8-12 november 2011 eleventh edition

Awesome finale, my dear little orphans. Oh, yeah....

An amazing popular success, fondness. An unexpected sold out, the smell of something real good. Beyond the bloodiest of our expectations, To Horror Film Fest 2011 offers emotions to everyone, it has grown big. It is preadolescent and we and you raised it, crew, authors and audience. You deserve all the credit.

While you were waiting for your champion, the orphan among all the orphans, the circus of To Horror got crowded by bizarre characters: the performing make-up of Zombie KB, started from the afternoon in trasforming the Saturday afternoon' s stroll across the streets of the heart of Turin in a parade of revenants, stopping doing make-up to dozens of guests, bystanders and fans only late at night.

Ramblers who crossed the path of the experiments of mentalism and fakirism of the Friends Of Magic while on the stage of out Fest took place the last one of our meetings: the Maestro Michele Guaschino brought us into the secret world of make up fx, with a lesson which started from the dawn of the film make-up, through the great masters of this skill.

In prime time, the seventh and last movie of the Feature Film Competition: MORITURIS by Raffaele Picchio, the umpteenth sold-out, which was repeated on Sunday November 13th at 9 pm.

The last titbit of the exhibition of Robert Morgan and the third episode of Inglorious Hunterz, by the "phantom" Baggiarini, who showed up and disappeared in a flash of sulphur, and everyone was ready for the grand finale.

The prize-giving was full of emotions, as usual for authors and crew: the loving words of Matt Farnsworth and Dianne Foster, winners of the Margheriti Prize, the threat of "coming back to get us" by Marcus Miller, the orphan killer in mask and barbed wire who came out of nothing from the shadows of the arcades of Turin to make his way until the stage.

And the astonishment of Claudio Bronzo and Lorenzo Lotti, producers of THE GERBER SYNDROME, and the joy of the authors of THE HOUNDS and MORITURIS, respectively awarded with another Special Mention and with the Anna Mondelli Award.

The ovation for the winner: SENNENTUTSCHI by Michael Steiner, the dark fairytale which put a spell on you, tourists of the mirror, and the arena-like applauses for the winners of the Short Films Competition: DARKNESS WITHIN, BRUTAL RELAX, NUIT BLANCHE, which were watched again in a row before the jump into the hyper-space which brought us into the worlds of the cosmic melodies of Space Aliens From Outer Space, ultil the dj set of our beloved Pennoire, by this time resident "djettes" of the fest. What was called a trip...

And you, my dear little orphans.

Happy like it was All Saints' Day, you embraced us with your warmth and your cheerful invasion. You crowded the box office, you patiently beared the delays, you played the game we set up for you. You were there and you were the party. You made us feel a bit bigger, and you always make us feel good. And then there's only one word: thanks.

What's left, when the curtain drops, is the smell of the spun sugare which soaks the air, the brawny man makes coffee, the red-headed girl at the counter massages her own tired feet. A magician get ready to sleep, the fakir to live. Tomorrow the marquee will pack off and we will set off again. The wounds are healed and the the bottles are uncapped, the bones get the well-deserved rest and the make-up is removed. Tomorrow, there's time. Tomorrow, the next show.

In the meanwhile, we savour what the night passes and passed from mouth to mouth, like a sip of Amontillado, like a whisper or a mantra.
The Cleaver. The Cleaver Rules!

Massimiliano Supporta
Art Director TOHorror Film Fest

THE WINNERS of TOHorror Film Fest 2011

FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION
(Jury: Andrea G. Colombo; Gabriele Farina; Giovanni Minerba)

The Cleaver to the BEST FEATURE FILM:
SENNENTUNTSCHI by Michael Steiner
For the maturity of the work, in every narrative and technical section, and for the originality of a not-inane story and a charming setting. With a masterly arranged finale with an overturning of points of view and a perfect and fast-paced rhythm.

SPECIAL MENTION:
THE GERBER SYNDROME by Maxì Dejoie
Because the movie has a very plausible structure, played with the right pitches. Thought it pays the penalty for a clear lack of budget, it has got the courage to go across unusual ways in the film market.

SHORT FILMS COMPETITION
(Jury: Riccardo Fassone; Andrea Lanza; Donato Sansone)

The Cleaver to the BEST SHORT FILM:
DARKNESS WITHIN by James Kendall
For the unusual creation of a tangible feeling of paranoia and anguish; a merciless critic to the idea of neighbourly relations.

SPECIAL MENTION:
BRUTAL RELAX by Adriàn Cardona, Rafa Dengrà, David Munoz
A delirium of effects, a video which is excessive and loud. Entertainement at the state of pure perfection.

SCREENPLAYS COMPETITION
(Jury: Alejandro De La Fuente; Giancarlo Marzano)

The Cleaver to the BEST SCREENPLAY:
INSIDE THE WALL by Noemi Pulvirenti
It recreates a claustrophobic setting, with all its strenght, keeping the tension during the entire development of the story, thanks to the skillful construction of an horror grip which is strongly psychological.

SPECIAL AWARDS TOHORROR FILM FEST

ANTONIO MARGHERITI AWARD – The Cleaver for the CRAFTMADE CREATIVITY:
THE ORPHAN KILLER by Matt Farnsworth
A passionate and excessive homage to the 80’s slasher movies, a fire which burns in a black heart. The first movie in the world produced and issued through the Web. A pioneer.

ANNA MONDELLI AWARD – The Cleaver for the YOUNG TALENT:
MORITURIS by Raffaele Picchio
The big surprise of the italian fantastic cinema of this year, a movie which brings the italian horror back to the bright old days: violent, dirty and cruel. A withering debut, a talent to follow

EXPERIMENTAL & MUTATIONS AWARD – The Cleaver to the AVANT-GARDE VIDEO:
NUIT BLANCHE by Arev Monoukivan
Visionary and poetic, a perfect mix of digital techniques which are functional to the story. APoetico e visionario, un mix perfetto di tecniche digitali sottomesse al soggetto. A warm tale and a dreamy glance towards a time which has never been.

SPECIAL MENTION:
THE HOUNDS by Maurizio and Roberto Del Piccolo
For the courage and the determination in building the production of the movie, for the stylistic coherence and the not-inane taste with which the narrative imagery has been built.

BEST ZOMBIE 2011:
Marco Chiornio
He seems alive...

Come Here, Ladies and Gentlemen!
This way, hurry up, the show is about to begin!
A show made of hams and freaks, as we said, humble servants of your and of their own fantasy. Lunatics.

ALL EYES ON ME, PLEASE states the title of this 11th edition of TOHorror Film Fest, because we would like to expatiate upon the catching of the glance, upon the violence it uses in its setting on the victims of car crashes, or on the doorstep of crime scenes. Or also upon the cages of a freak show. And about how it rapidly diverts from the corpses of the emigrants who died crossing the sea, or from the military reprisals by any nation.

Aren't you scared by all this?
TOHorror 2011 changes skin once again, but it doesn't abandon anything.

What once was a suburban circus now it peeps out the great forefront, it's joined by artists, tub thumpers and raconteurs, but the fire remains the same. Indeed, it grows thanks to the involvement of the ones who are around us and support our deed.
The attention for the independent cinema becomes wider and greater, therefore here it is, once again, a Feature Films Competition which is well worth its name, with 7 works competing for our shiny cleaver, 24 short films, 11 screenplays and some special awards.

We will talk about Freaks, noir literary fiction, special fx. We will introduce magicians and theatrical people and musicians. Distinguished guests, premieres, new generations of filmmakers. And also exhibitions and performances. And what else?

You. You will be there, who will make the difference once again, and who will make us believe, once more, in what we keep on inventing, with creative madness. You, who keep on following us during our wanderings, you who always prefer the celluloid's vampires to the ones who decide our fates. You who keep on believing that, if fantasy hasn't took power, at least will not be subdued by it.

We do this for you, at last, and for us who are part of you, authors and audience, theatrical people and ordinary ones. Us, who are both the barker and the show, the phenomenon, the freak... Now the curtain raises and the proscenium unveils... come this way, ladies and gentlemen, and soon you will have the complete picture in front of you.

Come here, take a glance...

Massimiliano Supporta
Art Director TOHorror Film Fest

For its eleventh edition, TOHorror Film Fest 2011 will take place at the club/movie theatre Blah Blah, from November the 8th to November the 12th 2011.

Though always faithful to its independent and experimental-oriented philosophy, this year the festival takes a step forward. Besides our international competitions (Short Films and Screenplays), the Feature Film Competition will present a selected group of independent cinema's standard-bearers: Sennentutschi by Micheal Steiner (CH), Dark Souls by Cèsar Ducasse (NOR), Morituris by Raffaele Picchio (ITA), The Gerber Syndrome by Maxi Dejoie (ITA), The Hounds by Maurizio and Roberto Del Piccolo (GB), Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show by Gabriele Albanesi (ITA), Eaters by Marco Ristori and Luca Boni (ITA).

The Orphan Killer by Matt Farnsworth (USA) is the special event of TOHorror 2011, and along with it, we will present, always non-competing, the video-exhibition dedicated to Robert Morgan, a true genius in the art of animated film and this year's web series: Inglorious Hunterz.

Moreover, the TOHorror traveling circus' stage, will feature live acting performances by KIN31, the mentalist show by Mr. Devilson, live concerts by La Piramide di Sangue, Space Aliens From Outer Space and Devilman (JP), the presentations of new books by Alessio Gradogna and Cristiana Astori, the live meeting with SFX artist Michele Guaschino and the one with the anthropologist Gabriele Mina, about the Freak Shows.
It's just from that kind of traveling show such as the Freak Show that we took inspiration for choosing the festival's scenography which will introduce the unique main theme of this edition: ALL EYES ON ME, PLEASE, this is the title of TOHorror 2011, and the glance is its theme.

The glance that morbidly rests where it should not, on the doorstep of a crime scene as well as on the cages of the old freak shows, while, on the other hand, it sometimes prefers to avoid the reponsibility of watching. The glance which ignores the ones who are compelled to escape and die while crossing the sea or frozen in our cities.

How scary that glance of cruelty and indifference can be? This is the question we will face together with our guests and which represents our contribution to the development of the main theme.

The festival will close on Saturday , November the 12th, with the prize-giving, the screening of the winning short films and a Zombie Night with a raving closing party.

Come here, Ladies and Gentlemen!

The curtain finally raises and the forestage unveils...come this way Ladies and Gentlemen, and you will soon have the complete picture in front of you. Come here, cast a glance...

First, we have to reveal the movies which will be showed for the Feature Films Competition. They are many and intriguing. We owe this first to the authors, for the passion they invested, for the ones who passed through the selection and most of all for the ones who didn't. So, thanks to "our" authors, because if our festival is born and still survives, it's thanks to them. The level gets higher each year and this is a good thing, but it also means an hard fight. 7 Feature Films, X Short Films, Y Scripts, selected among the huge number we received. In the Competition pages you will find the list of the official selections for To Horror 2011. That was an hard work, but we would do anything for you, our dear little beasts...

From the next time, you will start to know the special guests of this eleventh edition, little by little.

There is still time for the next bite.

Feature Films Competition TOHorror Film Fest 2011 - Official selection:

EATERS (ITA - 2011) by Marco Ristori and Luca Boni
DARK SOULS (NOR - 2010) by Cèsar Ducasse and Mathieu Pateul
MORITURIS (ITA - 2011) by Raffaele Picchio
SENNENTUNTSCHI (CH - 2010) by Michael Steiner
THE GERBER SYNDROME (ITA - 2011) by Maxi Dejoie
THE HOUNDS (GB - 2011) by Maurizio and Roberto Del Piccolo
UBALDO TERZANI HORROR SHOW (ITA - 2010) by Gabriele Albanesi

Short Films Competition TOHorror Film Fest 2011 - Official selection:

Abbiamo ancora tempo by Stefano Salvatori - ITA - 2011 - 15'
Alle soglie by Stefano Cucinotta - ITA - 2010 - 12'
Amarmort by Luca Baggiarini - ITA - 2010 - 4'
Bastards serial killer! Kill! Kill! by Antonio Zannone - ITA - 2011 - 25'
Bloody Mary Christmas by Claudio Centimeri - ITA - 2011 - 24'
Brutal Relax by Adriàn Cardona, Rafa Dengrà, David Munoz - ESP - 2010 - 15'
Clacson by Tak Kuroha - ESP - 2010 - 6'
Dirty silverware by Steve Daniels - USA - 2011 - 17'
108 FM radio by Angelo and Giuseppe Capasso - ITA - 2011 - 15'
Darkness within by James Kendall - ITA - 2010 - 25'
La dolce mano della rosa bianca by Davide Melini - ESP - 2011 - 10'
Durante la morte by Davide Scovazzo - ITA - 2010 -14'
Ego te absolvo by Fabio Scotellaro and Pietro Formici - ITA - 2011 - 14'
Gente by Matteo Jacopo Balzaretti - ITA - 2010 - 10'
Intercambio by Antonello Novellino - ESP - 2011 - 15'
Il Marito Perfetto by Lucas Pavetto - ITA - 2011- 40'
Nuit Blanche by Arev Monoukivan - CAN - 5'
Origine dei demoni by Davide Cancila - ITA - 2011 - 18'
8 by Miro Laiho - FIN - 2011 - 36'
7 a ritroso sortirà 7 by Serena Schinaia and Francesco Niccolai - ITA - 2010 - 19'
Spirale by Michael Guerraz - FRA - 2009 - 21'
Trinidad by Andrea Gandolfo and Sergio Colman Meixer - PAR - 2011 - 19'
Ultracorpo by Michele Pastrello - ITA - 2011 - 28'
Il vero amore by Paolo Budassi - ITA - 2011 - 20'

Screenplays Competition TOHorror Film Fest 2011 - Official selection:

Il Baby sitter - 2011 - ITA - by Alessandro Russo
Il contagio - 2011 - ITA - by Stefano Pandolfi
L'imperatrice delle Galapagos - 2011 - ITA - by Francesca Marchi
Inside the wall - 2011 - ITA - by Noemi Pulvirenti and Fabrizio Merolle
K - 2011 - ITA - by Alessandro Regaldo
Keep on shooting - 2011 - ITA - by Massimo Vavassori
Mc Giffin - 2011 - ITA - by Lucio Lepri
Quando giocavamo nel bosco - 2001 - ITA - by Giampaolo Cufino
Schiavi del dolore - 2011 - ITA - by Antonio Montefalcone
L'ultimo regalo - 2011 - ITA - by Vincenzo Pandolfi
Il vestito - 2011 - ITA - by Vincenzo De Carolisis and Angelo Zabaglio

Welcome back, our dear little lizards...
From now on, we start keep you updated with the evolution of your (almost) favorite horror festival. Yes, because now we are at the final phases, the festival schedule is ready, so is the circus. But is still too soon to uncover all our cards, there is still time to keep you on tenterhooks with all the details... stay tuned and we will slowly unveil the features of our creature. Therefore,changing skin, because ToHorror is mutating again, without throwing away none of the good (or scary) things it created. First of all,we change location: from this year, from November 8th to November 12th, we will invade the Blah Blah Cine/Club (via Po 21, Turin), and this will allow us to put two different dimensions together: the one of the club, informal and devil shy fertile, and the cinema one, in which we will let the seven feature films of the competition fight with each other for victory.
No titles yet: I can just tell you that more of the half of them are foreign productions. To the feature films competition, as usual, there will be our fringe events: meetings, exhibitions, performances, shows, dedicated focuses on one director, previews. Everything tracing a line that draws the picture which represents the leitmotif of this year's fest: the glance. A glance which morbidly touches what it should not, on the doorstep of a crime scene or in the cages of the old freak shows, or, elsewhere, it prefers to run away from the responsibility of watching.
"ALL EYES ON ME, PLEASE" is the title we chose for this XI edition of TOHORRORFILMFEST, willing to explore the circus of paranoia fed by fear, in the triple confrontation of the glance: to watch or not to watch,or being watched.
Because you know, my little beasts, there is always someone watching.