Last month, we were super excited to bring you the deets of ACCESS: HORROR, a fully virtual film festival and summit celebrating disability, accessibility, advocacy – and the excitement continues today with the official program announcement and tickets now on sale!
The brainchild of filmmaker and disability advocate Ariel Baska, ACCESS:HORROR 2023 is a celebration of the history, impact and future of disability in genre cinema, kicking off its inaugural festival and summit in the virtual space July 8 and 9, with a combination of films, filmmaker Q&A’s and live, interactive panels. The festival offers three blocks of short films, curated by Fantastic Fest, Final Girls Berlin, and Superfest Disability Film Festival, along with filmmaker Q&As and other bonus content. The summit offers twelve panels on a wide variety of topics, from the History of Horror, to Speculative Stories to Change the World.ACCESS:HORROR is sponsored by the George A. Romero Foundation (GARF).
The official press release tells us more about the movies we can’t wait to check out:
This year’s films include three specially curated blocks, with 16 films total, along with filmmaker Q&A’s and bonus content. The films come from a wide range of countries, from Germany, to Australia, to Greenland. Films include the multi-award-winning revenge fantasy, Our First Priority, written and directed by the festival’s director. Everybody Goes to the Hospital, directed by Tiffany Kimmel, uses the magic of stop-motion animation to tell a story infused with darkness and doctors. Director Juliet Romeo’s film, Cooptation, is a blood-soaked film about beauty products, through a BIPOC lens. The horror of state and governmental control of disabled bodies, aided by the ominous presence of AI, finds a voice in Bebe AI, directed by Rebekah Fortune and FREYA, directed by Camille Hollett-French. All films are provided with captioning. The Superfest Disability Film Festival block includes audio description as well.
As if this wasn’t already exciting enough, ACCESS: HORROR will feature 45 prominent figures, comprising both noted horror filmmakers and disability advocates, who will share conversations about the role of disability and genre together in advocating for change within filmmaking, institutions, and society as a whole. The festival includes special appearances by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Marvel’s Moon Knight, Something in the Dirt), Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift), Amanda Kramer (Give Me Pity!, Please Baby Please), Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place), and our very own EIC Phil Nobile, Jr., who will preside over the closing panel.
More information on ACCESS: HORROR can be found here, the full panel lineup here and tickets and passes can be purchased here; so make sure you grab yours and we’ll see you online on July 8 and 9!
