At the end of the month the whole nation will discover what we in Toronto have known for a few years now, the folks at Blood in the Snow put on a great festival.
Beating the odds BITS has rallied mid-pandemic and will host their festival on national broadcaster Super Channel's specialty channel Fuse. And if you follow any of the BITS staff on social media you will know they're already hard at work on each films presentation during the festival. You'll be thoroughly impressed with what they're going to pull off each broadcast.
Today they have unveiled their lineup for this year's virtual edition and as expected they have put together a lineup of some of Canada's best genre offering this year.
The festival will kick off with Justin G. Dyck's Anything for Jackson, starring Canadian acting royalty Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings (he's Commonwealth so it counts). Richings also stars in Francesco Giannini's flick Hall. And if we're to stick with the theme of Canadian actor domination Lauren Beatty is having a great year with two great films from director Amelia Moses, Bleed With Me and Bloodthirsty. The latter film also stars Greg Bryk who stars in the indigenous sci-fi thriller Parallel Minds from Metis director/writer Benjamin Ross Hayden.
Anthony Scott Burns' Come True will close the festival. Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen's lauded action horror flick For The Sake of Vicious is in the mix as well as Evil Dead fandom documentary Hail to the Deadites from Steve Villeneuve.
So despite the circumstances in which we find ourselves as a nation at the moment this lineup proves that when we're allowed outside with our friends and a camera we Canadians are as good at making genre cinema as anyone else in the World. The list of all feature films and short film blocks follows in the press release.
Reverse Exorcism, Bloodthirsty She-Wolves, and an Army of Deadites!BITS Releases Killer 2020 LineupOct 28 - Nov 7 on Super Channel FuseThe BLOOD IN THE SNOW FILM FESTIVAL (BITS) unleashed its newest batch of Canadian terror, which takes over Halloween this October 28 to November 7 on Super Channel for 11 incredible nights. For the first time, horror and sci-fi fans across the country can experience all the thrills and chills BITS has to offer with a must-see creepy collection of 10 features and 4 shorts programs airing on Super Channel Fuse.The festival kicks off with ANYTHING FOR JACKSON, (dir. Justin G. Dyck) which sees elderly satanists (Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings) attempt a reverse exorcism to resurrect their deceased grandson in the body of an unborn child. It doesn’t take long to figure out Jackson isn’t the only ghost the grandparents invited into their home.Things get hairy with Amelia Moses’ BLOODTHIRSTY - a slow burn body female body-horror featuring a musician (Lauren Beatty) as she and her artist girlfriend (Katharine King So) are stalked by something lycanthropic. The question is whether the wolf is at the door or under her own skin. The film is co-written and co-produced by Wendy Hill-Tout and Canadian singer-songwriter Lowell.Halloween night gets groovy with HAIL TO THE DEADITES (dir. Steve Villeneuve) which celebrates the fans that won’t let Evil Dead die. Featuring Bruce Campbell and the rest of the cast of the original movies, this is really a film for the fans as they share their love of the low budget indie that remains a cult phenomenon nearly 40 years later. Super Channel is following the documentary with a special screening of the original EVIL DEAD on Super Channel Vault.Metis director Benjamin Ross Hayden brings us to the nexus of technology and tradition in the Indigenous Futurist film PARALLEL MINDS. Metis researcher Margo (Tommie-Amber Pirie) races to destroy an out-of-control supercomputer she helped create, as it feeds off the minds and tampers with memories of its users.BITS is bringing back its popular shorts showcase, with three programs - DARK VISIONS boasting the darkest, creepiest, and weirdest films of the festival, FUNNY FRIGHTS featuring horror comedy shorts, and EMERGING SCREAMS spotlighting Canada’s newest cohort of rising filmmakers.Also returning is the web series program sponsored by the Independent Production Fund, bringing a sampling of the best genre content on the web, including the vampire apocalypse series AGE OF THE LIVING DEAD.Closing the festival is COME TRUE (dir. Anthony Scott Burns) featuring Julia Sarah Stone (The Unseen) as a runaway teen who takes part in a sleep study for an easy place to rest, only to find herself falling into a hellish, surreal nightmare.Below is the BITS lineup of features and shorts programs scheduled to air on Super Channel Fuse:BITS 2020 Full Lineup:Wed Oct 28 at 9 pm ET - Anything for Jackson (dir. Justin G. Dyck)Thurs Oct 29 at 9 pm ET - Shall We Play? (dir. Ann Forry)Friday Oct 30 at 7 pm ET - Bleed with Me (dir. Amelia Moses)Friday Oct 30 at 9 pm ET - Hall (dir. Francesco Giannini)Sat Oct 31 at 7 pm ET - Hail to the Deadites (dir. Steve Villeneuve)Sat Oct 31 at 9 pm ET - For the Sake of Vicious (dirs. Gabriel Carrer, Reese Eveneshen)Sun Nov 1 at 7 pm ET – A Series of Web Bites – a feature length program highlighting the best Canadian horror and sci-fi digital programmingSun Nov 1 at 9 pm ET – Dark Visions – a feature length program of the darkest, creepiest, and weirdest short films at BITSMon Nov 2 at 9 pm ET – Funny Frights – a feature length program of horror comedy shortsTues Nov 3 at 9 pm ET – Emerging Screams – a feature length collection of new or first-time genre directorsWed Nov 4 at 9 pm ET - Bloodthirsty (dir. Amelia Moses)Thurs Nov 5 at 9 pm ET - The Return (dir. BJ Verdot)Fri Nov 6 at 9 pm ET - Parallel Minds (dir. Benjamin Ross Hayden)Sat Nov 7 at 9 pm ET – Come True (dir. Anthony Scott Burns)Sat Nov 7 at 11:30 pm ET – stay tuned for The Bloodies – the 2020 BITS awards show where we give out awards to the top Canadian genre films of 2020!For detailed synopsis and the full lineup and schedule, go to www.bloodinthesnow.ca or visit www.superchannel.ca/bits.BITS 2020 is presented in partnership with Super Channel and with the support of Ontario Creates, Telefilm Canada, Independent Production Fund, IndieCan Entertainment, Raven Banner Entertainment, IndieCan Entertainment, Marquee Insurance, Michael Jari Davidson Cinematography and William F. White International Inc.About Blood in the SnowThe Blood in the Snow Film Festival is a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror, genre and underground cinema that exists to challenge social boundaries, explore artistic taboos and support and exhibit independent Canadian genre media artists. BITS takes place in Toronto, Ontario and brings together audiences, media coverage, community partnerships and the filmmaking industry to exhibit and celebrate Canadian genre film.About Super Channel Entertainment NetworkSuper Channel is a national pay television network, offering subscribers exceptional entertainment value, uncut and commercial-free, with four diverse channels – Super Channel Fuse, Super Channel Heart & Home, Super Channel Vault and GINX Esports TV Canada – plus, access to Super Channel On Demand where available by service provider.