Nevermore Film Festival – Celebrating 25 Years of Genre Magic
"Quoth the raven 'Nevermore'”
THE RAVEN, Edgar Allan Poe
*This article originally appeared in the March 2024 edition of the Horror Writers Association newsletter. Active members can find the article here. As the author of the article, I’m posting it here as well.
Need an excuse to see an up-and-coming horror film? Look no further than the established Nevermore Film Festival, a staple of the festival landscape since its inception in 1999. Nevermore is a juried competition festival that programs brand-new feature and short films with an emphasis on horror, science fiction, dark fantasy, animation, and mystery/thrillers from around the world.
Under the leadership of Jim Carl, Senior Director of Film Programming at Carolina Theatre of Durham, host for the event, the festival has grown to be about more than entertainment value. It’s about community.
The impetus for starting Nevermore was to invite film lovers to experience Durham downtown and jumpstart the area. According to Carl, “The Carolina Theatre reopened its doors in 1994 after undergoing renovations throughout much of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Part of its mission at that time was to revitalize the downtown area of Durham. Attracting audiences with a unique and diverse film program was part of that mission.”
The chosen films didn’t start with the scary stuff. Carl recounted, “At that time in the mid-’90s, there were very few film festivals in North Carolina. The Theatre founded a Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in 1995, and its RetroFantasma Film Series began screening classic horror films in 1998. But it was the overwhelmingly positive response to those classic horror films which served as the catalyst for Nevermore.”
Nevermore is primarily a volunteer-based endeavor. John and Kim McHugh, a married couple, are two of the festival’s biggest champions. Kim’s involvement has grown over the years. “I’ve been volunteering for the past sevenish years. I started as a table volunteer when John and I were still in the early stages of dating. The following year I joined the selection committee. This year (2024) I’m also working on new ways to engage more of the committee in the awards process, so hoping that plays out well.”
For Kim, the hands-on experience of participating in the Nevermore Film Festival has given her a layered perspective on the creative process. “Over the years I’ve really gained an appreciation for the amount of work that goes into making a good film. We watch so many submissions each year, so you get to see all kinds of work. This year we actually had over 600 submissions, which is our highest yet. With hosting filmmakers, I’ve also learned quite a bit about the process of making a film happen and it’s opened my eyes to exploring other possibilities.”
John McHugh’s festival volunteerism inspires him to see filmmaking as a process that has many sides to explore. “I’ve learned that it is vital to meet a movie where it is and understand what it’s trying to say. It’s easy as someone who watches a lot of mainstream content to think of these things as disposable entertainment birthed into being by large corporations as a money-making venture. None of that is the case with the films at Nevermore. They are weird or quirky or singular, or (sometimes) derivative and amateurish. But they all come from someone, or lots of someones, who just love this stuff down to their bones.”
Nevermore has had an interesting trajectory from its formation to today. The inaugural event started with a showcase of eleven classic films like THE EXORCIST, THE FOG, and RE-ANIMATOR. By 2002, they ditched the classic films and shifted to newer foreign and domestic pictures such as DONNIE DARKO, MAY, VERSUS, and DAS EXPERIMENT. The festival evolved with the added participation of filmmakers attending the festival to conduct audience Q&As. With an increase in submissions, an all-volunteer jury comprised of six members of the local community was formed to assist in viewing submissions. 2010 marked a milestone for Nevermore with national recognition from magazines and Web sites such as MovieMaker, Dread Central, and Fangoria.
By 2020, the average annual festival attendance was 3000 with between 600-800 films submissions from around the world. On average, 60-80 short films were bundled over seven-eight screening blocks.
During the pandemic in February 2021, Nevermore introduced its first-ever all-virtual edition and allowed audiences in the surrounding states to view films via streaming. Whereas most film festivals in the U.S. saw a decline in audience participation in 2021, Nevermore increased its attendance to 3500. It has continued to provide an all-virtual edition ever since.
Notable films that have appeared at Nevermore include:
MAELSTROM, 2001 Dir: Denis Villeneuve
DONNIE DARKO, 2002 Dir: Richard Kelley
MAY, 2002 Dir: Lucky McKee
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, 2004 Dir: Kim Jee-woon
THE ROOST, 2005 Dir: Ti West
THE HOST, 2007 Dir: Bong Joon-ho
OCULUS, 2007 Dir: Mike Flanagan (short)
BRAIN DEAD, 2008 Dir: Kevin Tenney
RUBBER, 2011 Dir: Quentin Dupieux
THE INNKEEPERS, 2012 Dir: Ti West
THE LOVE WITCH, 2016 Dir: Anna Biller
THE VOID, 2017 Dir: Steven Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie
SMOKING CAUSES CANCER, 2023 Dir: Quentin Dupieux
The talent that has appeared at Nevermore is deep! With prominent names like Ti West, Mike Flanagan, Kim Jee-woon, and Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, Nevermore is a great place to kickstart a filmmaking career. Steering Committee chair Stacey Bell has a front seat to emerging talent. “Horror, in particular, has developed a more astute following, with an emphasis on ‘elevated horror,’ so we have seen a lot more craft and thoughtfulness put into the productions we receive. We are seeing major changes to inclusivity and diversity, disrupting tropes, and social critique through the lens of horror.”
With the shift from accepting VHS and DVDs to most submissions being digital, this technological evolution has helped shape the kinds of films Nevermore is accepting. Fifty per cent of all festival submissions come from outside the United States.
Nevermore also embraces social media to not only get the word out but to support the showcased films. According to Chuck Wheeler, Social Media Committee co-chair, “Nevermore’s approach to spotlighting our line-up is unique. We discuss each and every film on the schedule. Never mind that the submission only runs five minutes—it deserves a comprehensive review. Moreover, Ronnie Rozbox (the other co-chair) and I have previewed every accepted film; therefore, we know each film about which we are writing.” The reviews posted by Wheeler and Rozbox have resulted in many filmmakers using their deft understanding and review of their films for PR purposes.
Nevermore Film Festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. It received almost 650 worldwide submissions this past season reviewed by a jury comprised of 28 volunteers. The festival screened 70+ shorts and feature films attracting around 3500 attendees.
The Nevermore Film Festival ran from February 23-25, 2024, hosted by the Carolina Theatre of Durham. Find more information on the festival at the Nevermore Film Festival Web site.
