The ninth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival has come and gone, and today we announce the festival's juried and audience awards! From a lineup of 119 films, including 51 features and 68 shorts hailing from 20 different countries. Winner highlights include Brandon Christensen’s The Puppetman taking home the Jury Prize for Best Feature Film, Erynn Dalton's Big Easy Queens nabbing the Audience Award for Feature Film, Jason Miller's Ghosts of the Void winning the Scariest Feature Film Prize, and Devanny Pinn with the New Nightmare Prize for Best Debut Film for The Black Mass.
This marks a sophomore Popcorn Frights win for Brandon Christensen, as he previously took home the Jury Prize in 2021 for the Shudder original Superhost. Christensen shared his enthusiasm while accepting the award, “Holy shit! Popcorn Frights has always been an important stop for every one of my films to date. I’ve met tons of amazing fans of horror who come out every time to support our films as well as the Florida horror community. It’s a total honor to take home the Jury Prize for this film, and I love you all! Until next time!”
Big Easy Queens director Erynn Dalton won the audience over with her tale of drag queens and zombies. “Gallopin’ garfish! The Big Easy Queens team is so excited and proud to have won the Audience Award from Popcorn Frights! It is incredibly special to us that our film — made entirely in Florida — is being honored with this award (especially during a time when state leaders in Florida are trying to make drag illegal). Huge thanks to Popcorn Frights for taking a chance on such a genre-bending film and giving us the best home for our world premiere!”
This year’s Scariest Feature Film Prize, Ghosts of the Void, is described as "a timely tale that reminds us that true terror often lies beyond the supernatural by capturing the essence of our collective fear." The New Nightmare Prize shines a spotlight on first-time filmmakers, this year's recipient is Devanny Pinn’s Florida-based true-crime thriller The Black Mass. Upon receiving the award, Pinn shared, “This film and the effort behind it come from a truly independent spirit and love of cinema. It's such an incredible honor to not only have Popcorn Frights’ support as I begin my directing career, but to receive recognition for it in the form of the New Nightmare Award. I am and will continue to be grateful for this moment and inspired to continue to create more art in our genre thanks to this support.”
Sixty-seven short films across eight short blocks were also in competition at this year's festival. Taking home the coveted Jury Prize for Best Short Film — Michael Gabriele's Get Away. And the Scariest Short Film Prize was claimed by Floridian filmmaker Jay Henric, for Unknown, "a sinister tale that takes an incredibly simple story and delivers something truly special."
In total, Popcorn Frights welcomed more than 10,000 attendees to its films and events, encompassing both in-person and uniquely experienced virtual gatherings across all fifty U.S. states. Each audience member in every hybrid screening had the opportunity to cast their votes online during the Festival, and for as many films as they wanted — but only once per film.
Popcorn Frights began with the world premiere of Magnolia’s dread-soaked nightmare DELIVER US on opening night on August 10, and continued through August 20 with a mix of live events, parties, premieres, and industry sessions. Festival highlights included a live score performance by Miami artist Richard Vergez for Herschell Gordon Lewis’ seminal made-in-Miami splatter film BLOOD FEAST in commemoration for its 60th anniversary. A standout program was the 1983-D celebration, a dedicated homage to the ‘80s, featuring a selection of 3-D classics including the slashers FRIDAY THE 13th PART III and SILENT MADNESS. Attendees also had the unique opportunity to take a walking tour of South Beach’s most notable filming locations from film and TV. A vibrant party on Ocean Drive, hosted by The Betsy Hotel, took an unexpected twist with a procession of creepy nuns’ courtesy of Warner Bros.
The festival’s jam-packed industry sessions boasted notable panelists such as Florida filmmaker Erynn Dalton (BIG EASY QUEENS), Erik & Carson Bloomquist (SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS), and The Horror Collective’s founder & director Shaked Berenson, which were moderated by Fangoria’s Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. Amidst the revelry were beach parties, a spotlight on homegrown talent through Popcorn Frights’ HOMEGROWN: 100% PURE FRESH SQUEEZED FLORIDA HORROR program, a special appearance by STARSHIP TROOPER’s Casper Van Dien at the world premiere of THE BLACK MASS, a showing of TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE 50 years to the day the infamous massacre shook the world, Horror Movie Trivia hosted by Fangoria alongside NIGHTBREED star Anne Bobby, and a closing night marked by the uproarious live commentary by Miami comics celebrating the 30th anniversary of the underseen cult classic SOUTH BEACH, to name just a few of the memorable experiences that unfolded during the festival's eleven-night span.
2023 Popcorn Frights Festival’s Award Winners:
Jury Prize for Best Feature Film: THE PUPPETMAN, dir. Brandon Christensen
Jury Prize for Best Short Film: GET AWAY, dir. Michael Gabriele
Scariest Feature Film Prize: GHOSTS OF THE VOID, dir. Jason Miller
Scariest Short Film Prize: UNKNOWN, dir. Jay Henric
New Nightmare Prize for Best Debut Film: THE BLACK MASS, dir. Devanny Pinn
Best Florida Short Film: POV, dir. Brian K. Rosenthal
Audience Award for Feature Film: BIG EASY QUEENS, dir. Erynn Dalton
Audience Award for Short Film: RED GLOVES, dir. Santiago Saba Salem
The ninth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival was sponsored in party by 88 Films, AGFA, ALTER, The Betsy, Daily Dead, Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, FANGORIA, Fright Rags, Classic Gateway Theater, The Horror Collective, Kino Cult, MVD, O Cinema, Savor Cinema, Severin Films, and its loyal fans. Submissions for the 2024 Popcorn Frights Film Festival are now open via FilmFreeway.
