just as they were about to give me an insightful glimpse into the first female director, the unsettling bar manager returns. For what reason, I’m still unsure. Bantering like pros, Sylvia and Jen swoon him into oblivion, getting him to leave. 

JS: Feminine wiles. 

SS: Oh, it’s so easy to do that. It’s like an evil superpower. 

JS: You should have seen us on Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Of course, we had no permits. It was half Rodriguez, half Ed Wood. If we got it ‘oh, it’s good enough! Let’s do it! Might happen in nature!’ But an officer would show up, and there’d be Sylv in her little outfit, just go over, act really confused – 

SS: And my makeup was even whorier than this, if you’d believe it.- 

JS: and just pretend you’re with a film school, and your teacher is David, and he said it’s okay. 

SS: it’s a double edged sword, because someone looks at a girl like me and assumes I’m the stupidest thing ever. Jen and I, we had a 4.0 GPA through everything, we never left the honor roll. After [Jen and I] graduated, [we] were hired on promotion teams, and we were paid $50 an hour to stand by things and smile, and I was so disgusted with myself, because my brain is important, and I am standing by a car and waving. […] So I decided I’m gonna use my brains, mix it with all this makeup and pushup bras, and do something with myself. What I would like to do is grow tWISTED tWINS to the point where we can open tWISTED tWINS Studios, where we not only make our films, but we finance our own films, like Troublemaker [Studios]. And we find other filmmakers, talented people that might not have the opportunity otherwise, and fund their project. And it would be nice, because I feel, especially in the horror genre, it’s so diluted with soulless crap. They know things make money, but they don’t understand why. And it would be nice to give the power back to the fans, the creative people. I feel like it’s a gift to have this opportunity, because this is a bit of a spectacle. This opens a lot of doors, and as long as you work hard, you don’t make any of the mistakes that a lot of people do, the pressures of an easy life, and you show that you can do it that way. Hopefully this is the start of a fucking army. 

JS: Little girls are always told – that’s how we got into acting – you can be an actress, you can be a model, you can be a singer. No one ever says you can be an executive producer. You could be the CEO. You know you could be a director or writer? Oh my god, we’re story tellers! If I’d known I could be a director, I wouldn’t have worried with all that acting shit. My happiest moment is when a little girl, or boy, messages us and says ‘I didn’t know if I could make a movie, but you girls made Dead Hooker in a Trunk and I’m gonna start my feature.’

READ THE WHOLE EXTREMELY REVEALING, HONEST, THOUGHTFUL PIECE HERE.

When you have the opportunity to travel as much as we have been blessed with, it's a special treat to meet new friends and kindred spirits - this was one of those lovely experiences.

-Sylv

Sinful Celluloid Follows Mary As She Sweeps the East Coast

"There is no denying the emotional core of this film and it's ability to draw us deeper into Mary's world with every minute of film. We've all either known Mary, loved Mary, Lost Mary, or even been her. Her story touches us and because it works at our emotional core while serving up beautifully grotesque imagery, its power is unwavering. There are so many reasons to love this film, each person will ultimately bring their own personal history to it. That is something only the best films do."

AMERICAN MARY was honored with sweeping the Screamfest Awards in LA, now she's been given the incredible privilege on the east coast in Boston's Shudderfest with another sweep! A huge and humble thanks to those who are on the voting committees and supporting this unique film to get this kind of attention and accolades.

And Sinful Celluloid is on it! READ THE WHOLE AWESOME PIECE HERE.

-Sylv

AMERICAN MARY wins big at Shudder Fest!

 We’re speechless…

American Mary wins Best Picture, Best Directors, Best Actress, and ties for Best Special FX and Make-Up and Best Screenplay at Shudder Fest!! Thank you so much and a BIG congrats to the AM cast and crew!

Best Picture: AMERICAN MARY

Best Short Film: VICKI (dir. Bill Palmer)

Best Director: Jen & Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY)

Best Screenplay tie: I AM A GHOST (HP Mendoza) & AMERICAN MARY (Jen & Sylvia Soska)

Best Special FX: Jon Breznan & MastersFX (AMERICAN MARY)

Best Actor: Jamie Dufault (MURDER UNIVERSITY)

Best Actress: Katharine Isabelle (AMERICAN MARY)

Best Soundtrack/Score: Tim Fife & Tim Lang-Grannan (MURDER UNIVERSITY)

American Mary Has Her New York Premiere

-Sylv

Interview With the Examiner

"After their successful Canadian Premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, we were able to sit down with the Canadian Born directors the Soska Sisters, aka the Twisted Twins, to discuss their latest offering, the dark and twisted American Mary."

Jen and I had the opportunity to talk to the Examiner's Kirk Haviland about AMERICAN MARY, body modification, Katharine Isabelle, and Betty Boop.

"Katharine Isabelle is breathtaking in this film, a stellar performance, was she always your first choice? And how was she as a collaborator on set? 

S: The character was written for Katie. We have been big fans of her work for years, but hadn't seen her in roles that reflected the caliber of actress that she is. By the time we sent the script to her and she was coming to meet us for the first time, I loved Mary so much, I was terrified that we wouldn't mesh or that she wouldn't live up to my exceedingly high expectations of her. 

She actually surpassed my expectations. Katie is just brilliant. She gave everything to the role, she had a definitive idea of Mary and wasn't afraid to take strong choices with her. I loved collaborating with her - I tell her she looks most stunning when she is crying and covered in blood, yet somehow she and I remain very close friends. 

J: We rarely write a character for a particular actor. We usually prefer to write a character and then compile a list of possible actors who could fit that role. Katie was the exception. We knew we wanted her from the beginning. She has this immense depth to her and she can pull off so much with such subtlety that so few actors can. She's brilliant and she is such a professional to work with. You write a character that you love and of course your ultimate hope is that you find an actor that can not only bring that character to life, but bring even more to the character than you expected. Katie was very into Mary and she really thoughtfully developed and brought her to life that truly exceeded our already sky high expectations. 

Sometimes a really talented actor will hit the Canadian glass ceiling and people don't realize how truly amazing they are. It can be like if you're not in LA, you don't exist. Katie is just phenomenal and I think this role beautifully displays her maturity, intelligence, thoughtfulness, and charisma." 

READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW HERE!!

-Sylv

Win A Signed (Filthily) American Mary Poster

Jen wrote some absolutely fabulous filth on this poster. There is good shit here also from me and Tristan Risk - want to win a signed American Mary poster? Icons of Fright have got you covered as they got this goodie at Son of Monsterpalooza.

May the best man/woman win.

"While there, the twins along with one of the stars of the film, Tristan Risk, were nice enough to give ICONS OF FRIGHT a poster signed by all three of them, to give away to one of you lucky readers. Being that I only have one of them to give out though, I’d like to make this contest fun. So here it goes: 

1.) E-mail me : dexahliaprod@gmail.com with the subject: AMERICAN MARY POSTER along with your name and address. 

2.) Share this on either FB or Retweet this on twitter. 

3.) Tell us the craziest thing that has happened to you on Halloween. I’m talking insane, balls to the wall crazy stuff. The craziest story will win the poster, and who knows, maybe I’ll throw in some extra goodies. 

The winner will be announced on October 31st."

FULL DETAILS HERE!

-Sylv

The Jaded Viewer Sees American Mary in New York

"One can't talk about American Mary without mentioning the NON-CGI effects they employed. Special effects guru Todd Masters uses stellar prosthetics and old school blood techniques to get us some ample splatter and gore. The Soska's seem adept at giving us cringe worthy scenes that have a Kubrick-esque element to them such as when Mary goes all Kill Bill on her "victims". With some clever camera work,  I have never seen such  pure torture scenes become still photos worthy of a place in the MOMA."

The first person to ever write ANYTHING about our first film, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK, the fabulous Jaded Viewer saw AMERICAN MARY at her Film Society of Lincoln Centre in New York. It's really cool to that he had the opportunity to see the film. And dug it.

"Never have I seen a movie that delves into this subculture, treats it respectfully and slices in a perfect horror movie inside. I guarantee American Mary will etch it's way into cult status. It's perfect blend of sly black humor, absurd and eerie characters and torturous scenes of pain and agony that equal a milkshake of cult awesomeness. 

Horror movies have just grown up in a big way thanks to American Mary."

THE WHOLE RAD REVIEW HERE!!!

Thank you to everyone who has been going out to the screenings, the people who are telling their friends, and all the people who have been supporting the film. You, ladies and gentlemen, fucking rock!

-Sylv

Get GHOST PATROL in time for your Halloween Shenanigans!

 Hey, boys and grrls!!

Love Halloween? Want some MAJOR bang for your buck? With a mere 99 cents you can score a wicked awesome Halloween app via iTunes that will at long last allow you to live out your own need to hunt down ghosts and you don't even NEED to have any found footage tapes kicking around ;)

GHOST PATROL is the handy dandy love child of every found footage/ghost hunting everything with the sexy as hell element of FATAL FRAME (yeah, my fellow gamers know what I'm preaching about, ha ha).

GHOST MISCHIEF & MAYHEM! As a rookie in Ghost Patrol, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Armed with ParaVox Technology – a top-secret ectoplasmic audio-visual tool -- your assignment is to detect, engage and photograph 10 of the agency’s most wanted haunting the world around you! Snap photos of each ghost to close their case and unlock new targets.

But beware… ghosts aren’t fond of getting photographed, so you must keep your eyes and ears open at all times. And with each case you take on, the ghosts get creepier and more powerful as you climb the ranks toward earning your Ghost Patrol badge!

Ghost Patrol is an immersive, multi-media experience that leverages your smartphone's camera and accelerometer in wildly innovative ways!

FEATURING:

• DEEP, ENTERTAINING STORYVERSE where all 10 ghosts have a personal dossier (obituary, life photo and intel) plus a creepy audio message and a scary set of photographs. But this is only the beginning -- more ghosts are coming, more secrets about the agency will be revealed, and more opportunities for real "field work" will be unveiled!

• ORIGINAL RETRO CHARACTERS created by renowned Hollywood illustrator Peter Von Sholly, known for his work on many Hollywood movies.

• TWO-TIERED GAMEPLAY lets you scan your real world environment for ghostly auras, then contact the entities using fast & fun Rock Band-style gameplay with a supernatural twist! Succeed and you'll capture a spooky picture of the ghost only a few feet from your face!

• COLLECT TRADING CARDS & SHARE PHOTOS. Complete the game and collect 50 ghostly photos & 10 demented trading cards. Share your ghostly photos on your favorite social network and visit the Ghost Patrol website to discover some secrets about this arcane agency!

Join Ghost Patrol on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/ghostpatrolgame

Follow us on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/artifacttech

Get it RIGHT HERE!! 

Free Posters from the Twisted Twins and a Kiss from Tristan Risk

 Come to the MASTERSFX booth at the SON OF MONSTERPALOOZA Saturday October 27th and meet Sylvia Soska and me! We'll be signing FREE American Mary posters from 1:30pm to 2:30pm with the sensational Tristan Risk who will be running a kissing booth by donation for the ItGetsBetter(LGBTP) Project. Cannot fucking wait to meet you all and see old friends ♥

XO,

Jen

GET DONE BY MASTERSFX!

Hey, you monster lovers - want to get made up with prosthetics by MASTERSFX? Four looks include: Zombie, Beauty, Victim, & Party Monster.

Once in a lifetime opportunity to get professional prosthetics, the application filmed by FEARnet, and a tour of the infamous LA shop - responsible for killer FX on projects like: True Blood, Sinister, Slither, Six Feet Under, and American Mary. 

$250 donations for the email charity@mastersfx.com - which will go to Southern California Hospice Society - limited to only 25 tickets. 

Each donation will also get you two tickets to the VIP Son of a Bash, Son of Monsterpalooza after party!

-Sylv

Screamfest 2012 American Mary Q & A

Screamfest 2012 was kind enough to give AMERICAN MARY her LA premiere and in attendance were many of the cast and crew including: Jen Soska, Antonio Cupo, Paula Lindberg, Brian Pearson, Sylvia Soska, Todd Masters, and Katharine Isabelle.

                    

Here is the cast & crew Q & A following the film. PLEASE ENJOY!

-Sylv

PS A huge thank you to SINFUL CELLULOID for all the spectacular coverage!!

Mike Wendt Knows How to Party

FUCK YA!!!

"the makings of a kick ass night... some beer, a dead hooker, annnnd twiiiinnnns!"

-Sylv

Are You Ready, Australia?

Are you ready, Australia? Jen and I cannot fucking wait for American Mary to come to Monster Fest!!!! You better grow another liver - because this is going to be the party of a lifetime. 

         

Thank you Monster Pictures Australia for continuing to support Twisted Twin artistic insanity!!

-Sylv

The Rio Grind Schedule

Get Your Grind On, Vancouver!

East Vancouver's only independently owned and operated single screen multi-purpose venue, The Rio Theatre, is thrilled to announce the final slate of films for the first edition of the Rio Grind Film Festival, Nov. 2-4. This year's lineup includes World, Canadian, Western Canadian and BC feature, documentary, and short film premieres from seven countries.
*Advance screeners and media interviews available upon request.

Festival Schedule Just Announced!

• The exclusive BC premiere of director Don Coscarelli's (Bubba Ho-Tep, Phantasm I-IV) highly anticipated adaptation of David Wong's bestselling novel John Dies at the End (Paul Giamatti, Chase Williamson). Friday, November 2, at 9:30 pm.
• The Western Canadian premiere of Lithuanian director Kristina Buozyte's romantic and erotically-charged Vanishing Waves, a dreamy sci-fi thriller that has taken top honors from festivals around the world - including including Austin's Fantastic Fest (Best Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay), Sweden's Lund Fantastic Film Festival (Méliès d'Argent for Best Picture), and Sitges in Spain (the coveted Méliés d'Or for Best European Fantastic Film). Sunday, November 4 at 7:00 pm.
• The World premiere of Vancouver filmmaker Josh Laner's documentary on cosplay and the unusual world of cosplayers, My Other Me. The Rio Grind Film Festival is honored to be hosting the world premiere of this fascinating feature which is already slated to screen as part of Queenland, Australia's Gold Coast Film Festival in 2013. Friday, November 2 at 5:00 pm.
  
• We are pleased to be offering our three documentary features as "all ages" shows with a special student rate. (Viewer discretion is advised.)

Go HERE for advanced ticketing information. Connect on Facebook & @RioTheatre #RioGrind

In Competition: Short Film Program

Join us for the Rio Grind Film Festival's short film program on Saturday, November 3 at 1:00 pm. Presented in association with The Celluloid Social Club, this diverse roster of shorts features 15 films from five countries. (More to be announced!)

• Dysmorphia (Andy Stewart, Scotland)
• Spacewrecked (Kalle Gulbrandsen, Norway)
• Don't Make Us (Ashley Lynch, Canada)
• Game (Angus Swantee, Canada)
• Frozen Over: In From the Cold (Nathanael Draper, Canada)
• Alchemy and Other Imperfections (Zachary Rothman, Canada)
• Hellvetica (Kalen Artinian, Canada)
• Dead Crossing (Gigi Guerrero, Canada)
• Drifting Through Silence (Christopher Ray, Canada)
• Defenseless (Norm Coyne, Canada)
• Karon (Itai Edry, Israel)
• SHHH (Freddy Chavez Olmos, Canada)
• Beautiful Phil (Sophie Romvari, Canada)
• Dialogue (Josh Johnson, USA)
• Monster (Rich Johnson, Canada)

The Rio Grind Film Festival welcomes and encourages all levels of community, corporate, and in-kind promotional consideration from a wide variety of sponsors, and would like to thank the following for their support: BC Buzz, Cariboo Brewing, The Celluloid Social Club, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, The Georgia Straight, Latincouver, The UBC Department of Film Studies, Vancity Buzz, Vancouver is Awesome, The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Vancouver Film School and Videomatica.

Get your organization's grind on! To inquire about sponsorship opportunities or for press consideration, (media passes, request screeners for reviews, media interviews, information, etc.) please contact: Rachel Fox <miss.r.fox@gmail.com>.

Get Your Grind On, Vancouver!

Get Your Grind On, Vancouver!

The Rio Grind Film Festival at East Vancouver's independent Rio Theatre is excited to announce its full slate of documentary programming for the upcoming festival, November 2-4.

We are especially proud to be opening the first year of the Rio Grind Film Festival with the world premiere of Vancouver filmmaker Josh Laner's documentary My Other Me, the "documentary about cosplay and cosplayers." Acclaimed Vancouver horror directors and Rio Grind Film Festival Associate Programmers Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) agree: "We love My Other Me!"
Friday, November 2, at 5:00 pm. Presented in association with BC Buzz.

In an effort to keep the festival as inclusive as possible, all three of the documentaries screened will be open to an all-ages audience. There's even a special student rate (with valid ID)! For advance ticketing go HERE. (Mature content. Viewer discretion is advised.)

WORLD PREMIERE - Presented in association with BC Buzz
My Other Me
Josh Laner (Canada, 2012)
At the Rio Grind Film Festival Friday, November 2 at 5:00 pm.

My Other Me embodies the things that we've always loved most about Halloween [and] acting... Cosplay [has] really become it's own art form and form of self-expression; that ability to pull on someone else's skin and be everything or anything you ever wanted to be. Their bravery and self discovery is something we are just in awe of. It's a heart-warming, beautiful film that makes you want to discover your 'other me'. - Jen and Sylvia Soska

BC Premiere - Presented in association with DOXA Film Festival
The American Scream Michael Stephenson (USA, 2012)
Winner - Best Documentary Fantastic Fest; Official Selection Telluride Horror Show, Starz Denver Film Festival
At the Rio Grind Film Festival Saturday, November 3 at 5:00

A compelling encapsulation of blue-collar life. Think Death of a Salesman with

demons. – Indiewire

It's rare to see a movie where you realize it's just about over and you feel the same disappointment you get on an actual holiday when the last guest leaves. – Badass Digest

Clearly a labor of love from all involved, The American Scream is a warm and touching look at three families doing what they love with what they have. – Film School Rejects

This film has the heart of a lion and is a must see film for any horror fan.- Horrors Not Dead

A terrific documentary, one that assures us all that life lived in pursuit of a passion, no matter how seemingly trivial, is never a wasted life.  – Ain’t It Cool News

Nightmare Factory - Presented in Association with Vancouver Film School
Donna Davies (Canada, 2011)
Official Selection Screamfest LA, Spooky Movie International Horror Film Fest, Telluride Horror Show
At the Rio Grind Film Festival Sunday, November 4 at 2:00 pm

Nightmare Factory shines a light on a man and a profession that has been a long time love of ours. Thank God Greg Nicotero quit med school and built up the legendary KNB FX. His work has consistently blown audiences away along with his cutting edge approaches. He is the go-to man of our personal heroes Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Nicotero is a Hollywood treasure, and this film gorgeously demonstrates just why KNB FX is the prolific monster that it is today. - Jen and Sylvia Soska
The Rio Grind Film Festival welcomes and encourages all levels of community, corporate, and in-kind promotional consideration from a wide variety of sponsors, and would like to thank the following for their support: BC Buzz, Cariboo Brewing, The Celluloid Social Club, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, The Georgia Straight, Latincouver, The UBC Department of Film Studies, Vancity Buzz, Vancouver is Awesome, The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Vancouver Film School and Videomatica.

Get your organization's grind on! To inquire about sponsorship opportunities or for press consideration, (media passes, request screeners for reviews, media interviews, information, etc.) please contact: Rachel Fox <miss.r.fox@gmail.com>.

Greg Klymkiw Expertly Dissects American Mary

"The scalpel enters a full, fleshy breast and delicately, almost sensually circles the areola's entirety whilst blood oozes out, the surgeon's fingers gently tracing her handiwork. 

Both nipples are eventually removed. 

The next procedure involves surgically removing all physical receptors of pubic ecstasy and stitching shut the vagina of the aforementioned nipple-bereft body, save, of course, for the smallest allowable opening for the expulsion of urine. 

The surgeon is spent, stunned, but satisfied - secure in the knowledge that her first stab (so to speak) at body modification is a success. The client eventually expresses sheer joy over her all-new sexually adhedonic state; how perfectly she's been able to fulfil her own personal essence of womanhood via the excision of those physical extremities which alternately offer enticement and pleasure. Whatever you say, babe. In the words of Marlo Thomas: "Free to be you and me." 

Can movies possibly get any better than this?"

I read this introduction to Greg Klymkiw of Greg Klymkiw's Film Corner several times as I loved the description so wholly. Often after a screening of AMERICAN MARY, I will find people describing the film to a friend that was not in attendance and the reenactment of the events that unfold in the film are such a treat to hear from another story teller. This was a treat as such. A big one.

Now, if you are on the fence about whether this might be a film for you or if you are unsure what 'this kind of film' would even be like, I implore you to read the entire film professor quality review of the film that Greg has written. But first one more delicious morsel that I really fucking dug.

"What sells the film is the world the Soska Sisters create. It's seldom obvious and more often than not we believe it - or at least want to. In many ways, the film is similar to the great early work of Walter Hill (pretty much anything from The Warriors to Streets of Fire) wherein he created worlds that probably could ONLY exist on film, but within the context of the respective pictures, seldom felt less than "real". (That said, Hill was ALWAYS showy, but he knew how to make it intrinsic to the dramatic action.) This makes a lot of sense, since it always feels like the Soska Twins are making movies wherein those worlds that exist realistically on-screen, but furthermore evoke a feeling that the film has been wrought in a much different (and probably better) age than ours. 

Dead Hooker in a Trunk and especially American Mary, seem to exist on a parallel plane to those halcyon days of 70s/80s edginess reflected in the Amos Poe New York "No Wave" - not to mention other counter culture types who straddled the underground and the mainstream - filmmakers like Scorsese, Rafelson, Waters, Jarmusch, et al who exploded well beyond the Jim Hoberman-coined "No Wave". Their work even approaches a bit of the 80s cult sensibilities of Repo Man, Liquid Sky or even such generational crossover titles as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) and the deranged work of more contemporary directors like Eli Roth, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino - all of whom "steal", to varying degrees, from earlier periods of film history, but use the work of previous Masters as a springboard to make the pictures all their own. (By the way, I'm not necessarily suggesting American Mary is culled from any of the aforementioned but rather, that the Soska Twins are clearly working in the same sort of exciting territory. It's especially dazzling when it's within a burgeoning stage of their development as film artists.) 

A number of the cast members are truly first-rate. Katharine Isabelle as Dr. Mary has come long and far from her groundbreaking performance in the classic John Fawcett-Karen Walton werewolf picture Ginger Snaps. Here she delivers a courageous performance on a par with her turn as the cursed teen werewolf back in 2000. It's 12 years later and Isabelle has blossomed into a tremendously engaging screen personality. The camera might actually love her even more now that she's gained considerable physical maturity (and the Soska Twins have definitely used their four great eyes to work with their cinematographer Brian Pearson's additional two eyes to add to her stunning, real-woman looks). Isabelle's 12 years of toil in mainly television has given her a myriad of roles and experience, but in American Mary, her brave, deadpan (and often very funny) delivery blended with moments where the character is clearly repressing anything resembling emotion is the kind of thesping that demands more roles as terrific as this one. Please, get this woman out of Television Hell and put her on the big screen where she belongs." 

CHECK OUT THE WHOLE RAD PIECE HERE! 

And a huge and humble thanks to Greg for writing such an in-depth review on the film with such a tapestry of commentary on the film, its roots, where it was coming from, and what it was like to view.

Also, you put us in the same sentences as many of our horror heroes that got us into filmmaking in the first place. To reference Willem Dafoe's character in THE LIFE AQUATIC when Ned put him next to the dolphin - "I didn't just like it!" *salutes*

-Sylv