Contest

Bloodshots Canada

As hundreds of DV filmmakers the world over have already learned, making a short film in one weekend can be terrifying. Lack of sleep is just the beginning of your problems when you are trying to corral actors into repeating their performance with more energy at 5 in the morning and you know you have only got another 6 hours to get a final edit of your masterpiece put together. Well, start brewing your coffee now, because the people who brought you Vancouver's CINEMUERTE FILM FESTIVAL (1999-2005) are getting set to bring you the 6th annual BloodShots 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Contest - 25 Teams of filmmakers all fighting against the clock to make the best horror film they possibly can. There will be celebrity judges, fabulous prizes and several tons of fake blood!

Every year, there is a BLOODSHOTS screening hosted by The Celluloid Social Club, where the films are voted on by both the audience, and an in-person jury. This year's local jury consists of past Bloodshots winner Scott Belyea (TEN MINUTES BEFORE SHOWTIME), filmmaker Matt O'Mahoney (ELECTRIC FENCE) and genre cinema bad-boy Uwe Boll (STOIC, POSTAL)!

Bloodshots Canada is produced annually by Kier-La Janisse, founder of the CineMuerte International Horror Film Festival (1999-2005) and Paul Armstrong of Vancouver's Celluloid Social Club.

If you have any questions, email Kier-La Janisse at bigsmashproductions@gmail.com or call 204-998-5578.

Many of the films are still available for viewing online at Bloodshots Canada. But stay tuned to the festival circuit, as some of these films are surely headed that way! If any press or film programmers would like to contact any of the participating filmmakers for screeners, please contact Paul Armstrong (armspaul@gmail.com).

News

2009 Bloodshots Canada

On Friday October 23rd 2009, 24 teams met at Vancouver's Anza Club to set out on a sleep-deprived weekend of Halloween mayhem, with the assignment to write, shoot, edit and output a short horror film in just 48 hours. Each team was given a random horror subgenre and weapon, as well as a line of dialogue ("what kind of game are you playing?") and a prop (a J+B Whiskey bottle) that was common to all teams. They had until 7pm on Sunday Oct 25th to hand in their finished films.

After a packed screening on Wednesday Oct 28th as part of the monthly Celluloid Social Club, the two finalists in the 6th annual BLOODSHOTS 48-Hour Horror Filmmaking Challenge were announced!

The Jury Winner (as selected by a jury consisting of filmmakers Scott Belyea (TEN MINUTES BEFORE SHOWTIME), Matt O'Mahoney (ELECTRIC FENCE) and Uwe Boll (STOIC, POSTAL) was,

Team Sample Text's CHLOE + ATTIE, beautifully dark tale of the bond between two aging identical twin sisters, directed by R. Scooter Corkle.

The Audience Winner, compiled from votes at the screening itself as well as online votes, was,

Team Baby Jack's seasonal 'nature's revenge' pic, JACK, directed by Kryshan Randel.

These two finalists were sent to writer/director DAN O'BANNON (writer of the original ALIEN and TOTAL RECALL, and director of punk horror classic RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), and Dan selected, as the Grand Prize Winner, who will receive $1000 cash,

JACK by Team Baby Jack and directed by Kryshan Randel

"The first film I watched, 'Chloe and Attie' was very professional. It had a strong feeling of chilly mystery. However, I must choose 'Jack' as the winner; I a sucker for humor blended with horror, and 'Jack' had that. I think your Bloodshots contest is a great idea and I was delighted to be the Grand Prize Judge of this year's contest. I send my congratulations to every filmmaker who put out the effort to participate." - Dan O'Bannon