Film festival returns to Richmond for spooky season

Karyn Cook, Contributing Writer

The Magic of Horror Film Festival will be returning to Richmond for its annual festival on Nov. 5-6 at the Firehouse Theater. 

The festival grew to become a celebration of the horror genre itself, with the first live festival being in 2019 as an online screenwriting competition.

The festival began as an online-only event in 2018, according to Lowrie Fawley, the co-creator of the festival. The festival aims to give screenwriters and producers recognition and the chance to have their work shown, while also praising the horror field. A variety of mediums are allowed, such as movie trailers and art, according to the website FilmFreeway, where all submissions are received.

Fawley is a film and theatre producer. As an actress, she also leads ghost tours around Richmond. Fawley said she met her business partner Shiva Rodriguez at a film audition years ago. 

“I auditioned for a feature film that she was directing in Florida. I had been working in theatre up until that point but wanted to try my hand at film,” Fawley said. 

Fawley said the only background she had in horror was working at a haunted house based in New York from 2005-2007. 

“Horror had always been one of my favorite genres, and I worked in live haunts in several places, most notable Blood Manor in NYC for three years,” Fawley said. 

After seeing their chemistry, the pair decided to start their own company and then a festival, according to Fawley.

“We ended up working well together, forming our own horror film company Rogue Chimera Film, LLC,” Fawley said. “As an offshoot of that, having screened a number of our films in other festivals, we decided we wanted to start our own festival.”

The festival has a variety of benefits for participants, other than just having their film shown, according to Fawley.

“We wanted to provide not just an opportunity for filmmakers to screen their films and win awards, but also a chance for them to get valuable feedback,” Fawley said. “Our panel of judges gives detailed feedback along with the scores they submit on each film, and this feedback is shared with the filmmakers regardless of if they are accepted into the festival or not.”

Rodriguez is a director, practical effects artist and screenwriter. The best part of the experience for Rodriguez is the opportunity to help and promote filmmakers, she said.

“I really enjoy helping these independent films get some attention, especially since many do not have the ability to do a lot of promoting themselves,” Rodriguez said. 

Hundreds of film submissions are sent each year, with only 40 films being accepted to screen at the festival, according to Fawley. Tickets range from $10 for a one-day pass to $15 for a weekend pass, with a variety of sessions included such as a mix and mingle event, and a red-carpet photo session.

Judges consist of a variety of individuals with film experience, however they remain anonymous to the competitors so no hard feelings come up in the future, according to Fawley. She said winners of the festival receive a trophy in the form of a skeleton and promotion on the festival’s social media. 

“Horror is often considered to be an ‘easy’ genre for filmmakers, which I honestly do not agree with,” Rodriquez said. “I love seeing unusual stories they come up with and have a great appreciation for how creative they have to be in order to produce their films on extremely low budgets.” 

Filmmaker Jordan Selander said horror is his favorite genre, with its rollercoaster-like aspects. His film “No Grave for the Dead” is premiering at the festival on Saturday. The film was initially a music video and doesn’t contain any dialogue — instead it features a ghost ballet dancing, according to Selander. 

Selander said he had ideas, but all of them were shot down, so the production was put on halt. 

“For the idea, all I saw was a ghost in ballet pointe shoes dancing in a graveyard. I pitched this idea to nearly every local band I ever spoke to, and they all kindly said the story wasn’t a fit for their band,” Selander said. “So we had the idea for nearly 10 years.” 

The idea came to fruition in 2021 when he decided to gather a group and make a short film for fun, according to Selander. He said he submitted it on FilmFreeway, and it received great feedback. 

He submitted it to Magic of Horror, and it is scheduled to run this weekend, according to Selander. He said he is looking forward to the festival, with a mix of anxiety and excitement. 

“Ultimately, you need to enjoy the moment after all the hard work the crew put into it. If I had to pick one, I’d say I’m more excited right now, but that might change the day of the screening,” Selander said.