Watching a good horror film on a big screen is somewhat of a cathartic experience — ask any fan of the genre. Which is why hairstylist and filmmaker Sapna Bhavnani is excited about the first physical screening of the Wench Film Festival of which she is the founder. The horror film festival is in its third edition now and includes films made by BIWOC, LGBTQIA+ women as well as non-binary filmmakers.
The festival will screen 23 films made by Indian and international filmmakers out of which 19 are also available for online viewing currently. Apart from the screenings, there are also panel discussions with filmmakers and a special screening of the award-winning cult film Tumbbad (2018). One can also pitch their films to a special panel of filmmakers.
“The goal of the Wench Film Festival is to highlight women but also to promote and celebrate the genre space that has been in our blood since birth. India is a country of many religions and each has their own superstitions and rituals and we are amazed that we don’t have a festival yet. We are happy to start the conversation and like all things that start first, building the foundation is of utmost importance as well as collaborating with people who have been instrumental in building the genre space,” says Bhavnani.
The opening film of the festival is the multi award-winning Mexican film Huesera: The Bone Woman by Michelle Garza Cerver about a pregnant woman who feels something is not right with her pregnancy. Among the various honours that have come its way are the Feature Film Competition Award at Morelia International Film Festival in 2022 and Best New Narrative Director at Tribeca Film Festival last year as well.
Some of the other highlights include the Spanish film Nightmare by Alice Waddington — also the closing film of the festival; English film Honeycomb by Avalon Fast which was nominated for Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival 2022; English film Sucker by Alix Austin that was officially selected at ScreamFest Horror Film Festival 2022 and FrightFest: The Dark Heart of Cinema 2022, London; Spanish film Plastic Touch by Aitana Ahrens; and Amissa Anima by Tatiana Doroshenko, which is the recipient of several awards, including Best Director and Best Film award at Canberra Short Film Festival 2022.
Bhavnani adds that each and every film is unique and they have been picked because they really fit. “It’s a great mix including some animation as well as some lovely sci-fi films. I am very proud that on a daily basis, we have managed to curate a film by a woman filmmaker who will be present for a live question-and-answer session. On Day 1, we have Arati Kadav with her film The Astronaut and his Parrot, Roohi and Ziba on Day 2 with Spiralling into Desire and Megha Ramaswamy with Lalanna’s Song on Day 3. I am also happy that the films in sci-fi, fantasy and horror are in different languages,” she says.
Wench Film Festival at Harkat Studios and Veda Factory, Versova from March 17-19. Tickets available on Insider.com. For online viewing, till March 20, visit wenchff. festivalsaints.com
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