I just returned from Brattleboro, Vermont, where “The Gaze” screened at the 5th annual Ax Wound Film Festival. This was my 4th time at the festival. I wrote about how much I love the festival in past recaps from 2016 and 2017, so I’ll keep this one brief.

Ax Wound isn’t a big buzzy festival, but it is definitely one to aspire to be part of because of its heart. Like I stated in my Horrible Imaginings recap, where Miguel’s warmth is what makes that festival stand out, I feel the same about this fest because of festival director Hannah Neurotica (founder of Women in Horror Month). Her kindness sets the tone for the screening event. There’s something so sincere and special about the way she treats filmmakers and gets genuinely excited about the work we’ve made. And the intimate atmosphere she creates makes you really feel part of something bigger than just showing up for a screening; it leads to really nuanced discussions about the craft of filmmaking and our individual artistic intentions. It’s also one of the few times I’m on a stage with a group of filmmakers and get to just represent myself instead of feeling like I have to speak for all woman-identifying directors.

As for this specific year’s festival, it was especially great because I again attended with my mom. Any time I get to spend with her is always a joy. And I got to be reunited with a few filmmaker friends I met at past years at Ax Wound (including Julia Berkey, who was a grip for “The Gaze” and there with her own short), while making a handful of new friends too. The festival was overall well attended, with the early morning and late night screenings pulling in around 30-35, and the rest of the blocks through the day (including ours) hitting nearly 50 people in attendance. The Q&As were timed well and gave everyone a chance to speak, with space to really dissect the creative process. There were rich conversations that spanned themes and processing trauma to practical tips for special effects and working with collaborators. It was a lovely time and one I hope to have again next year.

Also, they have the best swag bags around, no contest. Thanks to all the sponsors who make that possible! And thanks to Hannah, Ashlee Blackwell of Graveyard Shift Sisters and the volunteer team for another wonderful experience screening my work.

-Christina

Local Vegan Treat:

Superfresh! Organic Cafe has some tasty vegan desserts, including a chocolate vanilla pie that we enjoyed a slice of!

Catch the film next at:

This was it for 2019 screenings. We hear about the remainder of our run through the Spring in early 2020.

This weekend marked the end of the festival run for "Night In," and the beginning of one for "Enough;" and what a weekend it was! After last year's experience screening "Hello" at the Ax Wound Film Festival, I knew I wanted to attend again this year. I submitted "Night In" as soon as the festival opened up for 2017 submissions. The lovely festival director (and creator of Women in Horror Month), Hannah Forman, immediately watched it, loved it, and accepted the film for the new year. Then when I finished "Enough," I sent her a link asking if the festival would be down with something less horror/more of a thriller. She loved it as well and told me to submit it because they'd definitely screen it. So I submitted; and thankfully ended up getting to screen two films at the fest! Then also, because I knew Hannah was looking to expand this year's program with more workshops and panels, I offered to teach Seed&Spark's Crowdfunding class at the festival. I love getting to share what I've learned with other filmmakers and helping to empower them to build audiences for their work and make content on their own creative terms. So getting to do that specifically for a room full of bad-ass, women genre-filmmakers was a privilege. And, on top of all that, 4milecircus asked me to be part of a live podcast panel they organized for the festival. So, needless to say, it was a super fun & productive weekend indeed!

It was especially special because I asked my mom to come along with me for the weekend. We hadn't attended a festival together since SUMMIT screened in Rhode Island 2 years ago. My mom's one of my best friends (and my biggest supporter!) but not someone I get to see as much as I'd like due to my ever-increasingly busy schedule. So it was a ton of fun getting to experience such a great festival with her.

As for how the festival went, it was just as warm, welcoming and supportive as last year, but with even more thrills, gore and laughs in the lineup. Expanded to a night and a half, I was basically living and breathing the festival until we left this morning. "Night In" opened the whole festival Friday night. With just under 30 people in attendance, it was a lively group. The film got laughs in the right places and some compliments after the Q&A. The whole block was 15 films across 2 hours, which is a lot to sit through. But the films were so unique, compelling and flat out fun, that it never felt stagnant. The Q&A after was a thoughtful conversation with host Jay Kay of (Horror Happens Radio) and the audience. I loved getting to know the two women I shared the stage with, Caitlin Koller and Misty Dawn, both of whom made very different but equally impressive shorts. Caitlin, who's the director of the brilliant "Blood Sisters," which was already one of my favorites from the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival, mentioned to me after the screening that she was at the Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival and the audience there LOVED "Night In." She said they exuberantly laughed and clapped through the credits. That was really awesome to hear because that was one of the fests I was especially bummed to miss.

Day 2 was jam-packed, from 10am to 11pm. My mom and I missed most of the first lineup since I was prepping (read: caffeinating) for an interview and then my Crowdfunding class at 11:30am. The class overall went well. I had to condense it into an hour, but the audience still seemed to walk away with a solid amount of helpful info. (And it was really cool having my mom see me teach because she hadn't before and was excited to get to.)

Right after was the next block of films, which included "Enough," 4milecircus's "Mare," and 12 other shorts, most of which had filmmakers in attendance. With about 40 people in the audience, it was a really eclectic and engaging lineup with some extremely effective and evocative work (all of which apparently makes me want to use adjectives that start with "e"). I was curious how "Enough" would feel amongst such dark, gory, and/or macabre films. I've only screened it once before, at our own CongestedCat Screening, and it felt intense in our more dramatic but lighthearted lineup. But paired with the real intense films of this lineup, it was super tame. The sound was a little too low during its screening, but I don't think that hurt it much. And despite it maybe feeling a tad out of place, the audience had some nice comments afterwards. I'm debating whether or not I want to submit to more of the genre fests where I screened "Night In," since it isn't quite horror but is definitely a genre film. I'll have to see how broad the other fests are with their horror label. In any case, it was nice getting to experience it with an audience; and, of course, getting to be part of the excellent Q&A after, which included 12 filmmakers and was again hosted by Jay Kay. What I love about this festival, other than getting to see such good films and meet such inspiring filmmakers (who all happen to be woman-identifying), is how much it reflects the diversity in style, tone and perspective that exists not just within in the genre but also within work by women. I feel so often like my artistic perspective is supposed to represent all women because I'm so often the only woman in a room, on a panel, or in a lineup. So it's just wonderful getting to see such original, unique, and personally specific work coming from so many different women -- and getting to just be me, not having to represent my entire gender, in the process. (I also love attending the festival and not having to fear that I'll be sitting through hours of rape porn and other violence against women, as is so often the case with male dominated horror fests. While some work by women may have violence against women, it's almost always subversive, rarely exploitative, and always framed through the woman's lens and experience.)

After that Q&A, I participated in the 4milecircus podcast (which is always a blast), watched a thought-provoking presentation on Horror in the Trumpian era, and finally watched the last block of films. All in all, I saw 40 of the 48 shorts; I loved a bunch and enjoyed or appreciated most. And, best of all, I made some talented new friends! I'd like to thank Hannah, Ashlee Blackwell, and everyone else who helps put on this amazing event for allowing me to be part of it. And, of course, my mom for ... everything. Hope to be back with new work (or just to attend) next year!