
Last year, the hugely ambitious horror anthology The ABCs of Death shocked audiences around the globe with a roll call of 26 of the freshest and most impressive names in horror. The UKs Lee Hardcastle won our Search for the 26th Director with his claymation tribute to commode chaos T is for Toilet, and his brilliant short was included in the final feature film, played in theaters, at festivals and on televisions across the world.
From Lee:
Winning the competition was a dream come true and got my video in front of all the right people. Riding off of T is for Toilet Ive had meetings with MTV, Big Talk and a possible claymation feature still in the pipeline with Ben Wheatley, which is being referred to as MEGAEVILMOTHERFUCKERS. I made friends with many of the ABCs Of Death crew from traveling around festivals with the ABCs film and even collaborated with some of them on my own personal projects since. Being a part of The ABCs Of Death has been the most important moment of my (horror obsessed/filmmaking) life.
And now its your chance! With the upcoming sequel ABCs of Death 2 hitting theaters next year, its your turn to show us what you got in this years Search for the 26th Director. If you win, youll be joining some of the finest genre talent from around the globe:
Goya Award winner lex de la Iglesia (THE LAST CIRCUS, DAY OF THE BEAST); ROOM 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher, Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; Filipino icon and Director's Fortnight inductee Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE); Lithuania's Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES); Japan's arthouse provocateur Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB); SPLICE and CUBE's Vincenzo Natali; indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT); THE COLLECTION's Marcus Dunstan; France's Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID); E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS); twin auteurs Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK); Israel's Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (RABIES, BIG BAD WOLVES); A LONELY PLACE TO DIE's Julian Gilbey; Brazil's most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS and LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY); the founder of Nigerian Nollywood cinema Lancelot Imasuen; THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM and the upcoming STAGEFRIGHT's Jerome Sable; animator Robert Morgan creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short BOBBY YEA; Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh; Todd Rohal (THE CATECHISM CATALYSM); Canada's king of lo-fi, Steven Kostanski (MANBORG); Cuba's Alejandro Brugu s (JUAN OF THE DEAD); acclaimed UK commercial director Jim Hosking; Japanese monster-maker Hajime Ohata (HENGE); and Canadian short film wizard Chris Nash (SKINFECTIONS).
Last year we asked filmmakers to show us how much trouble they could get into with the letter T, and this year we want you to put your might where your mouth is, and show us just what M is for...
Voting will be tabulated from social media, as well as by a jury including ABCs of Death 2's other incredible directors, producers Tim League and Ant Timpson, Magnet execs, Associate Producer Ted Geoghegan, Entertainment Weekly Senior Editor Clark Collis, Horror-Movie-A-Day founder and Badass Digest contributor Brian Collins, author Grady Hendrix and Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold.
Go here for everything you need to know about The Search for the 26th Director, including submission guidelines, voting rules and more. Submissions close on Halloween, October 31 at midnight. Even if your short isnt selected to be in the film, itll be seen by scores, and the best of the best submissions will be glorified on this blog, the ABCs of Death 2 website, Badass Digest and social media feeds everywhere.
So what are you waiting for? Gross us out, crack us up, terrify us. M stands for whatever you make it, so make it good.
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