Motelx 2015: First Wave Includes THE VISIT, COP CAR, And HOWL
Jeremy Saulnier's much-lauded Green Room will have its Portuguese debut, as will Karyn Kusama's The Invitation (these are definitely must-see films for genre fans). As well, M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit, Paul Hyett's Howl, the wonderfully gory and fun Turbo Kid, and Miike's Yakuza Apocalypse. There will also be a showcase of the latest Portuguese horror short films, and Big Bad Wolf, a section dedicated to genre cinema for kids (we need more of these).
In addition, Lisbon audiences will get to see guest of honor, the great Roger Corman, whose work needs no introduction. And two rare and almost forgotten Portuguese exploitation films will be screened for the first time in over 40 years. Motelx also extends into other art forms: there will be an exhibition, 'House of Psychotic Women', inspired by the book of the same name by Kier-La Janisse, featuring work by local artists.
Other events inclide workshops, open-air screenings, quizzes and much more. Full details are below from our correspondant Evrim Ersoy, as well as a promo video which definitely gives me the chills. So for horror fans in or anywhere near Lisbon, I think you'll have a busy and excellent six days.
MOTELx LAUNCHES STERLING 2015 EDITION
One of the leading genre festivals on the European circuit, Lisbon's Motelx has been going from strength to strength in recent years and if the first wave announcement is anything to go by their 2015 edition might be their strongest yet!
Like 2014, this year's Motelx design is inspired by local legend - last year's 'Aqueduct Killer' was from a local series of murders and this year's 'Goat-Feet Lady' is the product of Portuguese urban legends: a beautiful aristocrat with a goat feet who extracted terrible revenge on her husband after he broke his promise never to make to sign of the cross... The concept character can be seen both on the beautiful poster and in the promo video which is linked below!
This year's Guest of Honour for the festival will be the legendary Roger Corman who over-the-course of his career has pretty much done it all.
As always, the festival is divided into sections: Room Service is the official feature film selection of Motelx and this year includes many must-see titles from the 2015's genre titles including M. Night Shyamalan's much-anticipated return to horror The Visit as well as Jon Watts' masterly coming-of-age story Cop Car, Jeremy Saulnier's giddy, practical-fx gore filled Green Room, Paul Hyett's wonderful creature-feature Howl, RKSS Films' cult-in-waiting Turbo Kid, Karyn Kusama's masterpiece-in-tension The Invitation, Miguel Angel Vivas' take on the zombie apocalypse Extinction and Takashi Miike's new tale of madness Yakuza Apocalypse featuring yakuza taking on vampires!
The festival has also assembled a fine array of Portugese Short Horror films for the MOV MOTELx Award where the winning film will walk away with a cool 5000 Euro award money, the biggest award for any short films in Portugal.
Returning also is the Big Bad Wolf section which focuses on providing genre offerings for younger viewers alongside a games afternoon, a workshop and an atelier! Always a popular series of events, this admirable section proves every year how hungry younger audiences are for a little scaring!
Finally, last but not least , The Lost Room section focused on works within Portuguese exploitation and genre cinema returns with a twist: Partnering with Cinemateca Portugesa, the festival has rediscovered TWO lost films that are rare instance of Portuguese exploitation cinema showcasing it to be alive and well in Portugal in between the end of the 60's and the beginning of the 70's. Neither of the chosen titles have been screened for at least 40 years, making this a RARE opportunity for the audiences to be able to experience the films in a cinema! A stunning addition to the program, this is an opportunity to see Portuguese cinema in a new light, discover lost films and also celebrate the genre's history.
Alongside the films, the festival in 2015 will also be chockfull of events: from make-up effects demonstration to sculpting, from the return of the incredibly entertaining Motelquiz to the Horror Games Night , Motelx will embrace everything genre across its six nights.
During the festival, the organizers are also bringing back an initiative from the first year of the festival: a contest for horror short stories with an award of 500 Euros for the best one. The winning story alongside the story that gets a special mention will be published in an anthology alongside some notable guest authors from Portugal.
Finally, for those who can not get ENOUGH of the festival , there's some good news: A special warm up Motelx on 2nd to 5th September which will include a wide range of activities from open-air screenings to Motelx Parties and two very special exhibitions: one called 'House of Psychotic Women ' which will include works from Portuguese artists including Charleine Boieiro , S. de Matos and Gwendolen Dupre; all based on the seminal autobiographical book 'House of Psychotic Women' by the wonderful Kier-La Janisse and the other titled Classic Horror Characters commissioned by Bruno Caetano and featuring works by 27 of the most exciting Portuguese artists.
Shelagh Rowan-Legg
contributed to this story.
