Paracinema Cult Film Festival

Anything goes! This is the motto of Paracinema, a festival dedicated to films and genres outside the mainstream. Expect a steady diet of horror, sci-fi and fantasy but in addition we will explore other genres and sub-genres that don't get the opportunity to play on the big screen. We also welcome submissions under the banner New Media (VR, Music Video, Online TV etc) as long as the subject fits the themes of the festival.

History

In 2023, we welcomed Mick Garris to the festival for a Q&A and screening of Riding The Bullet. We hosted the World Premiere of Incessant, the UK Premiere of The Sound Of Summer, Psychosis as well as screenings of Ozma, Scalper, Haunted Ulster, Watch Me Sleep and retrospective screenings of Battle Royale and The Guard From The Underground.

We also welcomed by the Pop Up Puppet Cinema for two shows of their Punch And Judy style reenactments of Jaws and Back To The Future.

In 2022, we welcomed back Sean Hogan to talk about his latest Screaming book Twilight's Last Screaming. Jake West (Doghouse, Evil Aliens) also returned with his new film Midnight Peepshow with fellow director Airel Anthony Hayles. We held the UK premiere of Mask Of The Devil with a Q&A, and we welcomed Sam Mason Bell and Actress Annabella Rich with their new film Home Is Where I Lay. Liam Regan joined us to introduce and Q&A his new film Eating Miss Campbell. Jake West and Marc Morris of Nucleaus Film previewed their latest re-release Dark Places (1974)

Oh and Puppets! The Pop Up Puppet Cinema team joined us to present their recreations of beloved films "Back To The Future" and "Nightmare On Elm Street" to the delight of audiences.

Talks - Rewind Replay - Britain And The Video Boom 1978-1992 with historian Johnny Walker, Twilight's Last Screaming Q&A with Sean Hogan, Little Shop Of Horrors - A Talk On Portmanteau Horrors with Darrell Buxton.

Films screened - When The Screaming Starts (2021), Clerks III (2022), Home Is Where I Lay (2022), Too Beautiful To DIe (1988), Mask Of The Devil (2022), Back To The Future (1985), A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), Eating Miss Campbell (2022), Flux Gourmet (2022), The Parallax View (1974) - 35mm screening, MIdnight Peepshow (2022), Dark Places (1974), Diabolik (2021), Strawberry Mansion (2022), Piggy (2022),

Shorts - 4 feature length programmes of short films. (We love short films)

Other Events
The Legendary Paracinema Quiz - rounds out the weekend with a genre specific film quiz...it's pretty hard!

In 2021, we welcomed Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch, The Awakening) to Paracinema for a Q&A plus a 35th Anniversary screening of Gothic (1986). Sean Hogan will be attending talking about his book England's Screaming and Jake West (Doghouse, Evil Aliens), Marc Morris (Nucleus films), David Hyman (BBFC) and John Martin (author of Seduction of The Gullible) will be talking Video Nasties. We will be hosting the World Premiere of Searching For Cannibal Holocaust with a Zoom Q&A with star Carl Gabriel Yorke. Film academic Johnnie Walker will be talking about the new publication of Peter Hutchings' seminal book on British Horror Hammer And Beyond.

Films screened in 2021 - The Emmanuelle Effect (2020), External (2020), Zombies In the Sugar Cane Field (2020), Video Nasties - Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotapes (2010) + Director Intro, Scavenger (2020), Nothing Underneath (1986), Lightships (2020) + Director Q&A , Superterranean (2020) + Director Q&A, Performaniax (2020) + Director Q&A, Bad Candy (2020), Sister Tempest (2020), and Leni (2020)

Plus screening five 90 minute shorts programmes - United States Of Terror, This Severed Isle, Weird Tales, Burnt Offerings and Horror Holiday - totaling over 50 new short film.

Best Feature was Zombies In The Sugar Cane Field. Best Short - Peter The Penguin

In 2019, we welcomed Horror Icon Emily Booth (Evil Aliens, Doghouse, Horror Channel) for a talk about her eclectic career for acting in numerous horror films to presenting a variety of horror and cult themed television shows.

Zeroes was the winner of the Paracinema Best Feature Film award while Your Last Day On Earth won the prize for Paracinema Best Short Film award.

We welcomed filmmakers:
Cannes Award Winning Directors Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt presented their award winning Diamantino.
Director Jake West and Producer Marc Morris from Nucleus Films presented their newly restored HD transfer of Stephen Week's Ghost Story as well as their feature length documentary about the making of the film.
Director Charles Smith presented his film superhero slacker comedy Zeroes
Director Paulo Leito presented his film science meets the supernatural drama Inner Ghosts.
Director Aurelia Mengin presented her film Fornacis.
Director Jason Impey presented the UK Premiere of his documentary on VIPCO and the video nasties scene to an enthusiastic audience.

Feature Films Screened at our 2019 edition:

Zeroes (Dir: Charles Smith), the UK Premiere of F**K You All: The Uwe Boll Story (Canada, 2019, Dir: Sean Patrick Shaul), Knife + Heart (Dir: Yann Gonzalez), Mega Time Squad (Dir: Tim van Dammen), House Of Blue Shadows (Dir: Beppo CIno), Inner Ghosts (Dir: Paulo Leito), The Dead Center (Dir: Billy Senese), Diamantino (Dir: Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt), The Next Kill (Dir: Mike McCutchen), Bearkittens (Dir: Lars Henriks), Fornacis (Dir: Aurelia Mengin), Luz (Dir: Tilman Singer), Far From The Apple Tree (Dir: Grant McPhee), Ghost Story (Dir: Stephen Weeks), Ghost Stories: The Curious Tales Of The Making Of Ghost Story (Dir: Jake West), VIPCO: The Untold Story (Dir: Jason Impey), Scopophilia (Dir: Electra Angeletopoulou & Natalia Lampropoulou) and Book Of Monsters (Dir: Stewart Sparke)

Short Films screened at our 2019 edition.
Once Bitten (Dir: Pete Tomkies), Shining Tor (Dir: Andrew David Barker), THe Monterrey Express (Dir: Anthony Breatnach), Songbird (Dir: Sophie Black), Cherry (Dir: Paul Holbrook), Revenant Relocation Officers (Dir: Robert Duncan), Bride Of Frankie (Dir: Devil Snively), Met@slash (DIr: Sotiris Petridis & Dimitris Tsakaleas), Pinki (Dir: South Korea), Dead Celebrities (Dir: Michael Fausti), That Makes Two Of Us (Dir: Tim Hawlkins), Quiver (Dir: Shayna Connelly), Paralysis (Dir: Tom Sajewski), Your Last Day On Earth (Dir: Marc Martinez Jordan), Brink (Dir: Jonathan Blagrove), The Shadow Await (Dir: Tomas Stark) and Spooksbury (Dir: Jon Tewksbury).

Retrospective screening of:
A NIghtmare On Elm Street in a Knife Factory

Other Events
The Legendary Paracinema Quiz - rounds out the weekend with a genre specific film quiz...it's pretty hard!