Screamfest 2017: An Interview with Rachel Belofsy
by Logan Myerz
What does it take to be an artist? Is it the passion you put into your craft or is it the countless hours perfecting your craft? These are questions I ask myself everyday by researching, writing, reviewing, and creating videos on the Cinephellas website. Being a film-maker isn’t as easy as it looks and getting the film showcased in the industry isn’t an overnight process. The horror film genre is one that is easily overlooked for its creativity, chilling story-line, and jump scares. The Academy has not taken too kindly to the horror genre and it seems many great films are snubbed come Oscar Season. But does it really matter? With many film festivals today, there are movies awarded for the Best Feature, Directing, Cinematography, as they should be for the distinguished film-making skills. What I appreciate about this genre of film making is the blood, sweat, and tears put into every shot of the movie. More importantly, it’s not about making money or the fame, rather it’s about the art-form and making a piece that is memorable.
Today, I spoke with the founder/director of Screamfest, the longest running Horror Film Festival in the U.S. Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin formed the festival in 2001 with the idea of getting horror and sci-fi films showcased to people in the film industry and the possibility of getting distribution. The festival has taken a life of its own over the years and has premiered such hit films as ‘30 Days of Night,’ ‘Trick r’ Treat‘, and ‘Paranormal Activity.’ It was my pleasure to interview Rachel about how her life has changed since the beginning, the horror genre, and films playing this year at Screamfest.
Screamfest runs from Oct. 10-19, 2017 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.
Screamfest Official Usernames and Hashtag:
– Official hashtag: #ScreamfestLA
Cinephellas 