2024 Lecture Schedule:
11am – 4:30pm : FX Makeup Competition
Organized by Tina Hobbs
11am – 12pm: Screenwriting Process Panel Discussion
Join several festival’s filmmakers to learn about script writing and the process to make it into film. Moderated by Gaines Strouse.
Panel members:
Virginia Shine: Creating the group Glass City Screenwriters in Toledo, Ohio in 2016, Virginia Shine has fostered collaboration in her local film community through meet-ups and film opportunities. She has a passion for writing Sci-Fi, supernatural horror, and thrillers. Virginia has worked with area production companies to write award winning independent scripts and films. When she isn’t writing she can be found in her garden, playing with her cats, or cooking vegetarian food that her son and husband won’t eat.
Shane Thompson: 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. His feature script “Fear Catcher” was also a Semifinalist in The Script Lab’s Screenplay Competition, finishing in the top 3% of all submissions. 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. 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. 
Amy Leigh McCorkle: Amy is an award winning and bestselling screenwriter author and director. With more than 100 awards, 40+. Scripts 36 books including Letters to Daniel which hit number 1 internationally on Amazon in the USA Canada and Great Britain, and went on to direct and write the feature film which received two industry nominations at the Indie Series Awards and went on to win Best Original Song. She is currently working on the limited series spin to be seen late fall of next year.
Edward Lusk: Ed Lusk is a versatile screenwriter from Independence, Ohio, whose work spans multiple genres, including supernatural thrillers, fantasy, and drama. Since beginning his screenwriting career in 2018, Ed has developed a diverse portfolio of scripts, from the horror adaptation “The Blood Prophet” to the heartwarming “Henry Rescues Christmas.” His screenplay for “Robbie, The Robbie Kirkland Story,” a drama based on true events, showcases his ability to handle sensitive subjects with depth and empathy. Ed’s talents were recognized when he co-wrote the award-winning short film “The Last Donut.” He lead the Cleveland Screenwriters Meet Up in 2020. Ed is dedicated to fostering a community of writers. He holds a BA in English Language and Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University, and has honed his craft through multiple courses at ScreenwritingU, including writing horror scripts and mastering scene development. Ed is a dog dad and is currently writing two Christmas rom-com screenplays.12pm – 1pm -Visual FX and Makeup Panel
Join Ron George learning about Visual FX and Make for your films. See below for his bio.
1pm – 2pm –Cinematic Storytelling and Directing with Landi Maduro
Landi has toured and lectured throughout the United States and overseas advocating for prostate cancer awareness. In 2021 she was awarded the Zero Impact Award for her advocacy work.
Landi teaches filmmaking to adults and teens and offers private consulting to indie filmmakers. She enjoys mentoring indie filmmakers as they work to cultivate their cinematic voice. She is also the proud Founder & President of Women of Color Filmmakers; a 501c3 nonprofit organization that garners support, skill-building, and networking for female filmmakers as they pursue careers in film and television. See below for complete bio.
2pm – 3pm – AI filmmaking with Darion D’Anjou
Learn about AI usage in filmmaking, the pros and cons and what to expect coming in the near future. See below for complete bio.
3pm – 4pm – Distribution and Current Market with Lion Heart Distribution – Jerome Courshon
Use this opportunity to converse with Jerome and learn about current distribution trend as well as potentially have him represent your film.
Jerome Courshon, renowned Distribution Expert for the past 15 years, based in Los Angeles. Jerome have taught & consulted over a thousand Directors / Producers / Filmmakers, helping them place their movies into the marketplace successfully. He has also created the comprehensive 3-Day Distribution Program, “The Secrets to Film Distribution,” that you may have heard about. See below for complete bio.
4pm – 5pm – Artificial Intelligence and Moviemaking – Avoiding the Intellectual Property Pitfalls with Mary Ellen Tomazic
Join and learn about intellectual property in today’s ai filmmaking.
Mary Ellen Tomazic is a Cleveland attorney specializing in intellectual property matters. Ms. Tomazic has assisted and consulted with many bands, singers, filmmakers, actors and other artists on their copyright, trademark and other intellectual property issues, as well as contracts and business organization. She has worked with Cleveland Filmmaker Johnny Wu since 1998 and has served as legal counsel on many of his films. Ms. Tomazic is general counsel for Red Hour Records, negotiating and drafting record contracts and licenses for releases of CDs, vinyl albums, downloads, and streaming. Ms. Tomazic has been a featured speaker at the Horror Hotel and Indiegathering filmmakers’ conventions in Cleveland since 2005, with talks on a variety of legal topics, including copyrights, trademarks, contracts, and business organizations. Copyright and trademark in the era of artificial intelligence has been of particular interest for several years.
5pm – 7pm : Award Ceremony
At Screening Room A. Start On Time. No tickets needed.
7pm – 8pm : Screaming King / Queen Competition
Organized by Pauline Nowakowski
11am – 12pm – Fight Choreography
Award winning filmmaker Keith Collins II will provide practical hands on and how-to film a fight choreography in your film.
12pm – 1pm – Cinematography/Photography
Award winning Scotts (Scott E. Brosius and Scott T. Morrison) will provide a workshop on camera/lighting/photography/cinematography with the gears you have.
1pm – 2pm – Casting and Auditions
Tina Hobbs is a casting director and film producer in Cleveland, Ohio with a focus on independent film.Learn about the Dos and Don’ts.
2pm – 3pm – Understanding IMDb
Bruno Tatalovic will talk about IMDb navigation, platform use, and self-publicity for filmmakers and actors.
B. R. Tatalovic (a.k.a. Bruno Tatalovic), Serbian-American actor, producer, and media educator was born in 1966, in Yugoslavia. In his early immigrant years, he worked in steelmaking industries (former LTV Steel Co.). In 2004, he directed his first short film on 16mm, establishing an independent studio for micro-budget film production and live event videography (Belgrade & Cleveland Media Group). Since 2005, Tatalovic produced and directed several award winning short films, as well as 3 feature films (distributed internationally via digital streaming). His works were shown at numerous state, national, and international film festivals and received various awards for producing, directing, writing, editing, and acting, such as: 2010 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation (ATAS) award, 2017 Special Recognition from the City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office – for local film production, 2018 NOVA festival award for screenwriting, and 2022 CARE award for documentary filmmaking. Bruno’s screen-acting portfolio includes various lead and supporting roles in American independent films, including SAG-AFTRA productions. In 2018, he founded Kinodrome Film Festival, an annual event for micro-cinema creators. Tatalovic holds an MFA degree in film from Chapman University, he’s a tenured professor of media studies at Cuyahoga Community College, and a member of American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS – Great Lakes).
3pm – 4:30pm – Directors’ Panel
Join the directors from the festival to talk about their experiences filming their project. Moderated by Scott E. Brosius.
Panel members:
Samuel Haun: A self-taught Texas filmmaker, Haun started his own video production company in early 2006. He directed and produced music videos, documentaries, television commercials and short films for festival circuits. He learned how to construct heavy visual environments with the resources around him, and developed expertise in making films look bigger than their budget. Over nearly twenty years, Haun has gained feature film experience in many roles over many projects – most notably in camera operation, post editorial, cinematography, producing, screenwriting, and directing. His feature film directorial debut was the horror-thriller Wicked Season (2024). Haun’s networking skills led him to work with many great Texas filmmakers including Richard Linklater and William Kaufman, experiences which inspire Haun to push himself artistically by trusting his instincts.
Christine Jansen, an accomplished horror filmmaker and the owner of Beautiful Darkness Productions, recently produced, directed, and edited four short award winning horror films: Raw Data, Instinct, Bad Clown, and Manchineel House. Inspired by directors like Jordan Peele and producers like Rod Serling, Jansen aims to create eerie and emotionally gripping horror films. She will be filming her first feature film, Legado, this summer, which is about a family of latina psychics that go to clear a haunted house, when something older and darker threatens them. With her commitment to creating dark films and collaborating with diverse cast, crew, and writers, Jansen is poised to leave an indelible mark on indie horror, haunting audiences with narratives that linger long after the credits roll.
Lorenzo Manetti: Growing up in the 1980s in Los Angeles, Lorenzo’s first movie experience was lying on the floor of his living room watching a Betamax copy of The Empire Strikes Back until the magnetic tape wore so thin it broke. A love of smart and stylish mainstream movies led him to USC’s School of the Cinematic Arts, where he launched his career directing promotional films and local commercials. His first narrative film, Scrambled Eggs, premiered at The Hollywood Film Festival, leading to opportunities to write independent films and network television, where he both sold and developed original projects while simultaneously working in the writer’s room of the primetime CBS television series, Hawaii Five-0. As a director, Lorenzo has just completed the high-concept sci-fi horror short Escape, and is preparing to direct his first feature, The Red Tapes, a psychological horror-thriller he co-wrote.
Wayne Wong:
Rachel Taggart: Rachel has spent most of her life in some version of performing – as an actress, a national Fitness trainer and presenter and even as an aerobatic wing-walker at airshows around Europe! In 2022, Rachel founded Blue Egg Films, winning acclaim for scriptwriting HOLD MY HAIR and CIRCOSIS. Other directing credits include: Lies, Dirty Tricks, Circosis, Pressure. Hold My Hair and Circosis are both currently enjoying a healthy festival run. Rachel is in pre-production for a drama SOUVENIRS and co-writing the feature length screenplay of Circosis.
Edward X. Young: Young is an award-winning actor, director, screenwriter, and special effects makeup artist, who specializes in Grindhouse Horror and Sci Fi. Since 2005, he has worked on and/or appeared in over 100 independent feature films. Frequently, he partners with veteran Pennsylvania producer, John Orrichio, whose pictures with Edward X. Young include the occult thriller, “Evil’s Lair,” nominated at the 2024 International Horror Hotel Film Festival; the cryptozoological monster comedy, “Bigfoot: Blood Trap,” which won 2nd Place for Best Science Fiction Feature at Horror Hotel 2023; “Dead Collections;” “Paranormal Captivity;” “Ghost Blunders;” and currently in production, “The Punk Rocker’s Ghost.”
Lecture schedule will be available in 2024. We have invited a distributor and an 3D animator to be at our event, bring your films or questions to talk to them!
Lectures
Here are some of the lectures that will be available at 13th International Horror Hotel Film Festival, dates and time will be updated once we have all finalized.
Distribution and current market
Date: Saturday, 3pm – 4pm
Jerome Courshon, renowned Distribution Expert for the past 15 years, based in Los Angeles. Jerome have taught & consulted over a thousand Directors / Producers / Filmmakers, helping them place their movies into the marketplace successfully. He has also created the comprehensive 3-Day Distribution Program, “The Secrets to Film Distribution,” that you may have heard about.
Jerome is the CEO of Lion Heart Distribution and will be happy to provide his insight during the lecture.
Jerome will be reviewing top 5 feature films from our festival for consideration!
AI Filmmaking
Date: Saturday, 2pm – 3pm
Darion D’Anjou is an award winning writer-director-visual effects supervisor based in Atlanta, Georgia USA.
He will talk about 3D and Unreal Engine animations.
Darion D’Anjou is an award winning writer-director-visual effects supervisor based in Atlanta, Georgia USA, who focuses on short and feature length narrative films, commercials, and music videos. Darion’s science fiction short film “Hop” was a finalist at the Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival, and his science fiction short film “Pony” won 7 out of 11 awards at the Constellation Film Festival in Atlanta including Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. “Pony” screened as an official selection of Gentleman Jack’s Real to Reel hosted by Omari Hardwick, Bronze Lens Film Festival, Atlanta Sci-fi film festival, was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Berlin Sci-fi Film Festival, and continues its momentum on the festival circuit. Darion’s one take horror short film “Mommy” has screened in theaters to rave reception, and has generated over 1.8 million views and counting online.
Darion operates Darion D’Anjou Productions, a full service film production company based in Atlanta, and works as a Visual Effects Trainer at Digital Domain, a multi award winning visual effects company founded by James Cameron and responsible for the visual effects for recent movies and television shows such as 2023 Academy Award nominated Black Panther Wakanda Forever, HBO’s Last of Us, Black Adam, Netflix’s Stranger Things, Dr. Strange, and 2022 Academy Award nominated Spider-man No Way Home, among others.
Darion has functioned as Visual Effects Supervisor on music videos such as Atlantic Records hip hop artist Killumantii “Black Wall Street”, and feature films such as “The Curse of La Patasola” distributed to theaters in 2022 by Vertical Entertainment and currently available to stream on Starz and Hulu.
Visual FX and MakeUp
Date: Saturday 12pm – 1pm
Award winning Visual Effects Artists Ron George and Alan Tuskes will provide hands on insights on making practical visual effects and makeup for your films.
Ron George is an independent special effects Makeup artist that caters towards professional work for the entertainment industry. Creating iconic looks for film, television, theater, museums, performance art, Music Videos and everything in between. I specialize in the darker side like Zombies, Gore, cuts, & bruises as well as Sci-Fi and cosplay using mainly practical FX.
I’m a huge part of the Zombie Walks in the Greater Cleveland Area each year. They are mainly charity events for the Food shelters in north eastern Ohio. it’s a fun way to give back and help out the community. I am also the makeup artist each year for the Zombie Claus another charity event to gather toys at Christmas time for Toys for Tots. I have also done makeup for the Zombie runs raising money for breast cancer and lung cancer awareness.
Fight Choreography
Date: Sunday, 11am – 12pm
Award winning filmmaker Keith Collins II will provide practical hands on and how-to film a fight choreography in your film.
Keith Collins II, born on June 1, 1981, in Chester, PA, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, has dedicated his life to the martial arts world. Trained from the age of 3 by his Sensei and Father, Keith Collins I, in the art of Kenpo, he expanded his expertise by studying various styles, from Krav Maga to Silat, recognizing the unique value each brings. Beyond martial arts, Keith is a prolific filmmaker, producer, stunt coordinator, and fight choreographer. His accolades include Best Micro Action Film at The Indie Gathering International Film Festival in 2012, 2013, and 2015, as well as Best Action Short at Urban Action Showcase 2015. His award-winning film, “Lions & Wolves,” premiered on the national channel El Rey Network. In 2022, “Rumble TV” and “Fall Hard,” his latest feature and short films, respectively, earned him Best Action Comedy and Best Urban Action Short at the Urban Action Showcase in NYC. Keith’s impressive fight choreography is showcased in various films, including “Contracts: Redemption,” “Wu Xia: A Martial Arts Tango,” and “Maximillian” (Assassin’s Game), his first globally distributed feature. You can catch his latest Action/Comedy feature, “Rumble TV,” on his streaming platform, 3 Digital Rock Theatre.
Cinematography
Award winning filmmaker Dr. Scott E. Brosius, MBA, is veteran filmmaker with 23 years of filmmaking experience. He has Produced and Directed: 4 feature films, 93 short films not including 30 – 48 Hour Film Project films totaling 123 short films under his direction. His films have been accepted at 51 different film festivals, internationally, and have won over 200 different awards, including best film, best director, best editing, and best cinematography. Scott is also a highly experienced Director of Photography, Editor, Sound Engineer, and Colorist with over 23 years of experience under his belt. Over the years, Scott has acted in several films of his own and of other filmmakers, and has been nominated for best actor at 6 different festivals for 5 different films.
Casting and Auditions
Date: Sunday, 1pm – 2pm
Tina Hobbs is a casting director and film producer in Cleveland, Ohio with a focus on independent film. Her company, HobbsStyle Casting & Productions, has cast numerous movies, web series, commercials, television programs and stage plays since 2011. Projects in her portfolio include Swing Lowe, Sweet Chariotte; Banger; Hey Mr Postman; A State of Mind and most recently, Grace And Mercy.
Tina has dedicated her time and efforts to nurturing the growth of Ohio’s independent film market by partnering with film festivals and other organizations to host various casting workshops. Each year she organizes a networking event called “The Schmooze”. This widely-attended event brings together actors, crew, film makers and professionals. She also teaches a Film and Media class at Cuyahoga Community College for aspiring filmmakers.
Importance of Photography for your Film
Date: Sunday, 12pm – 1pm
Scott T. Morrison, a 1983 graduate of Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) began his career with a triple major in Management Science, Marketing and Computer Science. He has had extensive experience in all aspects of portrait, architectural and fine art photography. Having a thirst for knowledge, continued education programs at Rocky Mountain School of Photography, Nikon School of Photography, and Cleveland Institute of Art. Wanting his own studio, he started Discovery Photo in 1991.
Scott’s varied works have been published locally, nationally, and internationally in magazines such as Outdoor Photographer, Evidence Technology, Properties, RPM, Beachwood Buzz, Surreal Beauty Vigour, Moevir, and Style Craze Magazine , Dozens of his prints, featuring stunningly vivid landscapes and visceral wildlife, appear in galleries across America, including The Cleveland Museum of Art. Scott also has a keen eye for the movie business and is well connected with the Cleveland movie scene. He is known for his gaffing skills along with cinematography and BTS photography.
Mr. Morrison will talk about the importance of Photography for behind the scenes and stills, and how it can be used for marketing needs.
Cinematic Storytelling and Directing
Date: Saturday, 1pm – 2pm
Landi Maduro is an award-winning writer, director, and producer who has worked in the film industry for over 10 years. She has continued to direct and produce short films, features, music videos, small business commercials, business tutorials, and documentaries since launching her production company, Bluechild Entertainment, in 2012. Her documentary The Silent Killer: Prostate Cancer In The African American Community is currently streaming on Tubi TV and Amazon Prime. The award-winning documentary was screened for the Congressional Black Caucus and has been used by healthcare professionals and scholars to educate on the health disparities African American men face in dealing with prostate cancer.
Landi has toured and lectured throughout the United States and overseas advocating for prostate cancer awareness. In 2021 she was awarded the Zero Impact Award for her advocacy work. She is a member of the Zero Health Equity Task Force, where she works with various doctors, scientists, and community leaders to promote advocacy and affordable care for veterans and minority men dealing with prostate cancer. She is also a Blue Earth Patient Ambassador, where she advocates for prostate cancer patients and survivors.
Landi teaches filmmaking to adults and teens and offers private consulting to indie filmmakers. She enjoys mentoring indie filmmakers as they work to cultivate their cinematic voice. She is also the proud Founder & President of Women of Color Filmmakers; a 501c3 nonprofit organization that garners support, skill-building, and networking for female filmmakers as they pursue careers in film and television.
Understanding imdB
Date: Sunday, 2pm – 3pm
B. R. Tatalovic (a.k.a. Bruno Tatalovic), Serbian-American actor, producer, and media educator was born in 1966, in Yugoslavia. In his early immigrant years, he worked in steelmaking industries (former LTV Steel Co.). In 2004, he directed his first short film on 16mm, establishing an independent studio for micro-budget film production and live event videography (Belgrade & Cleveland Media Group). Since 2005, Tatalovic produced and directed several award winning short films, as well as 3 feature films (distributed internationally via digital streaming). His works were shown at numerous state, national, and international film festivals and received various awards for producing, directing, writing, editing, and acting, such as: 2010 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation (ATAS) award, 2017 Special Recognition from the City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office – for local film production, 2018 NOVA festival award for screenwriting, and 2022 CARE award for documentary filmmaking. Bruno’s screen-acting portfolio includes various lead and supporting roles in American independent films, including SAG-AFTRA productions. In 2018, he founded Kinodrome Film Festival, an annual event for micro-cinema creators. Tatalovic holds an MFA degree in film from Chapman University, he’s a tenured professor of media studies at Cuyahoga Community College, and a member of American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS – Great Lakes).