Our favorite film festival, The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival kicks off its 25th anniversary virtually in 2020! This streaming event is just around the corner, from Thursday, October 1 through Sunday, October 4. For fans of Cosmic Horror, this is annually a can’t miss event. Tickets are on sale now!
Await The Dawn (2020) 
The Black Tome of Alsophocus (AR) (2020)
The Scariest Things has been a proud sponsor of Portland’s great genre film festival, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, for three years in a row. Gwen and Brian Callahan have been frequent guests of ours on the Podcast, and they have been integral in getting to know the Portland horror film fan community.
They put on one of the best genre film festivals in the west, and for fans of Cosmic and tentacle heavy films, this is an absolute must! They curate from films sent from all over the world, and they also go to great lengths to open doors to filmmakers who don’t often get opportunities. Young directors. Directors of color. Women directors. It has helped attract some of the best new talent to show off their independent films, and you can always count on a fantastic slate of short films.
It is always impressive how many directors gravitate towards the inexplicable and unfathomable depths of Lovecraftian horror. This year, there are six feature films and 67 short films. (WOW)
The Hill and the Hole (2020) 
The Internet Kills (2020)
Here is the official press release, and by the way read to the end because there is a very important message regarding Lovecraft’s not-so-secret racist past:
PORTLAND, OR – This October 1-4 is the 25th Anniversary of the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival®, and this year the celebration of Independent cosmic horror cinema will be served directly to your living room!
This huge, vibrant festival usually takes place on 3 screens and in secondary venues with multiple art, music, film, and live events. For the first time ever, anyone in the world can enjoy the show with a Streaming Festival Pass.
Fans in the US can get streaming passes, both through the festival’s Kickstarter campaign (http://kck.st/3iC19uY) and through the Hollywood Theatre website, however, fans outside the US can only get streaming passes through the Kickstarter campaign which ends on September 25th.
This year’s virtual Guests of Honor are Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, Reborn, From Beyond) and award-winning author Victor LaValle (The Changeling). Festival programming features new independent feature and short films in the cosmic horror and Weird tale tradition, plus live and interactive events, Q&As, presentations, and panel discussions that make this much more than just watching movies at home.
Festival directors Brian and Gwen Callahan are looking forward to celebrating this milestone with their festival family even if it’s in virtual space, but in light of the pandemic, they firmly believe moving to a streaming format is the safest and best course of action. “We knew we didn’t want to cancel the festival outright. It’s something we all look forward to every year, and maintaining some sense of normalcy is extra important!” said Gwen Callahan. “Things keep getting weirder and we’re all isolated here in the US, so we think the right thing to do is to bring the right kind of Weird directly into your home!”
Gwen and Brian are also the directors of the Portland Horror Film Festival, and took that event online in June, making it the first all-horror film festival in the US to stream its entire program. The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival was founded in 1995 by Andrew Migliore to promote the work of Lovecraft-inspired independent filmmakers from around the world. Since taking the reins in 2011, current directors Gwen and Brian Callahan have grown the festival to a three-day extravaganza of film, art, author readings, scholarly presentations, live performances, tabletop gaming demos, and are working hard to bring a taste of all these experiences to the streaming festival.
The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival stands with the Black Lives Matter movement. H. P. Lovecraft was a pulp author during the 1920s and 1930s, and is one of the most influential horror writers of the modern era. Like many American historical figures, he is problematic due to his racist personal beliefs. The festival believes in celebrating his substantial influence on art, music, film, and literature, while acknowledging but firmly rejecting his racist views. The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival’s mission has always been to encourage and showcase new voices that expand on the cosmic horror genre. Featuring over 60 films from 20 countries with filmmakers and panelists of diverse ethnicities, gender identities, and sexualities, an integral part of the festival’s programming is highlighting the amazing breadth of modern cosmic horror.
Streaming Festival Packages are available now through Kickstarter http://kck.st/3iC19uY
Regular passes and single-day tickets will be available shortly through the Hollywood Theatre.
For the latest updates, please visit the official festival website at https://www.hplfilmfestival.com
-Gwen and Brian Callahan
Beyond (2020) 
Exist! (BE) (2020)
If you get in on the Kickstarter campaign, you can get some of this cool swag! (Designed by Brian!) You’ll need to move quickly, as the Kickstarter campaign ends this Sunday. C’mon you can’t resist. There’s actually even more cool things you can get, but this will get you an idea of the uniqueness and quality of the production. You’ll have to go the Kickstarter page to see the rest of it. So cool!
Ia Ia Cthulhu F’thaghn!
