HOT SPRINGS (KATV) — The Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival is back in the Spa City for its 13th year.
It is a three day festival that showcases horror, sci-fi and thriller films at the venue Vapor Live located on 315 Park Avenue.
If you plan on attending the festival, you can expect to watch some of the films made by Arkansas filmmakers along with others from across the world.
Event director, Bill Volland, said filmmakers from all over send in their work to be judged, and selected filmmakers will win awards at the festival.
“Some of the films that come in have some big names in them so occasionally they (famous actors/filmmakers) will show up to see their film and collect their award,” said Volland.
Volland said there is a program designed specifically for Arkansas filmmakers called Arkansas Made.
People that attend will have the chance to take classes and listen to seminars about film production while also meeting some of the filmmakers and professionals in the industry.
The classes at the event will consist of ‘Monster Mask Making with Tony Buck’, a ‘Cheap Blood Guts and Gore’: techniques on how to create a gory scene, and ‘Movie Makeup, Mayhem and Magic.’
Volland said he worked in the entertainment industry for years, but it was not until he moved to Hot Springs when he decided to start the horror film festival.
“Everybody wants to see who is the newest person coming in,” said Volland. “A lot of times we bring in some movie actors. We have had everyone from Michael Myers come in to the Freddy’s Nightmares, the person that was in that.”
“We have Alan Howarth showing up this year,” said Volland. “He did the soundtracks for all the big movies in the 80s and the 90s: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Trek, The Hunt for Red October, Escape from New York. He has everything from scripts to soundtracks and old albums that the soundtracks are on.”
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 3 and close Sunday, November 5.