Forbidden Worlds Film Festival
The Big Scream
The Bristol Megascreen
11-12 October 2024
THE BIG SCREAM 2024
SHORT FILMS
LÍS (2024)
Dir: Gabriela Staniszewska | UK | 15 mins
Stephanie is horrible. She preys on weak-minded people to get what she wants – and doesn’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. But in her pursuit of a fairytale life, she meets a much larger, much more dangerous predator, and makes a deal that will change her life forever.
Lís is a Bristol School of Acting Production made with students graduating Acting for Screen 2024.
Content warnings (highlight to read): flashing lights, child loss
Gabriela Staniszewska is a multi-award-winning filmmaker from Bristol, UK, working in the horror, action and science-fiction genres. Her 2016 short film, ‘I Should Have Run’, was screened at the 2022 edition of Forbidden Worlds: The Big Scream.
STOP DEAD (2022)
Dir: Emily Greenwood | UK | 15 mins
When a workaholic police officer and her laidback partner try to stop a dishevelled girl staggering down the middle of a country road, they discover she’s being stalked by an unseen entity with a horrifying ultimatum: if you stop moving, you die.
Emily Greenwood is an award-winning writer and director whose short films have screened at festivals across the world. ‘Stop Dead’ is her sixth short, created as a proof of concept for a feature-length horror film, to be titled ‘The Still Man’.
THE BABKA (2024)
Dir: Michael Jenkins | UK | 15 mins
At an illegal Halloween rave, Zee and her friends discover an eerie, forgotten game – inspired by ciuciubabka, a Polish game of blind man’s bluff – that has deadly consequences if they dare to play it.
The Babka is a Bristol School of Acting Production made with students graduating Acting for Screen 2024.
Content warnings (highlight to read): child loss
Michael Jenkins is an award-winning writer and director working in film and television, and the co-artistic director of the British School of Acting. ‘The Babka’ is his first horror film.
CROCODILE (2015)
Dir: Matt Harris-Freeth | UK | 4 mins
A cautionary tale about a boy, Harry, and his life-changing encounter with a vagrant puppet crocodile.
Matt Harris-Freeth is an award-winning writer and director, working in commercials and music videos as well as short films. He is currently working on his next short and well as developing a number of features.
TAPPED (2024)
Dir: Benjamin Brewer | Australia | 11 mins
A gay serial killer identifies a potential victim on a hook-up app.
Benjamin Brewer is a British expat living in Sydney, originally from Sea Mills! His passion to tell LGBTIQ+ stories has honed in on the horror and thriller genres, leading to ‘Tapped’, his debut solo project.
GUISE (2024)
Dir: Paul Llewellyn | UK | 8 mins
“In the past, masks were used as protection to ward off evil spirits." On Halloween, a psychic medium relays a vision of a maskless young boy pursued by a malevolent force. Is it too late to help?
Paul Llewellyn is a Bristolian filmmaker with a passion for genre cinema. After many years in corporate video, he's now focused on making features. He is currently shooting his first film, ‘Ex-Rental’, a no-budget love letter to the video shop era, and writing the feature-length version of ‘Guise’.