My horror script made the ANOH short-shortlist

In Samuel Beckett’s Worstward Ho, he quips: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

And, I think that’s what I’m doing. True, I failed again to place in the finals of a screenplay competition … but I managed to fail better.

According to Bryn Tilly, Festival Director & Head of Programming for the 14th Annual A Night of Horror International Film Festival (ANOH), I almost made it to the finals in a year where they saw a record number of submissions … which is the highest I’ve had a screenplay place yet.

For going on 16 years, ANOH, considered to be Australia’s biggest and best horror film festivial, has striven to help independent and genre filmmakers and unproduced screenwriters get recognized for their efforts.

This year’s even is scheduled from Oct. 17-23 at the Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Sydney, Australia.

“The calibre of submissions was particularly high this year, as was the number of submissions,” Tilly stated in a Sept. 19 press release. “Indeed, every year it gets higher, and, with limited spots available, we were unable to fit many worthy films into this year’s program.”

My submission is a body horror/demonic posession flick. Think Gilmore Girls meets The Nun meets Fallen.

While my screenplay didn’t make the finals, this is the closest I’ve come to doing so in the two years I’ve been submitting my work.

“Everyone at A Night of Horror International Film Festival hopes that you are not too disappointed to hear that [your script] is not among this year’s official selections,” Tilly stated. “Please understand we enjoyed … your submission very much—it made our short, shortlist—and hope to have the opportunity to see more of your work in the years to come.”

This year’s entries were judged by Catherine Smyth-McMullen, Joshua Long, and Anna Dadic. The winners and placers will be announced at the festival awards ceremony on Sunday Oct. 23.

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