THE SUPERNATURAL ON SCREEN
TIM ‘MOTHY’ WHITTARD, one of the directors of Gloucester’s second annual Fortean Film Festival, shares some of his highlights from this year’s event
The second annual Fortean Film Festival, which took place over the first weekend of September at the Sherborne Cinema in Gloucester, played host to some of the strangest and scariest independent films currently on the circuit.
With a remit to focus on films about the weird, the supernatural, the paranormal and the unexplained, we launched the festival in 2021 (see FT412:12-13) and have been pleased that the project has met with interest from filmmakers around the world, with over 400 submissions in two years.
This year’s festival kicked off with a hilarious comedy-horror written and directed by Ryan Simons and produced by Jamie Cymbal and Morgan Wilson. Tea With The Reaper is a rip-roaring mockumentary about the trials and tribulations of a pair of hapless paranormal researchers. Bursting with well-timed gags and a talented cast bringing a gallery of quintessentially quirky British characters to life, this short film wowed both the jury and the audience, and the filmmakers were presented with the trophy for the ‘Judge’s Award for Best of Show’. Jury member and renowned Kiwi actor Brian Sergent, who starred in Flight of the Conchords, Eagle vs Shark and Peter Jackson’s Braindead, was full of praise for the film: “A real gem, perfectly cast with a slate of actors all giving of their best. The camerawork was spot on and the beautiful location added to the story perfectly. I was shown yet again that the UK gives us probably the best comedy in the world. Just delightful.”
This was followed by a heartwarming short called Jeronikin, a story of friendship and grief that plays out against the backdrop of a cryptozoological expedition to the wilds of the Quantocks in southern England. The film, produced by student filmmakers from the University of the West of England, also picked up an award for ‘Best of Show’ from our sister festival, the MegaFlix Film Awards.
Following this, our ‘Big Cat Night’ kicked off with the debut screening of Dragonfly Films’ latest feature Panthera Britannia, which uncovered even more historic and scientific evidence than their previous ABC documentary, Britain’s Big Cat Mystery. Various cryptozoologists appeared in the film, with the likes of Ken Gerhard and Cliff Barackman (of Finding Bigfoot fame) joining the panel of experts to appraise a range of photographic and video evidence. Steve Higgins, jury member, paranormal expert and founder of higgypop.com, said: “The documentary, which has the production values of a big-budget National Geographic special, is a very interesting watch, even for those who may only have a passing interest in big cats.”
This was followed by the pilot episode of Cat Hunters, which sees Jon McGowan, Rhoda Watkins, Jay Opie and Carl Marshall searching the countryside for clues that will (hopefully) lead them to the legendary Beast of Exmoor. Cryptozoologist and Zoological Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology (and FT regular) Richard Freeman was impressed, saying it was “a brilliant film that could be expanded into a whole series.” Brian Sergent added: “I loved this. It was gripping, exciting and above all credible. The film managed to combine easy-to-follow science with humour and plain old thrilling story telling.”
The evening afterparty was well attended and welcomed paranormal experts and enthusiasts from across the UK. James Koppert, host of the Fortean News podcast, was on hand to record a fascinating live podcast interview with palaeontologist and cryptozoologist Dr Darren Naish. Filmmakers and attendees were able to network and socialise for several hours, but with a full schedule for the following day, most were careful not to overindulge in the fine West Country scrumpy on offer.
Festival hosts Dean Ackerman and Simret Cheema-Innis were fresh-faced the next day despite the late night and did a great job of welcoming attendees, and leading Q&As with filmmakers. They had an occasional helping hand in the form of pre-recorded video messages from the creator of MonsterQuest, Doug Hajicek.
We were very pleased that, while being an international film festival, we were able to showcase several films made by local students. As well as the University of the West of England’s aforementioned Jeronikin, we had two submissions from the University of Gloucestershire
– There Was a Green Light, a scary and emotional tale about UFOs and alien abduction, and Neonate, a psychological thriller. One of the filmmakers, Georgie Kerssenbrock, said: “I was blown away by how welcoming and well organised the whole festival was, with a strong selection of films. The venue is gorgeous, there was time for meeting other filmmakers ,and I am very grateful for the three Platinum awards we won!”
Over the course of the day, filmmakers were interviewed by journalists and festival organisers. There was even a surprise appearance from a Bond Girl, Carole Ashby, who starred opposite Roger Moore in Octopussy and A View to a Kill.
Also in attendance was Graham Roos, one of the producers of the BBC’s legendary Ghostwatch.
There really was something for everyone with an interest in the paranormal, with films covering all manner of subjects, from mermaids, sea monsters and hauntings to alien abduction, zombies and vampires. There was also a wide range of genres on show, including short films and full-length features, documentaries, animation and stop-motion, drama, comedy, horror, and science-fiction.
After a long day of filmrelated fun, attendees enjoyed a walking tour of the haunted Roman city of Gloucester, organised and hosted by Edd Francis and Paul Cowmeadow of Gloucester Paranormal Investigation Services. The eerie and imposing locations immersed the visitors in the spooky side of the city, where they also found plenty of surprises relating to Gloucestershire’s film and television history along the way – particularly the house made famous by Beatrix Potter, and the Cathedral, with its connection to the Harry Potter films and Doctor Who, and the now closed Gloucester Prison.
The Fortean Film Festival will be back again for 2023. To find out more, submit a film, buy tickets, or check out this year’s winners, please visit: www.forteanfilmfestival.com