What The Fest?! and The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies – NYC co-present two special films at IFC Center for inaugural year of the festival: Author and journalist Sam Deighan hosts BLUE MY MIND screening & discussion and Director of the Center for Experimental Humanities Sukhdev Sandhu hosts GHOST STORIES with filmmakers in attendance! https://www.miskatonic-nyc.com/ | https://www.whatthefestnyc.com/
“The Miskatonic Institute is honoured and thrilled to be the Educational Partner for What The Fest!?, bringing a taste of our school to the IFC Center while getting to share even more in the vibrant genre community that is at the heart of all of our collaborative endeavours. We’re proud to be connected to such brilliant and imaginative programming!” – Kier-La Janisse, founder of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies
BLUE MY MIND
Date: March 31st 2018
Time: 1:15pm-3:00pm
Venue: IFC Center
Address: 323 6th Ave – New York
Prices: $15 / $11 student senior / $10 members Tickets HERE
https://www.miskatonic-nyc.com/events/what-the-fest-screening-blue-my-mind/
https://www.whatthefestnyc.com/film/blue-my-mind/
Miskatonic instructor Samm Deighan will introduce the film with a discussion of female adolescence as a source of horror and the uncanny, from its origins in fairy tales and eighteenth century gothic literature to films about the terror of female sexual awakening like Cat People (1942), The White Reindeer (1952), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), and Company of the Wolves (1984).
When Mia (Luna Wedler) moves with her parents to a new town, she is forced to adapt to a new home and school midway through the year. Though she’s desperate to make new friends, she doesn’t let herself be intimidated by the cool kids at her new school. Soon enough she becomes a part of their world, bonding with their leader, Gianna (Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen), and their rulebreaking ways shoplifting, older boys, smoking, drinking and drugs. But Gianna’s more than just a rebel. She’s magnetic and fearless and seems to have no boundaries. And one sunny afternoon, while they’re playing a game, she chokes Mia so hard that the new girl passes out. Something mysterious starts to form, and nothing will ever be the same again.
“We’ve searched the world for films for What The Fest!?, seeking out movies from daring filmmakers who go beyond genre to add another layer to their films – movies that have some kind of wtf element, and BLUE MY MIND is a perfectly fitting fantastic tale. What might sound like a familiar set up for a coming of age film turns into something seriously surprising, executed with power and love for the subjects and theme of the film: a wild friendship between two girls in the most unexpected circumstances. Even more exciting is the fact that this confident, full-bodied portrayal of adolescence is not just director Lisa Brühlmann’s debut, it’s her film school thesis. She leads both of her stars to exceptional performances, and the result is stunning – a stark, emotive, beautiful tale that will leave no one cold.” – Maria Reinup
GHOST STORIES
Date: March 31st 2018
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Venue: IFC Center
Address: 323 6th Ave – New York
Prices: $15 / $11 student senior / $10 members Tickets HERE
https://www.miskatonic-nyc.com/events/what-the-fest-screening-ghost-stories/
https://www.whatthefestnyc.com/film/ghost-stories/
Miskatonic instructor Sukhdev Sandhu will introduce the film and hold an extended Q&A with directors Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman.
Already lauded as one of the best British horror films ever, writer-directors Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s spooky, entertaining GHOST STORIES was adapted from a major stage hit into a seriously cinematic creep-out.
Professor Phillip Goodman (Nyman) is a lecturer, TV celebrity and paranormal debunker, an atheist and a rationalist who’s ready to expose hoaxes and frauds at any time of the day. His skepticism is partially due to his mentor, a famous TV host from the 70s, who stuns Philip when he turns up to tell him that the supernatural might be real after all. He urges Philip to reopen three of his cases that were never resolved by a rational explanation: a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) who experienced a horrible vision; a schoolboy (Alex Lawther) terrified on his drive home; and a retired trader (Martin Freeman) who encountered a poltergeist. Philip seeks all of them out, but as he buries himself in the cases of these three strangers, he begins to sense that they may have some terrible, collective significance for him personally.
“GHOST STORIES’ eerie atmosphere and strange happenings crawl under your skin without asking permission–one of the traits of a truly fine horror movie. Add in the hair-raising moments that make you anxiously search for the exit sign so you won’t have to run into any of Goodman’s discoveries, and you have a truly terrifying delight of a film!” – Maria Reinup
About the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies: Named for the fictional university in H.P. Lovecraft’s literary mythos, the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is an international organization that offers university-level history, theory and production-based masterclasses for people of all ages, founded by film writer and programmer Kier-La Janisse in March 2010, with regular branches in London and New York as well as presenting special events worldwide.
