Abertoir 2021: Welsh Horror Film Festival Unveils Lineup

ABERTOIR, WALES’ INTERNATIONAL HORROR FESTIVAL, UNVEILS ITS FULL PROGRAMME FOR HYBRID 2021 EVENT 

 

Abertoir Horror Festival takes place this year at Aberystwyth Arts Centre 2-7 November and online 12-14 November. Featuring nearly 40 brand new, unreleased feature films from Wales, Iceland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Japan, USA, Canada and more; Abertoir promises to be as expansive and bold as ever. 

 

Abertoir Horror Festival returns for its 16th edition in a hybrid format – a physical event, returning to Aberystwyth Arts Centre for the first time since before Covid-19, and a virtual  event, providing access to those who cannot travel to attend. 

 

The festival opens November 2nd with the Welsh premiere of Gwledd (‘The Feast’), a brand new Welsh-language horror film which has been impressing audiences and critics at festivals  all over the world. Director Lee Haven Jones, writer/producer Roger Williams, and stars  Annes Elwy and Steffan Cennydd will be present at the screening for a post-film discussion.  The celebration of Welsh horror is celebrated later in the festival with a special screening of  the award-winning Censor, with its local director, Prano Bailey-Bond, present to discuss the  film. 

 

Titane, Julia Ducournau’s much anticipated follow-up to the 2016 break-through Raw, and  winner of Palme D’Or at Cannes, will close the physical part of the festival on November 7th,  hot on the heels of screenings at BFI London Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival  and Sitges Film Festival. 

 

Abertoir will present the UK premieres of Ich-Chi, an atmospheric folk horror film from the  Yakutia region of Russia, presented primarily in the Yakut language; and Slumber Party  Massacre, Danishka Esterhazy’s inventive reimagining of Amy Holden Jones and Rita Mae  Brown’s 1982 slasher parody. 

 

Other recent festival highlights receiving their Welsh premieres include the haunting  Icelandic folk horror tale Lamb; Ruth Paxton’s feature film debut A Banquet; intense home invasion thriller See For Me; Broadcast Signal Intrusion, starring Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich  Asians); and inventive time-travel comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. 

 

A long tradition of celebrating the classics of the horror genre is back in full force at  Abertoir, with 2021’s guest of honour being Linda Hayden, who will attend alongside  screenings of two of her most iconic films, Taste the Blood of Dracula and Blood on Satan’s  Claw, followed by an in-depth interview with the actress about her incredible career. 

 

Acclaimed musician and historian Neil Brand will present on the history of sound and music  in horror, as well as perform his own accompaniment to the 1924 silent classic, The Hands  of Orlac.

 

Author Tony Dalton will present a talk on his friend, Hammer Horror director Terence Fisher,  following the publication of his authorised biography. The talk will be part of a special  session including screenings of two classic Hammer films, The Curse of Frankenstein and The  Revenge of Frankenstein. 

 

Abertoir will also host a double-bill of Paul Morrissey’s cult films Blood for Dracula and Flesh  for Frankenstein, starring Udo Kier, in restored versions screening for the first time in  Europe. 

 

The virtual part of the festival, starting November 12th, will include UK premieres of Straight  to VHS, a fascinating documentary about a Uruguayan cult filmmaker that blurs the lines  between fact and fiction; Don’t Say Its Name, a supernatural horror film made by and about  the Indigenous people of Canada; and House of Snails, a Spanish film in which an author  isolates himself to work in a strange community. 

 

The virtual programme will also include this year’s Short Film Competition. 23 short films  from around the world are in competition this year, and the Abertoir audience will vote to  decide a winner, with an additional Méliès d’argent awarded for the best European short.  The Méliès d’argent is awarded by members of the Méliès International Festivals Federation  and is widely recognised as one of the top awards in genre filmmaking. 

 

Virtual Q&As will include a conversation with director Jane Schoenbrun and star Anna Cobb  of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair; and a Q&A after satirical horror comedy Keeping  Company, with director/writer Josh Wallace, writer/actor Devin Das and actors Ahmed  Bharoocha and Jacob Grodnik. Author Gavin Baddeley will present an irreverent look at  iconic horror characters, starting with Frankenstein’s Monster, and special effects legend  Paul Hyett will host a unique online special effects masterclass. 

 

The full festival schedule is available now on Abertoir’s website, as well as ticketing  information. Full festival passes – allowing access to the physical and virtual events – are  just £60, while virtual only passes start at £25. Individual tickets will be on sale soon for both  parts of the festival. Abertoir is supported by Ffilm Cymru Wales, Film Hub Wales and  Aberystwyth Arts Centre.