As the nights start drawing in, and Grimmfest draws ever closer, we are delighted to release details of this year’s Festival Jury; those brave souls willing to subject their nerve-endings not only to the ferocious full force of the festival programme, but to the stress of selecting the award-winners.
Faced with the daunting task of debating and deliberating over this year’s lineup, and determining those most deserving a visit from the Reaper, are (in alphabetical order)
ANDREW BELL
Andrew Bell is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, and writer from Seattle, Washington. His short films have screened at festivals across the world and can be found streaming on CryptTV, ShortsTV, GrimmfestTV, and Screambox.
Bell was called a “name to watch” by the New York Times, who named his first feature, BLEEDING, one of the best horror debuts in years. BLEEDING premiered at Grimmfest in 2024 and has been featured and reviewed in the New York Times, EW, Bloody Disgusting, Fangoria, Decider, and many other publications. It is currently available on Screambox and VOD.
When he’s not making movies, he’s helping his students make films and tell stories of their own. He holds an MFA from Columbia University.
SHELLIE MCMURDO
Shellie McMurdo is a senior lecturer in Film at the University of Hertfordshire and a horror researcher. She is the author of Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in American Found Footage Horror Cinema (2022), Devil’s Advocate: Pet Sematary (2023), and is current writing her third book: Splatter Matters: Gore and Practical Makeup Effects in American Horror Cinema (forthcoming) as well as being in the early stages of writing her first screenplay.
Shellie is co-founder and co-convenor of the BAFTSS Horror Studies Special Interest Group, and has recently published and presented work at national and international conferences on the post-peak torture horror, the Terrifier series, gore films, and practical effects.
STEF MEYER
Stef Meyer is a French-American film director whose work bridges visual arts, experimental cinema, and genre storytelling. She began her career in the visual arts and experimental film world before transitioning into music videos and narrative shorts.
Her 2023 short film Mantra, starring Maud Wyler and Raphaël Quenard, won Best Short Film at Grimmfest and travelled worldwide and earned many awards including Gérardmer, Tampere, Toronto After Dark, FEFFS, Rhode Island, and Haapsalu. Stef is currently releasing a new gothic short, Even the Moon Will Bleed, co-directed with Remy Barbe, starring Christophe Montenez and Alyzée Costes. She is also in production on Biocide, an agricultural horror short produced by Balade Sauvage Productions and French national television, while actively developing several feature film projects.
NICHOLAS SANTOS
Nicholas Payne Santos is a writer/director/producer based in New York City. He holds an MFA from Columbia University. He made his feature debut with the horror-comedy IT CUTS DEEP, which premiered at Grimmfest 2020 and was released on Shudder. His horror short STRANGE CREATURES screened at over fifty festivals and is currently available on Arrow, Crypt TV and Screambox.
Nicholas has also produced psychological thriller BURY ME WHEN I’M DEAD, horror BLEEDING, winning Best Screenplay at Grimmfest 2024 and released by Cineverse. He also produced the cult hit UNCLE PECKERHEAD, released by Epic Pictures and currently holding a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
JAMES WHITTINGTON
A life-long horror fan, James is old enough to remember the glory days of BBC2 classic horror double-bills and the Video Nasty panic. Over the years he’s written reviews and articles for numerous publications including DarkSide magazine, was content creative for Horror Channel and more recently for free-to-air horror station NYX TV which will soon rebrand to SCREAM TV, as well as being a member of the Horror Critics Group. He has interviewed countless creatives from the industry, highlights including Guillermo del Toro and Leigh Whannell.
The Categories they will casting their votes over this year are:
BEST FEATURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST ACTOR IN A MALE ROLE
BEST ACTOR IN A FEMALE ROLE
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST SCORE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST SHORT
BEST SFX
BEST SCARE
SILVER MELIES AWARD FOR BEST EUROPEAN SHORT
The festival team wishes them, and the films and filmmakers under discussion, the very best of luck!
Full info on this year’s festival plus tickets and passes can be found HERE
Bloody Flicks 