Thanks to everyone that tuned in for this years Virtual Festival.  Our amazing jury picked the winners for Feature Film, Short Film, and Wisconsin Short Film.  We also awarded Best Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress, supporting role, gore, and cinematography.  These were difficult decisions and congratulations are in order for everyone who submitted this year for all the truly great films.  Without further ado here are the winners.  

Jury Award Winner - Mamma, Don't Go

Best Director Winner - Sundown Trail
Best Director Nominees
Axmo Deus
The Guard Station
Little Brother
Momma, Don't Go
POSSESSIONS

Best Screenplay Winner - Big Wheels and Little Brother (TIE)
Best Screenplay Nominees
The Dead Hands of Dublin
Family Tree
Make a Wish
Sundown Trail

Best Actor Winner - Bloodshed - Brune Verdoni
Best Actor Nominees 
Aspirant - Michael Cortez
Big Wheels - Andrew Bee
The Guard Station - Jayden Arts
Song of the Common Loon - Brian K. Landis
Sundown Trail - Mason McNulty

Best Actress Winner - Little Brother - Hattie Winston
Best Actress Nominees
Aspirant - Talia Goodman
Celebrity Stalker - Inja Zalta
Goodbye - Shelby Hightower
Siren -Erin Morgan

Best Supporting Role Winner - Make a Wish - Josephine Change
Best Supporting Role Nominees
Big Wheels - Mark Rival 
Little Brother - Deniro Farrar
POSSESSIONS - Christine Woods
Siren - Madison Isolina
Sundown Trail - Joshua Loren
Wellness- Sonja Inge

Best Ensemble Winner - Big Wheels
Best Ensemble Nominees
Little Brother
POSSESSIONS
Siren
Sundown Trail
Wellness

Best Gore Winner - Hospital Dumpster Divers
Best Gore Nominees
Bloodshed
Forced Entry
The Guard Station
Momma, Don't Go
POSSESSIONS

Best Cinematography Winner - Sundown Trail
Best Cinematography Nominees
Aspirant
Big Wheels
Bloodshed
The Guard Station
Momma, Don't Go
Siren

We are excited to announce the selections for the 6th Annual Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival and it is our largest selection of films yet.  This year we have more features, more shorts, and more short blocks.  No matter what your genre interests are you will find them at this year's festival.  And if you want to watch everything we got a great deal. The Nightmare Pass is only $60 and you get access to every movie.  tdff2021.eventive.org/passes/buy

Directed by Evil - 61 minutes - Dir. Timothy Nennig
A comedic parody of American horror tropes, in which an unfortunate crew struggles to record a b-horror film at a cabin in the woods, until something evil awakens!
Trailer - https://vimeo.com/513608333 ​
Tickets- https://watch.eventive.org/tdff2021/play/60a08d1d5f62380075767fc0

Twisted Animated Short Films - 67 minutes
​​Some think animated films are just for kids, these films aim to prove that notion wrong.  
Tickets- https://watch.eventive.org/tdff2021/play/60a061337c338402e3939c65

• ​​Family Tree​ -Dir. Emmet O'Brien - https://vimeo.com/481175313
• First Class Ticket to Earth - Dir. Neon Dino CO. 
• Mercer County, You're on the Air - Dir. Mike J. McAllister -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejfqX1HY-xg
• The Brain Teasers - Dir. Mike J. McAllister - https://youtu.be/JiRnm5k1yjA
• The Dead Hands of Dublin - Dir. Leo Crowley - https://vimeo.com/428624924 ​
• Tiffany Britany Brooke - Dir. Cevin Soling
• Wendigo - Dir. Max Hendrickson ​​

​

12pm - Twisted Animation - 107 minutes - Relive your childhood by watching animated films on Saturday morning.  But these aren't you family friendly kind of animated films.  These are violent, creepy, and dark films sure to scar your inner child.  

• Hateful Goo - Dir. Max Winston 
• In a Better Place - Dirs. E.D Mead and Kimmie King
• Nightmakers - Dir. Harry Loeffler-Bell
• That Makes Two of Us - Dir. Tim Hawkins
• The Haunted Swordsman - Dir. Kevin McTurk
• The Return of Space Girl - Dir. David Henderson
• THEM - Dir. Robin Lochmann
• This Dark Thought - Dirs. Kris Theorin and Kurtis Theorin
• Trainwreck - Dir. Bianca Calandra

​
2:15 pm - Panel: Wisconsin Tax Incentives moderated by Ross Bigley

3pm- Exit- Dr. Michael Fausti - 81 minutes - Events take a sinister turn one night in London, when two very different couples arrive at a double-booked apartment. Actions have consequences and not all debts are paid for with money. Leaving, it's harder than you think.

5pm- Blood Conscious - Dir. Timothy Covell- 81 minutes - An African-American vacationing family turns the tables on a white mass shooter who claims to be fighting demonic forces.
Pre-feature- Jericho Road - Dir. Brian Petersen - 16 minutes

7pm- Tromeo and Juliet with special guest Lloyd Kaufman - 107 min - From 1997 Directed by Lloyd Kaufman himself and written by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) reworks the Shakespeare classic into a classic Troma hit.  Lloyd Kaufman along with the Troma Team will be on hand for the screening. 

11pm- Spook Show featuring Tally-Hoe- Our spook show returns with the craziest and most bizarre films from around the world. In addition Tally - Hoe will be performing his side show act which include dark, scary, and taboo magic.   

• Green Cobra - Dir. Sigurd Culhane
• Karaoke Night - Dir. Francisco Lacerda
• Killer Love - Dir. Adam Lemmey
• Paying Up - Dir. Dustin Mills
• There’s Nothing in the Shed - Dir. David Axe
• XX Virus - Dir. Kimyan Fluckiger

We have announced all the winners from the festival.  
Congrats to all. 

​Jury Award for Best Feature - Straight Edge Kegger
Jury Award for Best Short - The Last Well
Jury Award for Best Wisconsin Short - Upstairs

Audience Award for Best Feature - Lake Michigan Monster
Audience Award for Best Short Film - mi-fi
Audience Award for Best Wisconsin Short Film - Deer Lights

Best Director Feature
The Next Kill-Mike McCutchen
Best Director Short
Filth- Adam Ciolfi
Best Director Wisconsin Short
Deer Lights-Brian Klewin

Best Feature Screenplay
Straight Edge Kegger- Jason Zink
Best Short Screenplay
Crabgirl-Sergiy Pudich
Best Wisconsin Short Screenplay
Upstairs- Jeff Bell

Best Actor in a Feature
Livescream-Gunner Willis
Best Actor in a Short
Last Well-Alen Liverić
Best Actor in Wisconsin Short
The Damned Thing-Michael Thomas Determan

Best Actress in a Feature
Fang-Melodie Reohrig
Best Actress in a Short
My First Time-Lenny Cohen
Best Actress in a Wisconsin Short
Matron of Honor-Ann Marie Redmond


Best Supporting Actor in a Feature
Amazon Hot Box - Jett Bryant
Best Supporting Actor in a Short
Rub me the Right Way-Nico Birnbaum
Best Supporting Actor in a Wisconsin Short
    The Masses - Harper Robinson

Best Supporting Actress in a Feature
Amazon Hot Box - Ellie Church
Best Supporting Actress in a Short
    Mama’s Boy-Kara Vedder
Best Supporting Actress in a Wisconsin Short
    Matron of Honor-Stephanie Rose Quinnell

Best Ensemble in a Feature
Lake Michigan Monster
Best Ensemble in a Short
What Metal Girls are Into
Best Ensemble in a Wisconsin Short
Deer Lights

Best Cinematography Feature
Lake Michigan Monster
Best Cinematography Short
Supine
Best Cinematography in a Wisconsin Short
Deer Lights


Best Makeup Feature
Fang
Best Makeup Short
Cured
Best Makeup in Wisconsin Short
Matron of Honor
    

Tickets on Sale now at www.timescinema.com 

​7 pm - Livescream - Dir. Michelle Iannantuono- 66 minutes -Presented By Midwest Gaming Classic 
​A popular video game streamer accidentally starts playing a haunted game, with deadly consequences for himself and his fans.
Pre-feature - Supine- Dir. Nicole Goode  - 25 minutes

9 pm - Twisted Monster Short Block - 107 minutes - Presented by Milwaukee Paranormal Conference 
​Monsters fuel nightmares and make some great villains.  We assembled a block of film that feature some of the scariest monsters. It could just be the boogeyman in your room, vampires looking for their next kill, or a killer dinosaur on the loose but whatever it is sure to fill you with dread. 

• Bump in the Night-Dir. Kaelan Selbach-Broad and Aja Selbach-Broad

• Eyecatcher - Dir. Jun Shimizu
• I am Not a Monster - Dir. Grace Quilligan
• Nothing Like the Sun -  Dir. Jonas Banks
• Peep - Dir. Zachary Dehm
• Terrordactyl - Dir. E.K. Scarfone
• The Thing About Beecher's Gate - Jeremy Herbert
• Third Wheel - Dir. Daniel DelPurgatorio

​7 pm - Twisted Wisconsin Shorts - 112 minutes
Wisconsin has some talented filmmakers. We assembled that greatest and most twisted filmmakers for this years festival. Stay tuned after the block for a Q&A with attending filmmakers and the presentation of the Backbone of Wisconsin Horror Award to Mark Borchardt.

• A Day with Jimmy- Dir. Ricardo Tenorio
• Butterflies - Dir. Brian Hollendyke
• Deer Lights - Dir. Brian Klewin
• Jeffrey's Diary - Dir. Justin Wegner and Katie Lapointe
• Matron of Honor - Dir. Natalie Pohorski
• Mr. Mops - Dir. Earl Martin
• Pink - Dir. Graham Hartlaub
• Possession - Dir. Shaun Hosseini
• Shhh! - Dir. Earl Martin
• Spooks & Specs: Episode One - Two Girls and a Camera Guy - Dir. Kathryn King
• The Dammed Thing - David Haight
• The Masses - Peter Murphy
• The Transmissions - Ron Purtee
• Upstairs - Julia Smith

10:00 pm - Opening Night Party Featuring RatBatSpider (pass holder or purchased ticket for any session required for entry into opening night party) -We moved our opening night to Thursday but are keeping our Opening Night Party on Friday. This will be a great time to mingle and meet filmmakers and other great horror fans.

Midnight - Amazon Hot Box- Dir James Bickert - 83 minutes
An American college student named Penny is erroneously apprehended during a dissident round-up in the banana republic of Rattica. She is incarcerated into the island penal system overseen by Wardress Von Krupp who is constructing the world’s greatest information extractor. Crocodiles, religious zealots, psycho inmates and voodoo-based experiments block her every escape. Life is cheap and the jungle explodes in Amazon Hot Box.

​12 pm - The Next Kill- Dir. Mike McCutchen-  - 80 minutes 
The first animated feature film at Twisted Dreams. After the city’s deadliest serial killer breaks out of jail, the aging Texas Ranger that put him away comes out of retirement to stop the monster’s rampage, this time for good. Violence and hilarity ensue as the city is thrown into chaos with explosions, gun fights, car chases, and more!.
Pre-Feature - The Man Who Beat the Man - Dir. Ryan Kruger - 4 minutes

2 pm - PANEL DISCUSSION -Short Cuts: The Art of Short Filmmaking - 40 minutes - More info on the panel can be found here 

3 pm - Twisted Thrills and Kills Short Block- 97 minutes Presented by Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee
Killers, haunted paintings, cowboys can all be found in this block. This block will scare you and keep you tense.  No time to relax during this block. 

• Dead Celebrities - Dir. Michael Fausti
• Draw Your Gun - Dir. Wouter Jansen
• La Mechante Reine - Dir. Will Schneider
• Low Self Esteem - Dir. Mikeal Burgin
• Mama's Boy - Dir. Samantha Kolensnik
• Rose 66 - Dir. Robby McBride
• Sleeping Baby - Dir. Felicia Rivers and  J. Paul The Demi God 
• Sol - Carlos Gananian
• Taken From Me - Adam Salinas

​5 pm - Fang - Dir. Adam Steigert​​-74 minutes
One night, one drug induced murder, turn local junkies Chloe Romero (Melodie Roehrig) and Joe Spencer (Theo Kemp) into criminals on the run. With no place to hide, they take a road trip to a distant relative's house, only to find they're not running from the law, but for their lives as they're stalked and hunted by creatures of unknown origin.
Pre-feature A Sweet Life - Dir. Max Milner  - 7 min

7 pm - How Rednecks Saved Hollywood Hosted by Joe Bob Briggs - 120 min
Spend a fast-and-furious two hours with America’s drive-in movie critic as he uses over 200 clips and stills to review the history of rednecks in America as told through the classics of both grindhouse and mainstream movies. You will learn:
· The identity of the first redneck in history.
· The precise date the first redneck arrived in America.
· The most sacred redneck cinematic moments.
· How Thunder Road, the Whiskey Rebellion, the tight cutoffs worn by Claudia Jennings in Gator Bait, illegal Coors beer, and the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash combined to inspire the greatest movie in the history of the world.
· Why the redneck is the scariest monster in all of film history, with visual evidence.
· The existential difference between Forrest Gump and Sling Blade.
· The reason God loves rednecks.
. . . and dozens of other historical facts that you didn’t realize you needed until Joe Bob deposited them in the rear lobe of your brain.

Please note this is a SPECIAL EVENT and no passes will be accepted for this show.

10 pm - Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Spook Show - 128 minutes
This year's spook show will feature performance by the Dark Hatter along with some of the craziest, goriest, and most violent films of the festival. 
Movies include

• Bitch, Popcorn, & Blood - Dir. Fabio Soares
• Cured - Dir. Darren Mapletoft
• Filth - Dir. Adam Ciolfi
• The Malicious - Dir. Noel Vinson​

​12 pm - Twisted Comedy - 97 minutes -  
​Sometimes you need to mix a few laughs with your horror.  This year we had some great horror comedies that we just had to have a full block of them. You will laugh and you will scream. 

• Crabgirl - Dir. Sergiy Pudich
• Ghosts Doing ...It! - Dir. Tim Troemner
• mi-fi - Dir. David Mair
• My First Time - Dir. Asaf Lavni
• Ro-Boob: The Farting Robot Monster - Dir. Logan Fry
• Shit, They're All Vampires - Dir. Tim Troemner
• Stockholm Sweet Home - Dir. Tyler Holme
• The Not So Bright Vampire - Dir. Nick and Jim Zounis
• What Metal Girls Are Into - Dir. Laurel Vail
• Zebra - Dir. Peter Spann
• Zombie Bites Werewolf - Dir. Charlie Anderson 

2 pm- PANEL DISCUSSION -How to Get Your Film Distributed - 40 minutes - More info on the panel can be found here.

3:15 pm - Straight Edge Kegger  -Dir. Jason Zink - 81 minutes
A young punk and a houseful of drunks square off against the gang of militant straight edgers that he's abandoned.

5 pm - Twisted Reality Block - 108 minutes 
People love movies to take them to different worlds, but some worlds you might not want to go to.  These films take you to the dark realms where technology brings terrifying realities, post apocalyptic worlds have deadly consequences, and a genie can turn your life upside down. 

• Dead Air - Dir. Emmet O'Brien
• Echoes - Dir. Mark Kerins and Elliot Mayen
• Rub Me the Right Way - Dir. Pit Bredimus
• The Chairman  - Dir. Frank White
• The Last Well - Dir. Filip Filkovic
• The Scarlet Vultures -Dir. Kyle Martellacci
• Those Who Can Die - Dir. Charlotte Cayeux

7:15 pm - Lake Michigan Monster  - Dir. Ryland Tews -  78 minutes
​The eccentric Captain Seafield hires a crew of specialists to help him plot revenge against the creature that killed his father. After several failed attempts, Seafield is forced to take matters into his own drunken hands. What began as a simple case of man verses beast, soon turns into a rabbit hole of mysterious unknowns and Lovecraftian hijinks. Lake Michigan Monster -- banned in four lakes!
Pre-Feature- Tryst  - Dir. Jac Kessler- 26 min

2 pm Sunday April 7th at the Times Cinema
A panel discussion with talented filmmakers who were able to get their film pick up for distribution.  

Ross Bigley is an award winning filmmaker with over 60 short films and four features to his credit. He has also worked as an editorial cartoonist, photographer, graphic designer, and as a freelance illustrator. His art work and photography have been displayed in the Fredrick Layton Gallery, Firehouse Gallery, ArtCentric Gallery, and The Warsaw Academy of Poland. Additionally, he was co-owner of the ArtCentric Gallery from 1997-99.

In 1995, he founded The Milwaukee Video/Film Festival at MATA Community Media, now called the Milwaukee Short Film Festival, and serves as President of the Board of Directors to the Milwaukee Independent Film Society. Ross also teaches filmmaking and story structure at his alma mater, The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He also has worked as a script consultant for Producers Tim Lonsdale (Species, Speed), Chris Webster (Hellraiser, Heathers), David Striet (Species, River's Edge) and performed rewrites for the production, Brain Food.

Currently, he has formed a production company with Bai Ling and Glen Popple to develop feature films on a property he created, Yellow Hill.​