Raised in the dark, forbidden woods of Cumberland, Maine, Daniel Ellis Harrod has been a published writer and musician in the realms of horror fiction and hardcore heavy metal since 1987. Receiving a degree in Norse and Asiatic Ethnic Religion from Maine College of Art in 1996, Daniel’s career spawned a starring role in 2001’s “H.P. Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep” as well as lyricist for the seminal Seattle Doom Metal outfit Blood of the Black Owl on three of their most crushing albums. He continues to work as a writer, lyricist, Outsider artist and Avant Garde musician along the East Coast.
Ben Wickey is a Massachusetts-born filmmaker and illustrator, as well as a recent graduate from the California Institute of the Arts. He is the animation director for GOREY, an upcoming documentary about the last days of author/Illustrator Edward Gorey, as well as the illustrator of Ki Longfellow's The Illustrated Vivian Stanshall, a book about the life and times of Britain's most celebrated and eccentric comic musicians. Wickey is 23 years old, and lives in Rockport, Massachusetts.
We are extremely pleased to introduce our Guest of Honor for 2018!
Kieran Thompson is a director and producer from Tempe, Arizona who strives to bring out the heart in every story. Discover more at kieranthompson.com
Darin Coelho Spring lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California with his wife and two daughters. He is a bookseller with a passion for imaginative literature and an active presence in the local arts community. In his spare time over the last ten years, he has created several of what he terms “epic home movies” but his documentary on Clark Ashton Smith is his first film intended for a wider audience. It is nearly four years in the making.
Stephen Costantino is a Producer, Musician and Creature Suit Actor, widely known as the Gamorrean Guard on Jabba the Hutt's barge in Return of the Jedi. In the early 1980s, he formed the band, "Atmosphere" with funk bassist and friend, Corey Dee Williams, son of and stand-in for Lando Calrissian actor, Billy Dee Williams. As a session guitarist, Stephen has played for New Edition, Bel Biv Devoe and The Black Eyed Peas.
Liz Tabish is an actress and filmmaker based in Austin, TX. Her style of filmmaking is guerilla, lo-fi arthouse inspired by 1960-70s European cinema. She received her BA in Film Theory and MA in Directing/Theater from Oklahoma State University. She co-produces at Maenad Films and is co-director of Austin Arthouse Film Festival. She's currently working on an anthology series of vintage horror short films focused on female archetypes entitled Tales From the Dancing Maenads.
Award winning filmmaker and stop motion animator Benjamin Capps came to Chicago after receiving his degree in Theatre from the University of Missouri, Columbia. While an undergraduate, Benjamin founded The Inner Below in order to produce his own experimental theatre, with an emphasis on expanding on Antonin Artaud's theories of Theatre of Cruelty. Having written, directed, produced and acted in numerous stage-productions, Benjamin transitioned to film-making, now having made nine short-films.
Marko Kattilakoski had been a musician/songwriter for over 20 years, when an old friend confronted him with the question: “Marko, shouldn’t we make films?” The question resulted in the 17th century lovecraftian horror/drama "Forlorn Hope" screened at the HPLFF in Portland 2009. Director/writer/producer Marko Kattilakoski began writing the script for "The Music of John Low" three years ago, involved actors and crew, many of them previously involved in the two award winning films, "Coffee Break" (2012) and "The Terrible Typewriter" (2015).
Zeshaan Younus is a writer/director/producer based in Orange County, CA. As a life-long cinephile, he has a true passion for all things horror, science fiction, and paranormal. His first short film, Grey Canyon, follows a couple as they experience an otherworldly presence in the wilderness. He would say that the best movie of all-time is Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece, ALIEN (not the Director’s Cut and not up for discussion). Outside of filmmaking, Zeshaan has a career in government relations and serves in a leadership role for a few local non-profit organizations.