NIGHTSTREAM 2021 Announces Audience Awards, THIS IS GWAR Wins Top Honors

Editor, News; Toronto, Canada (@Mack_SAnarchy)
NIGHTSTREAM 2021 Announces Audience Awards, THIS IS GWAR Wins Top Honors
Huh. Who knew the Nightstream audience were such softies for heavy metal monster bands? Nightstream wrapped up a couple days ago so all that was left was to tally the votes and announce the audience awards! 
 
The documentary This is Gwar took top honors this year, winning the audience award in the feature film category. Another documentary, Kier-La Janisse’s doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror got a runner-up nod, along with Japanese sci-fi comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
 
In regards to the shorts, two films shared top honors this year, Ghost Dogs, from Joe Cappa and Guts from Chris McInroy. 
 
Congrats to all the winners and congrats to the National Alliance To End Homelessness and climate change advocacy group the Sunrise Movement who will be gifted proceeds from the event. 
 
Following the last night of NIGHTSTREAM 2021, which ran from October 7-13th virtually all across the U.S., the festival is proud to announce the Audience Award winners for the second edition, topped by Scott Barber’s THIS IS GWAR doc taking top honours for features.
 
“This film was an absolute honor to be a part of,” says Barber on the Audience Award, “now, on top of that, to win this award at a festival like NIGHTSTREAM is just amazing. I got to work with an incredibly talented team on this film, and we are all so very grateful to everyone who watched it at the festival! Thank you so much! Hail GWAR!"
 
GWAR lead vocalist Berserker Blóthar also shared his thanks for the win, adding “I’ve got a night stream for ya. I’m working with a prostate the size of a Hyundai Elantra. But seriously, we are honored to have the audience award. Screw the critics. It’s the people that matter. That’s why we do what we do. After all, they’re the ones with the money and the drugs.”
 
Runner-up features for the Audience Award are Kier-La Janisse’s doc, WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR and Junta Yamaguchi’s BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES.
 
The short film Audience Award was a tie between Joe Cappa’s GHOST DOGS and Chris McInroy’s GUTS.
 
“Ghost Dogs was a very long passion project. It was my first animated short and I had no idea if the thing was going to make sense, or if anyone would get what I was trying to do. It’s nice to know there are other perverts out there just like me who see the value in a group of humanoid dogs masturbating,” says Cappa on the accolade for GHOST DOGS
 
“The NIGHTSTREAM audience is my kind of audience. Thank you so much to the festival for playing it. A bonus of a streaming festival is when you watch something like GUTS you’re probably pretty close to a bathroom if you need to hurl,” says McInroy on the split win for GUTS
 
The runner-up Audience Award in the shorts category goes to Sonny Calvento’s EXCUSE ME, MISS, MISS, MISS.
 
NIGHTSTREAM 2021, which presented 31 feature films, 4 short blocks, and 14 events, was accessed by audiences across 48 U.S. states and territories. Proceeds from the event will once again go to filmmakers and artists involved, and further allocated toward important charity causes, the National Alliance To End Homelessness and climate change advocacy group the Sunrise Movement.
 
Highlights from the festival’s slate of events include a duo of panels presented by Shudder featuring Creepshow director Greg Nicotero and HORROR NOIRE writers Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, a new The Future of Film Is Female panel, presented by Daily Dead, with guests A.K. Espada (THE IS OUR HOME), Samantha Aldana (SHAPELESS), Kate Robertson (Liverpool University Press’ Devil’s Advocates: Trouble Every Day), Ashlee Blackwell (Graveyard Shift Sisters), Lisa Dreyer (Fantastic Fest), and a very special Anniversary Party Presented By FANGORIA featuring special guests Karyn Kusama, Bryan Fuller, David Dastmalchian, Ernest Dickerson, Paul Scheer, Natalie Erika James, Sean Baker, Joe R. Lansdale, and Stephen Graham Jones, among others, discussing some of their favorite horror films celebrating monumental anniversaries this year.  
 
Further highlights of the festival include our duo of celebrated World Premieres, Jefferson Moneo’s COSMIC DAWN and Scott Friend’s feature debut TO THE MOON, artists talks with David Lowery, Akela Cooper, and Don Mancini, and a deep-dive panel on the industry of indie filmmaking from Divide/Conquer co-founders and producers Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath.  
 
AUDIENCE AWARDS
 
AUDIENCE AWARD - FEATURE: This is GWAR, dir. Scott Barber
 
AUDIENCE AWARD RUNNER-UP - FEATURE: Woodlands Darks and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, dir. Kier-La Janisse
 
AUDIENCE AWARD RUNNER-UP - FEATURE: Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, dir. Junta Yamaguchi
 
AUDIENCE AWARD - SHORT: Ghost Dogs, dir. Joe Cappa
 
AUDIENCE AWARD - SHORT: Guts, dir. Chris McInroy
 
AUDIENCE AWARD RUNNER-UP - SHORT: Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss, dir. Sonny Calvento
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Scott BarberDave BrockieEthan EmbryBob GormanDocumentaryKier-La JanisseKevin KölschDennis WidmyerPiers Haggard

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