Ripcord’s Halloween Film Festival is thrilled to unveil the winners of its inaugural competition, celebrating an incredible array of independent horror and genre shorts from a talented and diverse group of filmmakers. LONG’S LONG LOST & MINI MART, directed by Julian Doan, took home the $100,000 first-place prize, the largest ever awarded at a short film festival.
“Last night, thirteen filmmakers watched their work play on one of the most famous screens in the world, and this morning one of them walked away with $100,000 to launch the next chapter of their career,” said Charlie Cleveland, founder of Ripcord. “The fan vote was so close that we expanded the finals to thirteen films, because every one of these films earned its place. Congratulations to our first-place winner, Julian Doan’s LONG’S LONG LOST & MINI MART, and to every filmmaker who took this ride with us.”
The winners were revealed this morning at a filmmaker breakfast in Los Angeles, following last night’s screening of the finalists at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The screening drew an audience of fellow filmmakers, press, genre tastemakers, festival jurors and programmers, and fans, and was followed by an after-party. The finalists were chosen from a field of 50 shorts, curated from more than 500 submissions to the festival’s first edition, with fans voting online to help select the lineup.
The Winners
- 1st Prize – $100,000
LONG’S LONG LOST & MINI MART (17:53), directed by Julian Doan: In the back of a Little Saigon convenience store, a young customer reanimates his dead father for one last conversation.
- 2nd Prize – $50,000
ZIPPY’S HOUSE (12:40), directed by Sophia Parella: Forced to attend his strange classmate’s birthday, a teen discovers he’s the only guest at a house where the host’s brother is in permanent time-out.
- 3rd Prize – $25,000
HAROLD EATS MAUDE (12:32), directed by Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky: An unlikely friendship between the infamous cannibal Coffin Feeder, who can’t stop eating priests, and his cannibal-curious stalker Faith.
- Runner Up – $4,000
IT HELPS (9:07), directed by J. Zachary Thurman: Spencer, sleepless due to her brother’s eerie sleep machine, discovers it isn’t designed to soothe — but to keep an unspeakable presence at bay.
- Honorable Mentions – $3,500 each
BLOSSOM NEEDS A RIDE HOME (9:19), directed by Tim Schwagel: After defeating a bloodthirsty maniac, Blossom needs a ride home. What a hassle. - BREEDER (7:14), directed by Sapphire Sandalo: A woman on the fence about having kids is hunted in her home by a demonic horse-man of Filipino folklore.
- DIRTY FUZZ (15:00), directed by Daniel Chimes: When an idealistic rookie cop accidentally shoots her corrupt partner in the slimy underbelly of Shit City, she must team up with a surprising crew of underworld characters to cover her tracks.
- DREAM CREEP (12:34), directed by Carlos A.F. Lopez: A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.
- HOUR OF BLOOD (17:29), directed by Marcella Ochoa: In 1915 Texas, when ranchers mysteriously go missing, a young girl must defend her family ranch against the dark threat.
- MAKE ME A PIZZA (12:00), directed by Talia Shea Levin: BORED HOUSEWIFE seduces HOT PIZZA GUY for free pizza, but is desire worth $29.99?
- RAT! (16:48), directed by Neal Suresh Mulani: When a disgruntled music journalist accuses a global pop star of queerbaiting, the singer’s devoted fans descend on his remote cabin to seek retribution.
- SPANKED BY A GHOST (11:50), directed by Katelyn Douglass: Alone in her home, a woman is spanked by an unseen entity, awakening a force she cannot control.
- WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT BALLOONS (5:44), directed by Jennifer Bonior: Dismissed by every adult in her life, a young magician unleashes an explosive final act that proves underestimating her is a fatal mistake.
The festival is only the beginning. In the coming weeks, Ripcord will begin adding independent genre features and shorts, as well as a series of online events to the platform, giving fans a place to discover, support and follow the filmmakers they love. Independent genre filmmakers interested in bringing their films to Ripcord can learn more at ripcord.film.
