Wanna see me ramble about film and art? Ever wonder how dorky I am in person? I joined the filmmaker Q&A for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival’s streaming event - watch now!
Thanks to Gwen Callahan for hosting, and to the HPLFF Discord folks who came with comments and questions. I really enjoyed hangin’ with the other participating filmmakers, especially since they were responsible for two of my favorite films from the festival (Hideous Heart and Dead Enders).
Night-Gaunts closes out its North American tour by playing San Francisco’s weird and wonderful Another Hole in the Head film festival! So pleased to be officially selected here!
Night-Gaunts plays in-theater Saturday, December 9, 2023 at the 4-Star Theater. Look for it in the 1:30 PM block.
Swooping this way and that like the bat-winged monster for which it’s named, Night-Gaunts appears in three more film festivals around the US and Canada (where it enjoys its INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE), all inside just a few weeks!
First, it’s part of the Bleedingham horror short film festival, which hails from up here in the Northwest.
Next, it flaps on down to Mobile, AL for the brand new H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in the South!
Then, for the Night-Gaunts international premiere it travels wayyy up to the easternmost edge of Canada (St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador) to play FOGFEST, a horror film festival taking place in a spooky zone surrounded by roaring ocean and dense woods.
So pleased with all the love and adventure this little film has enjoyed!
Night-Gaunts is officially selected to have its Los Angeles premiere at Screamfest 2023!
Screamfest has been around for over two decades and takes place at the famous TCL Chinese 6 Theatre, so I’m super stoked to have my film screen there with tons of other horror shorts!
Watch now! Enjoy this taste of Night-Gaunts like a monstrous midnight snack.
August 18, 2023: Night-Gaunts premieres at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Providence, Rhode Island! It’s pretty crazy to consider that one month before, I was just a couple of days into production on this short. A couple of weeks later I had an extremely messy studio and a 2-minute puppet-driven tale of monstrous voyagings. I’m proud of it and honored to premiere at this incredible festival.
If you enjoy Night-Gaunts, you will likely enjoy where my puppet film work is headed…and I’ve already got more in development!
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Night-Gaunts begins its journey out of my hands and into waiting eyeballs this week, so it’s time to reveal the official poster!
I’m extremely excited to announce that my new puppet film Night-Gaunts has been selected to play the 2023 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival!
Night-Gaunts will be playing both at the Providence, RI festival (in Lovecraft’s hometown, on his birthday weekend!) and the Portland, OR festival. I’m absolutely honored to have my film shown at the HPLFF because I adore this festival and will be in attendance at the amazing Hollywood theatre in Portland.
I made a new puppet film…in two weeks! It’s called Night-Gaunts and it’s a handcrafted short horror film based on an H.P. Lovecraft poem.
In mid-July 2023, I decided I needed to knock out a quick solo puppet film project. It had been a while since I’d built and shot anything to completion, so I had this burning desire to just dive back in. After a few days’ consideration, I chose an idea that seemed manageable: I would adapt the H.P. Lovecraft poem “Night-Gaunts”, weaving in my own weirdness.
A few factors made it a real challenge: I would make this film all by myself in a 10x15-foot shed, I had no budget to speak of, and the film needed to be completed in two weeks for a film festival deadline. But once I decided to make it happen, there was no stopping me - I created in a state of flow all the way to the end.
From building to shooting (on a smartphone), the process was low-tech, handmade and improvisational. I moved fast and had to constantly remind myself not to get too precious about the work. I built everything using materials on hand (recycled craft materials and parts of old sets and puppets), a method that always brings me joy. But the contributions of music and narration from a couple of talented friends were what really made the final product feel legitimate.
Night-Gaunts was completed on time and I’m so proud of both the process and the result. Making this film in such a challenging and playful way was a wild and wonderful experience, and I encourage you to try it yourself!
I’m absolutely delighted to share that my bloody little film bumper, “Kaiju Fodder”, has won the “Best Bumper Award” at the 2023 Portland Horror Film Festival! There’s so much talent in this festival that I’m simply honored to have received such love!
Watching my bumper play to a responsive crowd at the festival was sort of surreal, as this was my first time seeing my film work on such a big screen. Maybe extra surreal, as it was the same screen on which I’ve viewed many many fantastic films at the historic Hollywood Theatre.
Many thanks to the wonderful organizers, participants and attendees of the Portland Horror Film Festival!
Read more and see all of this year’s award winners at the PHFF awards page.
I’m so bloody pleased to announce that my bumper “Kaiju Fodder” has been officially selected for showing the 2023 Portland Horror Film Festival! This one-minute puppet monster movie plays the second night of the festival, which happens Thursday, June 8th, 2023 from 7-11 pm at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Here’s the schedule.
If you’re wondering, bumpers are mini-films or vignettes shown before feature films or blocks of short films, and act as a kind of “station identification” to kick off each block.This one is based on my puppet world of “Before She Was a Moth”, but with an all-new horror vibe.
PHFF is a fantastic festival created by some wonderful people. Go check it out!
My music video for The Manx has dropped and I’m SO excited to share!
The puppet world of “Before She Was a Moth” was designed, built and shot by me in a workshop the size of a bedroom. I chose a very low-tech approach, avoiding green screens and complex digital effects. The creatures and environments were largely built upon found or recycled objects, and were sculpted, painted and manipulated by hand.
Head over to Janky Smooth for the premiere!
The Manx - “Before She Was a Moth“ music premiere at Janky Smooth
I was very pleased and honored to be asked to create the poster art for the 2021 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival! This year the theme was inspired by “From Beyond”, a Lovecraft story that was adapted into a popular film (as well as some shorts, as seen at the festival this year). Like any good cosmic horror protagonist, I went back to the old text to summon the original inspiration, and blended it with my own. My intention was a combination of black light effects, electron microscopy and deep sea bioluminescence.
It’s the return of artist Dave Correia! We discuss the making of our Elder Thing sculpture, which was featured at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. We talk through the process, challenges and lessons that came with making a ten foot tall tentacle monster on a tiny budget.
Find Dave here:
davecorreiaart.com
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Intro music by Jean Baudin. Find his work at jeanbaudin.com.
Interviews and art by Monstark. Find his podcasts, art and products at monstark.com.
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April 21, 2018: After an evening of stage-strutting, performing and city-crushing, Monstark is officially named the second-mightiest monster in Portland! I am honored because all the monsters here are mighty, especially the talented creatures with whom I shared the stage. The Monster Pageant was a perfect weird, warm, welcome-to-Portland celebration for me, because it brought together some of my favorite things...art, costumes, performance, karaoke and hanging out with monsters! Thanks to Alex Chiu and the Portland Zine Symposium for putting together this epic evening!
