This week we talk about the latest DC film, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Category: Professional Work
It’s been quite a while since the first Frozen was released in 2013. Did this sequel live up to its predecessor?
We managed to get our eyes on the new production of The Invisible Man, and we loved it.
Hear our thoughts in the latest episode!
Erik and Haley have been social distancing at home for what feels like forever. They’ve been watching a lot of things to try to keep themselves sane.
Back in February, we attended the 2020 Women in Horror Film Festival with our short film Return to Sender. It was a great time! We met a lot of talented people.
It took us a while to get our thoughts out in the podcast, but that just gave us more time to reflect and see what parts really stood out to us the most. Take a listen to find out how it went and what films we can’t get out of our heads.
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Return to Sender: WIHFF 2020
It’s taken me quite some time to figure out how to approach writing about the 2020 Women in Horror Film Festival, but I think I’ve finally put my thoughts in order.
I first attended this festival as a film viewer. I drove from Chicago down to Georgia and spent an amazing three straight days watching horror films. As soon as I got home, I submitted my latest film to them, hoping that my work could be shown there someday too.
My excitement was very real when, just over a year later, I got the email that my submission had been accepted. I immediately began making plans to drive back down to Georgia to be a part of that community once again.
This year, the festival was held at the Strand Theatre in Marietta, Georgia. It ran across three days, from Thursday, February 27th to Saturday, February 29th.
The first day was a lot of meeting and greeting. It was the shortest day, starting in the evening. I met some really talented people who I ended up chilling with a lot throughout the festival. We watched two short film blocks and a feature film. Everything was a really great start to the weekend. This was also the first of many after party pizza conversations that were shared in the Hilton lobby. It might not have been the after party that we expected, but I found it nice to unwind after a long day and just talk horror films with some great people.
Our film, Return to Sender, screened on the second day of the festival. It was included in the block of thriller shorts. As a selection of the festival, it was nominated for Best Thriller Short along with the other films in that same block. It’s always such an experience to see the calibre of the films that we’re included with at these festivals. The films at this year’s festival were no different.
There was a Q&A after the block, and there were quite a few filmmakers there to represent their films. I thought the questions we were asked could have been better, but it was a good experience regardless. I actually got to meet some of the filmmakers from another short that we’ve screened with at a few other festivals over the past year. It was nice to be able to speak with them.
Return to Sender seemed to go over decently with audiences as well. The film may not be a flashy, memorable piece with strong creature effects or a stinging social commentary, but when I got the chance to speak with people, it did stick out to them.
They would ask what film was mine. I would respond with the title and would sometimes have to give a bit of a description. There response would almost always be some variant of, “Oh! The one with the box!”
Our musical score was complimented. Some of the cinematography stood out to people. The unsettling feeling that I wanted to portray in certain moments definitely came through. The box itself got some compliments, and, much to my pleasure, I was asked repeatedly, “What’s in the box?”
After our film screened, it became harder to catch many of the film screenings because I was trying to connect with people and the available press. There were a few different outlets that I spoke with, but the biggest thing we did was an interview with Chris and Larry from the Achieving Reality podcast. The interview was about 30 minutes long and will be included in their film school mini series. As of writing this, our episode has not yet been released, but there are episodes available from other filmmakers and screenwriters at the festival.
Overall, it was a super fun time. The venue this year was very nice. It has its pros and cons when compared to the venue from previous years. The theater set up didn’t provide a lot of space for mingling in between screenings, and there really wasn’t much time to mingle between screenings in the first place with a fast paced three days. I can’t deny how amazing it feels to see your film on a big screen in a theater setting though. It had its growing pain, but this will only improve with time.
The Women in Horror Film Festival definitely holds a place in my heart. I can’t wait to see what happens next year.
We’ve been rooting for it all awards season. We cheered for days when it made history at the Oscars. We’ve collectively watched it over 10 times. Now we’ve finally put some of our thoughts together about Parasite.
The Women in Horror Film Festival is just weeks away now! Nominations and schedules have been set.
Return to Sender will be screening as part of the thrillers block on Friday, February 28th. As a selection for the festival, we are considered a nominee for Best Thriller Short! That’s quite exciting.
We’re so thrilled to be included in this film festival! Hoping to make some great connections and network the film if possible. I’m looking forward to seeing the other films that will be showing along with ours. I’m sure it will be a fantastic time.
Since I finally got all of the updated laurels in order on the promotional material for Return to Sender, I figured it would warrant a short update post!
We ended 2019 on a high note. The year started off slow, but ended with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Chicago Horror Film Festival for a stunning performance from Jennifer Lenius, as well as a win for Best Suspense Short at the Stranger Days Independent Film Festival.
The tough year of campaigning and getting eyes on the film resulted in our little film becoming an official selection at the 2020 Women in Horror Film Festival. Being included in that festival is a massive win in my book. I’ve seen the level of talent that gets showcased there firsthand. I’m so excited to be a part of it.
The Women in Horror Film Festival will he held at the end of Women in Horror Month in February. We will be screening in the Thrillers block on February 28th at the Historic Strand Theater in Marietta, Georgia. I will be there, as well as my partner Erik Leal. We learned recently that our composer Ryan Cwiklik is planning to be at the festival, and we may also see one of our supporting actors who has since relocated to Georgia. That should be a good reunion.
We are still expected to screen at the Illinois International Film Festival, as soon as they are able to secure a new date and venue. This festival was originally going to be held on November 9th, 2019. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this was postponed. I’ve been in contact with the festival programmers, and it appears that the 2019 selections will still stand and be screened. I will update with a time and location for this as soon as I receive that new information.
Now that we’ve finally made it through every year in this little mini series on Leals on Reels, it’s a good time for a round up!
Episode 33: Favorites of 2010-2012
During this episode we talk about our favorite films that ushered in the 2010s, from the lingering experimental nature of the 2000s through the big starting point of the MCU.
Episode 34: Favorites of 2013-2015
We continue on with the series here talking about our favorites up through 2015, including our love for the year 2014 for giving us John Wick.
Episode 35: Favorites of 2016-2019
Finishing off the 2010s here in the final episode, we reminisce over some films that changed up the game and struggled to condense all of the films we loved in 2017.
Now that this series is over, we’re excited to jump back into our more in depth looks at individual films!
Haley Noelle Cummings 