Jason Screenings

“Jason: The Rebirth” is a modest fan film that was created for entry in the 2003 ManiaFest competition. The judges liked it quite a bit, awarding it second place (with a cash prize!). The producers of the Friday the 13th DVD box set were sponsoring the competition, and for a while it looked like they would be including several winning fan films with the collection. Legal problems prevented that from happening, unfortunately.

Once the DVD fell through, I decided to send the animated short out to some horror festivals and fan conventions. Here’s a list of Jason screenings so far:

NecroComicon – November 2004
Carnage Con – November 2004
Dark Xmas – November 2004
Cinema Wasteland – April 2005
Chicago Horror Fest – April 2005
NecroComicon – F13 reunion! – May 2005

The responses I’ve been getting inspired me to make the trip to Cleveland for April’s Cinema Wasteland Convention. Head honcho Ken Kish put together a great panel of guests and a line-up of trashy b-movies that were not to be missed.

Coincidentally, while I was in Cleveland, I had a supporter in Chicago pushing the cartoon. Ari Lehman, the actor who played young Jason in the first Friday film, gave me some props at the Chicago Horror Fest. I first communicated with Ari last year, after he found my website and showed interest in the cartoon. Here’s what he had to say about Chicago:

“I wanted to let you know that you now have some fans in Chicago.

This past weekend was the Chicago Horror film Festival at the Three Penny Cinema in Chicago. For the past two years, I have been a Special Guest at this event. On my way to the cinema this year, I put your DVD in my briefcase, hoping that maybe they would show it to the crowd. They were delighted to show your short animation on two nights, right after I spoke to the crowd, and the people were THRILLED! They really dug your film. The event’s co-ordinator commented that it was very well done and that he would like your work to be included next year as well.”

I can’t ask for any higher praise than that.

So what’s next? Well, I don’t own the characters or the music, so my options are limited. I’ll be sending it off to screenings as they present themselves, but I think that will taper off as I complete other films. When I approach the big festivals (that usually ask 25-40 dollars entry fee) it’ll be more satisfying to push a wholly original work.

Watch this space for future screening info!