In 2013, I was asked to put together a film festival for LepreCon, a small sci-fi/fantasy convention in Arizona, as their previous film festival efforts had floundered. I ditched their existing model, which was to treat it as a fundraising opportunity through submission fees, and set up something completely different.
I carefully selected 90 minutes of quality short sci-fi films from around the world, I brought some local filmmakers out for a Q&A, and I finished up with a feature. I also stipulated that the film festival be on the opening night, free of charge and open to the public. I screened to an appreciative crowd and some bought memberships to the con.
This success led to me programming a similar film festival for CopperCon later that year, then no less than eight events in 2014, including a trip to California to present two steampunk sets at San Diego Comic-Fest. I may well exceed that number in 2015 and I'm already planning some of what I'll be doing in 2016.
It certainly keeps me busy and out of trouble but I'm having a blast bringing amazing films to audiences who might otherwise have never seen them. I'm looking forward to expanding to other conventions, other cities and other states.
Here are all the films that I've screened at these various conventions, with titles linking to my reviews and the IMDb pages added for reference. The most recent event is at the top and the earliest at the bottom, with headers breaking up individual sets. FearCon is the only event where I've selected my sets primarily from submissions; almost everything else is researched and programmed by me.
Rating System
1 -
Abysmal | 2 -
Bad | 3 -
Poor | 4 -
OK | 5 -
Good | 6 -
Excellent | 7 -
Classic
| | | | | |
| LepreCon 41 - Phoenix, AZ (Jun 2015) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Japanese Doctor Who | 2014 | 4 | 4 | Joshua Kahan | IMDb |
| Slipperssssssss | 2014 | 4 | 4 | Tuomas Hakala | n/a |
| Focus | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Matt Chesin | IMDb |
| Time Trap | 2013 | 6 | 6 | Michael Shanks | IMDb |
| The Class Analysis | 2014 | 6 | 6 | Webb Pickersgill | IMDb |
| Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Andrew W Jones | IMDb |
| Ouroboros | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Alexander Broderick | IMDb |
| Losers | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Carlos del Rosario | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Fortress | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Dima Fedotof | n/a |
| Flight Fright | 2015 | 5 | 5 | James Politano | IMDb |
| Man vs Woman | 2006 | 5 | 5 | Juan Carlos Vargas | IMDb |
| LiFi | 2014 | 6 | 5 | Preston Peterson & Jason Boesch | IMDb |
| Step Forward | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Jacobson | IMDb |
| Evil Twin | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Christian Pfeil | IMDb |
| RomantiCorp: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Computer | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Kirill Kripak | IMDb |
| Double Trouble | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Andreas Climent & André Hedetoft | IMDb |
| The Developer | 2013 | 6 | 5 | Robert Odegnal | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Chronoscope | 2012 | 4 | 4 | Mario Daoust, Vincent Laurin, Étienne Marcoux & Dominic Remiro | n/a |
| Aether: The Rise of Specter | 2015 | 4 | 5 | Drew Hall & Horst Sarubin | n/a |
| The Mechanics of Underwear | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Charlotte Bolton | IMDb |
| Virus | 2005 | 5 | 5 | Stephen Amis | IMDb |
| Sherlock Holmes and the Stolen Emerald | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Céline Terranova | IMDb |
| Tempus ex Machina | 2009 | 4 | 5 | Andrew Fogel | IMDb |
| Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | IMDb |
| Valiant | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Robin Phillips | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Phoenix Comicon 2015 - Phoenix, AZ (May 2015) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Steam Speed | 2014 | 6 | 6 | Andrew Ledenev | n/a |
| Tea Time | 2014 | 5 | 5 | J Derek Howard | IMDb |
| SPAGHETT-1 | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Adam Varney | IMDb |
| The Clocktower | 2008 | 5 | 5 | Cara Antonelli | IMDb |
| Tick Tock | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Emma Needell & Jake Sally | IMDb |
| The Mechanical Grave | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Jon Keeyes | IMDb |
| Jeff Hunt Band - Caravan | 2014 | | | Katherine Stewart | n/a |
| | | | | |
| Wild Wild West Con 4 - Tucson, AZ (Mar 2015) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Lindsey Sterling - Roundtable Rival | 2014 | | | Everdream | n/a |
| Trial of the Mask | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Cory McBurnett & Bill Reichardt | n/a |
| Step Forward | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Jacobson | IMDb |
| Valiant | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Robin Phillips | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Steam Speed | 2014 | 6 | 6 | Andrew Ledenev | n/a |
| Tea Time | 2014 | 5 | 5 | J Derek Howard | IMDb |
| Tick Tock | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Emma Needell & Jake Sally | IMDb |
| The Clocktower | 2008 | 5 | 5 | Cara Antonelli | IMDb |
| Cowboys & Engines | 2015 | 4 | 4 | Bryn Pryor | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Savant - Kali 47 | 2014 | | | Mike Diva | n/a |
| The Mechanical Grave | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Jon Keeyes | IMDb |
| The Mechanics of Underwear | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Charlotte Bolton | IMDb |
| 1873: The Insidious Intrigue | 2013 | 6 | 5 | Steve Ziolkowski | IMDb |
| Gurdybird - Defiant 'til Tyburn | 2014 | | | Tamsyn Swingler & Paul Betowski | n/a |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| The Deep | 2010 | 5 | 5 | PES | IMDb |
| Sherlock Holmes and the Stolen Emerald | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Céline Terranova | IMDb |
| SPAGHETT-1 | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Adam Varney | IMDb |
| Virus | 2005 | 5 | 5 | Stephen Amis | IMDb |
| Jeff Hunt Band - Caravan | 2014 | | | Katherine Stewart | n/a |
| | | | | |
| FearCon de los Muertos! - Phoenix, AZ (Nov 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Night Mare | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Juan Carlos Camardella | n/a |
| Sometimes It Comes | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Félix Llorente | IMDb |
| Martyn | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Francesco Picone | IMDb |
| Dust Jacket | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Kenneth Miller | IMDb |
| Plush | 2011 | 6 | 7 | Ryan Denmark | IMDb |
| Ghost Light | 2014 | 5 | 5 | P J Germain | IMDb |
| Waterborne | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Ryan Coonan | IMDb |
| Special | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Mikeal Burgin | IMDb |
| Woodman and the American Woman | 2013 | 6 | 5 | Jesús Hernández | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Hellytubby | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Matt Iseminger | n/a |
| Cowboy Ben | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Jon Shaikh & Scott Rawsthorne | IMDb |
| Tin & Tina | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ruben Stein | IMDb |
| The Heebie-Jeebies | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Todd Slawsby | IMDb |
| Night Guards | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Marko Marinkovic | n/a |
| Sector C-17 | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Tim Mattson | n/a |
| Mr Dentonn | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Iván Villamel | IMDb |
| Helsing | 2014 | 6 | 6 | Ryan Johnston | IMDb |
| Bar Talk | 2013 | 6 | 6 | Lowell Northrop | IMDb |
| Roulette | 2013 | 6 | 5 | Dídac Cervera | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| San Diego Comic-Fest - San Diego, CA (Oct 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| High TNT | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kevin McGuiness | IMDb |
| Tea Time | 2014 | 5 | 5 | J Derek Howard | IMDb |
| Valiant | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Robin Phillips | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| The Mechanical Grave | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Jon Keeyes | IMDb |
| The Wishing Skull | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Juhl | IMDb |
| 1873: The Insidious Intrigue | 2013 | 6 | 5 | Steve Ziolkowski | IMDb |
| Sprocky Spittoon | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Veronique Chevalier | n/a |
| | | | | |
| FANtasm - Avondale, AZ (Aug 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Fhtagn! | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Miguel Santín | n/a |
| Closed Quarters | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Bonnie Sowle | IMDb |
| All I Think of is You | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Shad Clark | IMDb |
| Bar Talk | 2013 | 6 | 6 | Lowell Northrop | IMDb |
| Air | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Keir Burrows | IMDb |
| Restitution | 2011 | 6 | 5 | Justin O'Neal Miller | IMDb |
| Cargols! | 2011 | 5 | 6 | Geoffrey Cowper | IMDb |
| Where Terror Sleeps | 2014 | 4 | 4 | Jake Roberts | n/a |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Bad Taste | 1987 | 6 | 6 | Peter Jackson | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Geeks4Good Charity Show for Oakwood Creative Care - Mesa, AZ (Jul 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Logan Must Make Star Wars | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Nathan Blackwell | IMDb |
| Bar Talk | 2013 | 6 | 6 | Lowell Northrop | IMDb |
| Old Jazz | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Elena Albán Lombao, Cintia Fernández Patallo, Josep Miquel Jové Company & Lorena López Pérez | n/a |
| Secret Identity | 2011 | 6 | 6 | Tyler MacIntyre | IMDb |
| Present Tense | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Jaz Garewal | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| LepreCon 40 - Phoenix, AZ (May 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Logan Must Make Star Wars | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Nathan Blackwell | IMDb |
| Trial of the Mask | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Cory McBurnett & Bill Reichardt | n/a |
| Terminus | 2014 | 5 | 5 | Angel Ruiz | n/a |
| Timeholes | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Mallaby | IMDb |
| The Secret Keeper | 2011 | 6 | 6 | Bears Fonté | IMDb |
| Present Tense | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Jaz Garewal | IMDb |
| Elephants Dream | 2006 | 4 | 4 | Bassam Kurdali | IMDb |
| Sight | 2012 | 6 | 6 | Daniel Lazo & Eran May-Raz | IMDb |
| Evergreen | 2006 | 6 | 6 | Iphigeneia Kotsoni | IMDb |
| | | | | |
| Wild Wild West Con III - Tucson, AZ (Mar 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| A Gentlemen's Duel | 2006 | 5 | 5 | Sean McNally & Francisco Ruiz-Velasco | IMDb |
| Legacy | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Adam Floeck | IMDb |
| Airship Dracula | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Mike Roberts | IMDb |
| Invention of Love | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Andrey Shushkov | IMDb |
| Consurgo | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Tom Hankins, René Hoekstra & Gijs van Kooten | n/a |
| High TNT | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kevin McGuiness | IMDb |
| Sprocky Spittoon | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Veronique Chevalier | n/a |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game | 2011 | 5 | 5 | James Cunningham | IMDb |
| Gadget | 2012 | 4 | 4 | A J Young | IMDb |
| Tinkerbell | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Nicholas Humphries | n/a |
| The Anachronism | 2008 | 5 | 5 | Matthew Gordon Long | IMDb |
| The Wishing Skull | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Juhl | IMDb |
| The Watchmaker's Son | 2008 | 5 | 5 | Brandon McCormick | n/a |
| | | | | |
| DarkCon 2014 - Phoenix, AZ (Jan 2014) |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Exoids | 2012 | 6 | 6 | Aristomenis Tsirbas | IMDb |
| Perspective | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Mehmet Can Kocak | IMDb |
| Consurgo | 2009 | 5 | 5 | Tom Hankins, René Hoekstra & Gijs van Kooten | n/a |
| Old Jazz | 2012 | 5 | 5 | Elena Albán Lombao, Cintia Fernández Patallo, Josep Miquel Jové Company & Lorena López Pérez | n/a |
| Sebastian's Voodoo | 2008 | 6 | 6 | Joaquin Baldwin | IMDb |
| High TNT | 2013 | 4 | 4 | Kevin McGuiness | IMDb |
| Retina | 2003 | | | Violet Suk & Martin Koch | n/a |
| Reign of Death | 2009 | 6 | 6 | Matthew Savage | IMDb |
| ROSA | 2011 | 5 | 5 | Jesus Orellana | IMDb |
| The Wishing Skull | 2013 | 5 | 5 | Ben Juhl | IMDb |
| Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer | 2010 | 5 | 5 | Andrew W Jones | IMDb |
| The Maker | 2011 | 6 | 6 | Christopher Kezelos | IMDb |
| Helsing | 2014 | 6 | 6 | Ryan Johnston | IMDb |
|
| Title | Year | H | D | Director | IMDb |
| Eyeborgs | 2009 | 5 | 6 | Richard Clabaugh | IMDb |
In 2013, I was asked to put together a film festival for LepreCon, a small sci-fi/fantasy convention in Arizona, as their previous film festival efforts had floundered. I ditched their existing model, which was to treat it as a fundraising opportunity through submission fees, and set up something completely different.
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