A celebration of outstanding genre cinema in the historic cradle of the American supernatural.
SLEEPY HOLLOW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SHIFF) 2021
AWARDS THRILLING FEATURE FILM WICKED GAMES “BEST PICTURE” RENOWNED ACTOR, THE LATE DONALD MOFFAT, HONORED WITH SHIFF’s IN TRIBUTE HORSEMAN AWARD
During Oct 15 through Oct 17, 2021, the second incarnation of the Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival (SHIFF) screened films in competition virtually and also shared the seasonal spotlight in Sleepy Hollow, New York, with a pop-up Horseless Carriage Cinema Drive-In at Kingsland Point Park. Film fans—and fans of the Halloween spirit—thrilled to retro genre feature film favorites like John Carpenter’s The Thing, a 40th Anniversary showing of An American Werewolf In London and more, along with exciting new short films by talented filmmakers with connections to the Hudson Valley region.
The fest also virtually screened new feature films and shorts in competition on Filmocracy.com and hosted another Original Unproduced Screenplay contest
The Thing screening was preceded on-stage by the First Lady of Sleepy Hollow, NY, Lynn Moffat, who accepted the fest’s Horseman Award in tribute to her late father, and Sleepy Hollow resident, renowned actor Donald Moffat (who portrayed “Gary” in The Thing). Lynn’s husband, Ken Wray, the mayor of Sleepy Hollow, also attended the tribute, and Lynn even sported her father’s coat from The Thing, which has stayed in the family for decades!
This year’s fest winners and honors, among works in competition, were Wicked Games (Best Film, Screenplay and Director – Teddy Grennan, and Best Score – Jacques Brautbar), the Morrocco fantasy/drama Achoura (World Legend Honor – Talal Selhami), and Sawa (Best Short – Harinarayan Rajeev).
SHIFF’s LOCAL LEGENDS – SHORTS honor showcased the notable work of Hudson Valley Region filmmakers: Rose Felice Dreamworld: Pine Bush NY, Jeff Frumess dav/ID, Katie Graubart Medusa, Thom Hilton Synonymous With, Guido Jiménez-Cruz and actor/co-writer Jonathan Kruk The Misadventures of Ichabod Crane, Jason Tropiano and producer Julissa Scopino Unicorn, and Luke Williams 7:06. All of these works were screened at the drive-in as well as virtually and several of the filmmakers appeared at the drive-in to help introduce their films.
Also appearing in person at the drive-in were filmmaker Jeff Lieberman (Satan’s Little Helper, Squirm, Blue Sunshine, Just Before Dawn), Steve Mitchell (co-writer of Chopping Mall) and additional guests.
The winners of SHIFF’s Original Unproduced Screenplay awards competition were: 1st Place – Cove by Thomas O’Malley, 2nd Place – Meth Gators by Jordan Miller and 3rd Place – Vampire Tales by Travis Seppala. Honorable mentions were bestowed upon Kudzu by Marisa Forrest, Dutchess County by Michael Martin De Sapio and The Roman Downsizing by John Leary.
