Long Beach has been having a pretty good run lately if you happen to be into horror, Halloween, and all things pop culture. Midsummer Scream just wrapped another massive weekend in the city, Long Beach Comic Con is returning Sept. 5 and 6 at the Long Beach Convention Center, and now a brand new film festival is getting ready to bring some nightmares to Retro Row.
The inaugural Long Beach Film Festival runs Aug. 29 and 30. While the weekend will feature independent films, documentaries, filmmaker panels and workshops, we’re obviously looking toward Saturday night when the festival gets a little darker with “Nightmares on 4th Street.”
The 90 minute horror and dark comedy short film block begins at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the historic Art Theatre of Long Beach, and the festival is promising a collection of films packed with camp, horror and plenty of unexpected turns. The screening will also be followed by a filmmaker Q&A, giving audiences a chance to hear directly from some of the people behind the madness.
The lineup includes “A Man Apart,” “Roomtone,” “Midnight Movie Club,” “Matches,” “Help,” “The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much,” “Park Boys” and “Prime.” The subjects run all over the horror map, from deadly dating apps and killer monsters to creepy cults and movies that may be considerably more dangerous than they appear.
As you might guess, we’re totally into all this event has to offer, and it amazingly fits our attention spans perfectly. We’ve always been big proponents of “short, fast, and loud” being better, so with a festival highlighting 10-15min films and twisted imaginations, we call that a party.
The Long Beach Film Festival is also positioning itself as a place where filmmakers and audiences can actually mingle rather than simply sitting in a theater and disappearing into the parking lot afterward. The festival includes a Filmmaker Lounge with panels, networking opportunities and other events throughout the weekend. The opening night celebration is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28, with the festival’s official screenings taking place at the Art Theatre on Aug. 29 and 30.
Tickets are now on sale for individual blocks of screenings, and the fest does offer some great VIP and all-access passes as well.
