First-ever, free Indigenous Horror Film Festival launches online for Halloween
Charlie Perry loves a good scare.
That’s why he took it upon himself to create the first ever Nightmare Vision Indigenous Horror Film Festival. It’s hosted by Vision Maker Media, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Perry is the assistant director. (He’s a former Kansan from the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.)
The festival will be held online Oct. 30 and 31 at https://visionmakermedia.org/nightmare-vision/ and the program will include two feature-length horror films and many short films by Native American filmmakers. Two of my films (the zombie feature “The Dead Can’t Dance” and sci-fi short “The Burden of Being”) are among the lineup. The festival is free and open to everyone.
Viewers can join an online watch party at https://visionmakermedia.org/nightmare-watch-party/ hosted by Anthony Hudson of Portland’s “Queer Horror” scene as his alter ego, “drag clown” Carla Rossi. The watch parties start at 7 p.m. Central both days, and “attendees” will be able to interact with each other online during the screenings. Each film will also be posted on the website Oct. 30 and 31 for free on-demand viewing.
I had a virtual chat with Perry about the festival. Here are excerpts:
Movie Maniac: What inspired you to create the first ever Nightmare Vision Indigenous Film Festival?
Charlie Perry: I grew up watching horror movies with my grandma Georgia and grandpa David Perry. Grandma was a full-blooded, tough-as-nails, Salish Kootenai/Prairie Band Potawatomi Native. Some of her happiest times were during our movie nights watching Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and “Interview with the Vampire.”
We used to stay up until the early hours of the morning watching scary movies together. When the clock struck midnight she would pause whatever horror movie we were watching and whip us up some root beer floats. Every time I have a root beer float I think of her.
My grandpa David used to let me join him in his office every Friday night during my childhood. He always worked until the late hours of the night ... but he would always stop whatever he was doing to watch “Tales from the Crypt” with me. I’m always looking for new and innovative ways to show Native Americans in a contemporary light, but honestly, Nightmare Vision is a love letter to my grandparents.
Movie Maniac: How has the response been leading up to the festival?
Charlie Perry: (We have had) a lot of people reaching out to us on social media telling us how excited they are. Not just Natives but people from all backgrounds and cultures. Many have said they had no idea Native Americans made horror movies. I would always respond, “That’s the point of Nightmare Vision.”All of these films are amazing and super creepy. They are not just great Native horror films. They are great horror films, in general. You also have a couple good ol’ Kansas boys in the mix.
Movie Maniac: What do you hope people take away from the Nightmare Vision experience?
Charlie Perry: Many Americans still see Natives as wild west caricatures — headdresses, tipis, rain dances, etc. When they do see Natives in the mainstream media we are still being portrayed as “noble savages.” Yes, we love and want to protect the environment but we also enjoy longboarding, playing video games and watching horror movies!
I wanted to create an event that was creative and innovative that showcased Natives in a fresh contemporary light. Vision Maker Media wants to show that Natives contribute a great deal to our current society, whether it be fighting to protect Mother Earth or making a cool horror movie.
Movie Maniac: Vision Maker Media is the organization that is hosting Nightmare Vision. What, exactly does theorganization do?
Charlie Perry: Frank Blythe created Vision Maker Media 44 years ago to give up-and-coming Native filmmakers a space to live, grow and succeed. We fund and distribute films made by Natives who have a passion for sharing the stories of their communities with a wider audience. Our primary goal is to empower Natives and educate non-Natives.
Movie Maniac: Are there plans for more horror film fests in the future?
Charlie Perry: Is Dorothy from Kansas? Does a werewolf howl at the moon?
The Festival Lineup
Friday, Oct. 30
“Cinema Red: Natives and Horror” (short directed by Mike J. Marin) — A documentary about the Native American perspective on horror cinema and the genre’s impact on Native people.
“The Burden of Being” (short directed by Rodrick Pocowatchit) — In the year 2064, a Native American man is imprisoned for speaking his ancient tribal language.
“Missing Indigenous” (short directed by LaRonn Katchia, produced by Isaac Trimble) — Two detectives investigate the homicide of a young woman marked with a killer’s deadly signature.
“The Dead Can’t Dance” (feature directed by Rodrick Pocowatchit) — Three Comanche men in Kansas discover they are somehow immune to a virus that is turning everyone else into zombies.
Saturday, Oct. 31
“Beyond the Fear” (short directed by Joseph Singh) — The Thunderbird Theatre of Haskell Indian Nations University creates a campus-wide haunted house experience.
“The Vampire Upstairs” (short directed by Joseph Singh) — A family moves into a two-story duplex where the children quickly discover the elderly man living upstairs holds an ancient secret.
“Blood Sky” (short directed by LaRonn Katchia, produced by Isaac Trimble) — Three survivors of a deadly virus try to stop it from spreading beyond their city.
“Crossers” (short directed by Jennifer Varenchik) — Two urban Native roommates disagree about tuning into a reality ghost-hunting show that was filmed on their reservation.
“Sacred” (short directed by LaRonn Katchia, produced by Isaac Trimble) — After a Native man loses his fiancee in a car accident, he seeks to bring her back to life at any cost.
“Shadow Dancer” (short directed by LaRonn Katchia, produced by Isaac Trimble) — When a young woman falls gravely ill, a man wages spiritual warfare on a dark entity occupying her dreams.
“The Party’s Downstairs” (short directed by Mike J. Marin) — As a man works alone late one night, he gets the feeling that he may not be alone in the building.
“Rhymes for Young Ghouls” (main event, feature directed by Jeff Barnaby) — In 1976, a Mi’gMaq teenager plots revenge against the sadistic Indian agent who imprisoned her in a residential school where rape and abuse are common.