By MICHAEL GINGOLD
With the current pandemic throwing the plans of countless festivals awry, several of them are joining forces to jointly present a showcase of new fear fare.
The people behind the Boston Underground Film Festival, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, the Overlook Film Festival, the Popcorn Frights Film Festival and the North Bend Film Festival are collaborating on Nightstream, which will run on-line October 8-11 and present a mix of international horror, sci-fi, fantasy and other genre fare. “Amidst forced festival cancellations and upended film releases, we felt an overwhelming need to come together and join forces to present a first-class film experience for the larger genre community this Halloween season,” the team says in a group statement. Programmers from all of the festivals will participate in the selection, with each film noted as a selection of each individual event. There will also be curated short-film programs and a number of live events and panels.
Nightstream, which will be geolocked to the U.S., is a charitable event, with ticket purchases going to the showcased filmmakers, as well as charitable causes and struggling businesses in the parent fests’ home cities. Early-bird badges are currently on sale at the Nightstream website, with a Night Owl Badge (five features or short programs and unlimited events for $55 and a Homebody Badge (10 features or short programs and unlimited events) for $90. The program will be announced in late September; watch this space!
