Lecture schedule
all subject to change
2026 Lecture Schedule:
Coming Soon - See Last Years Panels Here
6PM – Monologue Competition – Lecture Room
Join our moderator JoAnn Hess and several nominated screenwriters for a process to learn about their script and what they expect for the actors.
- Exclusive Insight: Work closely with the screenwriters (Jason Taostevin, James Steele, and Genevieve Sipperley), dive into their creative process, and fully capture the emotion behind the scenes. Each participant will have the weekend to practice or seek additional advice from our moderator and scriptwriters.
Saturday - june 21
11am – 4:30pm : FX Makeup Competition – Convention Room
Artists compete in both divisions and are scored separately for 1st place winners in each.
Winners to be announced during the festival award ceremony on Saturday evening.
1st-3rd place winners in each division
Medals (1st to 3rd) to winners.
It is free to compete but registration is limited!
Please click here for Registration Form.
Contact us HERE for more information on registering.
11am – 12pm – Producing Panel
Learn from filmmakers about how to properly produce a film and what obstacles may one encounter. Moderated by Johnny K. Wu. Panel members include: Jason Pitts, Alex Havens, William Chaffin, Nathan Ludwig and Rob Hollocks.
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Jason Pitts is an independent filmmaker with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film from the University of North Texas. Inspired by his love of 1980s horror films, he discovered his passion for filmmaking at a young age. Jason is known for writing Manje (2006) and directing acclaimed short films such as ALONE, Masquerade, and When The Stairs Creak. His Friday the 13th fan film, Voorhees: Night of the Beast, gained widespread recognition, and his latest feature film, The Forest Through The Trees, has recently secured distribution. He is currently in pre-production for The Trial of Margaret Stone, a new series set to be filmed in Berryville, Arkansas
Alex Havens is an award-winning screenwriter and dynamic performer who has captivated audiences on the page, on the stage, and in front of the camera. With a flair for the dramatic and a keen sense of storytelling, Alex’s first screenplay, House of Flies, marks a bold debut in the world of screenwriting. As the visionary behind Kid Wonder Productions, he is currently embarking on an ambitious journey to self-produce this thrilling project, showcasing his innovative spirit and dedication to independent filmmaking. Residing on the outskirts of Nashville, TN, Alex shares his creative space with his spunky black cat named Salem, who undoubtedly aids in his inspiration to a fun and witty approach to horror. With an eye for the macabre and a heart for storytelling, Alex Havens is a name to watch in the realm of creative arts.
William Chaffin. Mr. Chaffin is from Independence, Kentucky (about 20 minutes south of Cincinnati). Married to wife Melissa for almost 8 years. Three kids, my daughters Sydney (13), Sierra (11) and my stepson Dakota (22). He’s been a filmmaker for 25 years. Directed eight feature films, the last several of which have been distributed (this includes Son which is being picked up by Ammo Content and my last film Guilt which was distributed by Indie Rights, currently on Tubi). He also helped produce three other feature films, and directed several short films, commercials and a music video over the years. Most of the films also written by him, edited the movies as well as served as being his own DP many times.
Nathan is an author, screenwriter, and producer. His producing credits include the vacation horror anthology WORST LAID PLANS as well as upcoming films TRUCKSQUATCH and DEAD FORMAT, for which he is also a co-writer. He’s also the author of several books including LOVE POTION #666 and THE COMFY-COZY NIHILIST. Nathan is the founder and director of the GenreBlast Film Fest and the host of The Reel ’96 Podcast. He resides in Richmond, VA with his wife and their two daughters.
Rob Hollocks is an award-winning British producer, writer, and director known for crafting bold, genre-driven stories across film, animation, and theatre. He produced the Saturn Award-winning Encounter starring Luke Hemsworth, and produced, wrote and directed the supernatural thriller Applewood: house of Secrets, the slasher Mister Sleep (Gravitas Ventures), and the upcoming psychological horror The Observance, with long-time writing and producing partner, Amy Bailey. His animation producing credits include work on the award winning Arcane (Netflix/Riot Games.) A former Paramount executive with credits including War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible 1-3. During his time there he oversaw the celebrated restoration of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West and the lost footage, directors cut of Event Horizon. He also worked with Fox and Lucasfilm on Star Wars, Avatar, and Die Hard. Rob now runs his own production company, delivering distinctive low budget indie films .
12pm – 1pm – Visual FX and Makeup Lecture
Join Ron Georgeand Alan Tuskesand learn about Visual FX and Makeup for your films.
1pm – 2pm – Casting and Auditions with Tina Hobbs
Learn from veteran Casting Director Ms. Hobbs about how to successful being cast for films.
2pm – 3pm – Score and Sound FX Mixing
Join composers and sound fx experts and talk about the importance of sound, score, fx, mixing and editing. Moderated by Gaines Strouse. Panel members: Nick Mallon, Cora Marie Sfida, Tim Whiteford and Shawn Burkett
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Nick Mallon is a proud native of Greenfield, Wisconsin, in the beautiful suburbs of Milwaukee. Nick began his musical journey in high school when he gave up sports for the guitar and then eventually the piano. Nick received his Associate of Applied Science Degree in Music Occupations (with Scholastic Honors) from Milwaukee Area Technical College. By day, Nick works as an editor for the award winning morning show “Fox 6 Wakeup” and evenings and weekends he is busy both composing and actively participating in his church’s music ministry. A multi-year Horror Hotel winner, Nick is currently working on a horror script that will feature all of his own original music compositions.
Cora Marie Sfida is an actor, director, and producer based in New York City and is the co-founder of Tommy Marie Pictures, an independent film production company. She is the co-creator, director, soundtrack, and foley artist for “Choose Your Fate’. Cora has also composed, produced, and has sound designed for films such as Bad Seed (2021), Tarot, (2023), Crawl Space (2025), and CaZm (upcoming 2026).
Tim Whiteford is a multi-genre musician and composer. His passion for horror films and use of vintage instruments, analog effects and unconventional guitar tunings create a unique sonic landscape. Combining his background in reggae, honky tonk, metal and jug-band music with inspiration from film score masters such as Claudio Simonetti, John Carpenter and John Harrison, Tim’s compositions are both fresh and familiar. Professionally, Tim tours as pedal steel player and lead guitarist for Lucas Wayne & The Cottonmouths, performs alongside his wife Kristen (Bosco) Whiteford in Americana duo Bosco & Whiteford, and is a founding member of Horror-Metal band Raw Flesh Eaters. Tim’s solo albums, The Horror & The Heartbreak (2021) and Horror Reggae (2024) showcase his genre-blending style.
Shawn Burkett grew up in a small rural town in Southwest Ohio. At a young age, Shawn became a regular customer at the local movie rental store. He would repeatedly rent his favorites such as, Monster Squad, The Slumber Party Massacre, and Sleepaway Camp. As he grew older, he learned that making movies was an effective creative release, and soon became enthralled in a life of making films. Shawn has come a long way from being the young boy renting horror movies at the local store. He has progressed as a filmmaker and editor, and it shows in his most recent productions such as The Lamb, Stranded, Don’t F**k In The Woods and the sequel “Don’t F**k In The Woods 2”
3pm – 4pm – Acting
Listen to various filmmakers on what they are looking for from actors and how they work with them. Moderated by Tina Hobbs. Panel members including Scott Bryan, Sean Norris, James Stokes and Simon Freitas.
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Scott Bryan and his partner Emily Daniels have spent the last four years perfecting their DIY movie-making style. Their creative, micro-budget shorts “My Monster and Me,” “The Confrontation,” “My (Best Friend’s) Head Exploded,” and “Space Brain” have screened in fright festivals such as TromaDance, Midsummer Scream and Spooky Empire, and the pair has garnered awards and nominations from Nightmares Film Festival, New Jersey HorrorCon, FrankenCon Tennessee, and The Appalachian Film Festival. In 2026, Bryan and Daniels plan on unleashing a “kitchen sink” stop-motion piece titled “Rainy Day,” which will be filled with zombies, man-eating worms, killer ghosts, corporate greed, and thunderstorms.
Sean Norris is an independent filmmaker, writer, actor, special effects, and foley artist. For the last decade, Sean has written and directed multiple independent short horror films for his YouTube channel, Zomb Leader Studios. He has recently moved on to co-owning and working for Periscope Films, debuting with his short, Bury The Cat (2025), which he co-directed alongside his friend Andrew Oliver. Sean also stars in the film and worked on both special makeup effects and sound design for it. Bury The Cat will be Sean’s first film festival entry.
James Stokes began his acting career while taking drama class at Hopkinsville High school. He performed in Alice in Wonderland and Grease. He rediscovered his passion for acting in 2015 when he appeared in a short film The Switch. His credits now include The Silent Natural, the international action film Adrenaline, and TV shows such as Snapped, Mark of a killer and Stranger Things and recently has taken on the role of Jason Voorhees in Voorhees. Night of the Beast. James has broadened his horizons by working as a Producer on several films over the last few years. His Producer credits include Louisa, Reunion from Hell, Reunion from Hell 2 and Grievence. James rode professionally with the International Pro Rodeo Association for 3 years and was a disc jockey for 5 years, and a license EMT for 13 years.
Simon Freitas. Originally from Boston, MA, and recently rooted in Ohio for the past three years, Simon has been passionate about acting since sixth grade. His journey began on the stage in theatre and evolved into film work starting in 2021. He discovered the Horror Hotel Film Festival online, which inspired him to form my own team—The Dream Team—to compete in the Room 237 competition. Outside of filmmaking, he balances a dynamic career as a project manager by day and runs a part-time animal daycare and boarding business called “Animal Home,” where his love for storytelling meets his love for animals. He is proudly represented by Heyman Talent (OH), Wink Talent (MI), The Talent Group (PA), and Talent Fusion (IN).
4pm – 5pm – Fight Choreography with Keith Collins
Learns hands on in choreographing fight sequences in your film and making sure it is done safely.
Award Ceremony 5pm - 7pm Room A
7pm – 8pm – Screaming King / Queen Competition – Convention Room
e the next Horror Hotel
Scream Queen or Scream King
and be networked to Horror films world wide!
Competition will be held on Saturday at 7PM at the Convention Room (vendors will participate).
If you have a weekend pass or day pass, there is no charge for the competition. You can order your pass by clicking here.
Only one winner per King/Queen.
The competition consists of contestants being asked a different question by each of our judges like:
How would you like to die in a horror movie?
and followed by your best scream.
Click here for Registration Form.
Contestants are judged on: Personality, Presentation, and Performance
11:30pm Networking party at Room B with Karaoke Singing hosted by Erik Williams
Sunday - June 22
11am – 12:30pm – Cinematography / Photography
Join the Scotts (Scott T. Morrison and Dr. Scott Brosius) on understanding the importance of lighting for video and photo shoot.
12:30pm – 1:30pm – Screenwriting Process Panel Discussion
Join several filmmakers to learn about script writing and the process to make it into film. Moderated by Gaines Strouse. Panel members including Shane Thompson, Jason Tostevin, JoAnn Hess, Amy McCorkle, James Steele Haney and Andrew Stussie.
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Shane is an internationally award-winning screenwriter and actor living in Columbus, Ohio. Some of his accolades include Best Feature Script at the Be Afraid Horror Fest in Italy, Best Unproduced Short Screenplay at the Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival, Best Thriller Short Script at The International Horror Hotel, and Best Unproduced Short Screenplay at the New York City Horror Film Festival. In 2023, a short film he wrote entitled “Sleep Tight” was produced by a production team led by Director Lisa Ovies in Squamish, British Columbia. His short screenplay “The First Day of School” is currently in pre-production, and he is slated to co-direct the film alongside Director Jon Osbeck. Shane fell in love with movies and storytelling at a young age. He loves meeting new people and believes that the people we meet often inspire our own creativity. Some of his goals will always be to keep learning, growing, and doing whatever he can to inspire people to chase their dreams and follow their creative passions.
JoAnn is a multi-award-winning screenwriter for film and television, with a track record of success across the US, UK, and Australia. With numerous projects in various stages of development, her work has been optioned and contracted for hire, garnering interest from major production companies such as Netflix, Muse Entertainment, Estuary Films, and Tubi TV. Currently, she has several projects in development through MARVISTA Entertainment and Worldwide Entertainment & Media.
Jason Tostevin. Part screenwriter, part strategist, all killer instinct — Jason is a master of cinematic subversion. Whether he’s turning drag queens into action heroes (Fierce), dissecting masculinity in a cult-run cowboy town (Sweetwater), or crafting cosmic horrors that feed on a cheater’s lies (Glass Houses), his stories slice deep into identity, morality, and survival — with irony sharp enough to draw blood. A structure savant, Jason builds character arcs with surgical precision and insists every beat mean something. His taste? Grit with a grin. Satire with stakes. He makes horror about something — and he’s not afraid to get weird if it’s thematically right.
Amy Leigh McCorkle is a screenwriter, filmmaker, producer, playwright, and mental heaalth advocate. A World Entertainment Award recipient for Screenwriting for Letters to Daniel, she has two features and a limited series in pre-production as well as an OFF Broadway version in NYC of Letters to Daniel set to run in early October.
James Steele Haney is an award-winning horror screenwriter and a graduate of the University of Louisville. After 16 years of writing experience in marketing, he is now pursuing a career in screenwriting, directing, and acting. His work includes four feature films: the psychological horror ReddeR, the LGBT+ crime horror Greenville Society, the psychological thriller Superstar Blvd., and the family-friendly fantasy RikkorRokkir. He is currently writing a new feature film, working on his first novel, and directing Tales of the Macabre, a short film he also penned.
Andrew Stussie is an award winning screenwriter from Lawrence, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Kansas in December 2015 and took one on one classes with Oscar winning writer Kevin Willmott to hone his craft while on campus. Andrew’s first feature script “Jump” is a top 3% script on Coverfly and his second script “Reload” is in the top 13%. Along with horror, Andrew is a big fan of action movies and comedies like The Naked Gun. When he isn’t watching movies, Andrew practices Tae Kwon Do or enjoys watching pro wrestling.
1:30pm – 2:30pm – What’s happening currently with Distribution
Talk with Tori Johnson with Mosaic TV on current distribution trend.Tori Johnson is the owner of Mosaic TV, an independent streaming network. Mosaic TV was created and launched in July of 2023. Tori has worked with independent creators to distribute their films and episodic shows, as well as working with aggregators to acquire films and shows. She has watched the trends of distribution over the past two years to learn how to help filmmakers go the best route for their projects.
3pm – Monologue Competition @ Convention Room
2:30pm – 3:30pm – Editing Panel
Join a panel of editors and listen to their experiences and learn from what they do best. This is moderated by Peter John Ross. Panel members: Lauren Smith-Petta, Sam Triplett, Andrew Oliver, and Adam Gorman.
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Lauren Smith-Petta is a Cleveland-based first-time filmmaker, accidental editor, and lifelong horror fan. Her debut short film Rescue Me, a horror-comedy starring her paraplegic rescue dog as a demonic force, was selected for Horror Hotel 2025 and marks her highly unconventional entry into genre filmmaking. With no formal training and a cast of family members and dogs, Lauren leaned into resourcefulness, practical effects, and pure chaos to tell a story that is equal parts absurd and unsettling. When not making haunted dog movies, she works in entrepreneurship education and occasionally wonders how she got here.
After leaving the military in 2013, Sam Triplett spent seven years living in China and Taiwan. While working in fashion and graphic design, he discovered a passion for editing and compositing. Over the next three years, he worked on commercials and music videos across Asia, focusing on editing and VFX. In 2020, he returned to the U.S. to pursue narrative editing full-time. Since then, he has earned a Master’s degree in film, spent several years in Sony Television’s Post Production department, and continued to hone his craft by editing short films and assisting on a feature film.
3:30pm – 4:30pm – Director’s Panel
Join the directors from the festival to talk about their experiences filming their project. Moderated by Scott E. Brosius. Panel members include Russ Emanuel, Brandon Lazenko, Mitch Yapko Heather Bayles, Sean Killion and Matthew Mark Hunter.
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Russ Emanuel is an award-winning American director, producer, and independent filmmaker, having directed such actors as John Heard, Robert Picardo, Vincent Pastore, Glynnis O’Connor, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, William Devane, Marina Sirtis, Sean Kenney, Armin Shimerman, and Gary Graham. He grew up in both Japan and the United States and graduated from U.S.C. to study Cinema-Television. He founded Russem Productions in 2002 to promote his films including GIRL WITH GUN (2005) and documentary RESTORATION OF PARADISE (2014). Presently, STAYCATION (2024) – soon to be distributed in the summer of 2025 under the new name APOCALYPSE DEATH PARTY – marks Emanuel’s sixth foray into feature filmmaking, after directing P.J. (2007), CHASING THE GREEN (2009), THE LEGENDS OF NETHIAH (2012), OCCUPANTS (2015), and WISPER (2020).
Brandon Lazenko is a director and storyteller with a strong focus on atmosphere, suspense, and character-driven narratives. Known for a unique noir style, he often uses flashbacks, unreliable narration, and motivated lighting to create immersive, visually driven stories. His most recent film, October Roses, based on a short story by Stephen King, was executively produced by legendary filmmaker and genre icon, Robert Kurtzman.
Mitch Yapko is an award-winning director/writer/producer, known for his unique character work, focusing often on real characters in surreal situations. His films have shown in over 150 film festivals over the years, including the Sundance Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, USA Film Festival, Dances with Films, Newport Beach, LA Shorts and many others. Mitch has spent over 15 years directing shorts and pilots, sketch comedies and web series. With a background in theater performance, he has the unique ability to connect with his actors to bring out the best performances every time. He’s currently in development on several feature films. When he’s not directing narrative content, Mitch produces commercials and photo shoots for brands such as adidas, Nike, Jack Daniels, XBOX, Footlocker, Taco Bell, Converse and more.
Sean Killion and Cora Marie Sfida are the co-founders and creative forces behind Tommy Marie Pictures, an independent film production company based in New York City. Their collaboration began in 2016 when they met while shooting their first short film, ‘Somnia’. Since then, they have grown into a dynamic duo, creating films, music videos, and other experimental film projects. “Choose Your Fate’ will be Cora and Sean’s fourth project, alongside their other films ‘Bad Seed’ (2021), ‘Tarot’ (2023), ‘Crawl Space’ (2025), and ‘CAZM’ (upcoming 2026).
Heather Bayles is a talented actress, writer, producer, and more recently, a director, having just completed her fourth short film. Her works include “Ludella,” “Dani Don’t” (which she co-directed with Richard Russell, known for “Let Me Go”), “My Sister’s an Alien,” and “3 Days.” She enjoys exploring a variety of genres and is also passionate about screenwriting. Heather began acting at the age of 5 in local plays and became part of the Ohio film community at the end of 2022. Some of her favorite movies are “Love Actually,” “The Others,” “The Village,” and “The Wrong Missy.” She admires directors like M. Night Shyamalan for his creative twists and storytelling, appreciating that not every film is a hit but each offers something unique. While she hopes to write and direct more films in the future, acting remains her true passion.
Matthew Mark Hunter is an Award Winning Filmmaker and creator of MMH Productions and over 260 Horror films since 2017. He started at the age of 17 and now is 25 always creating new monsters and terror. His motto is Bloody Horror with an 80’s Twist as a lot of his pojects are quite bloody with ample practical effects and bringing things to life like his film, Air Fryer Slaughter that screened last night. Alongside practical effects, Matthew will film movies on a VHS Camcorder and edit on VCR like he did for Air Fryer so the film has a real authentic feel to it, rather than using a filter in post-production. His biggest inspirations have been from Full Moon and Troma Entertainment and Matthew has been lucky to both work alongside Charles Band and have his movies streaming on Troma Now and have LLoyd Kaufman in 8 of his movies already and more to come! Alongside horror films, he is a host of his three family friendly puppet children’s shows on YouTube. Matthew also teaches filmmaking, photography, theatre, and five others through the Scouts of America Program as a certified counselor.
