• presented by Jazmina Cininas

In creating a portrait gallery of female werewolves Jazmina’s aim is to expand existing visual mythographies of the female werewolf, drawing attention to the generally overlooked literary and historical narratives of female lycanthropy and the role of the feminine in the evolution of werewolf lore. Her chief medium for this project is the inherently transformative reduction linocut, whereby the plate is progressively cut into and destroyed while the print correspondingly becomes more complete.

Jazmina recently completed her PhD, The Girlie Werewolf Hall of Fame: Historical and Contemporary Figurations of the Female Werewolf, at RMIT University, where she also lectures in Printmaking. Picture shows Erzsébet was frequently mistaken for a vampire (2011), reduction linocut, 37.0 x 28 cm (cropped).

• 78 mins | D: Kayoko Asakura | S: Kkobbi Kim, Nanako Ohata, Akihiro Kitamura

The debut feature of Japanese filmmaker Kayoko Asakura fuses Japanese splatter with American back-roads horror to create a bold and brutal hybrid that will remain with you long after the final credits have rolled. A Korean students nightmare experience in small town USA – unforgettable horror abounds!

Set in California, Korean student, A-Joong, joins a group of Japanese friends at a country town cottage on the outskirts of L.A. Feeling isolated by the language barrier between herself and the others and the fact that the group only seem interested in sex and drugs, A-Joong prepares to leave the party, however is unable to due to their remote location. That night, two vicious siblings that earn a living through robbery and murder, attack the group of students, targeting one student who they believe witnessed a sinister act. What ensues is a night of horror as the students battle a family of homicidal maniacs!

Briony Kidd has curated a selection of the best horror shorts by female filmmakers from Australia and around the world. Favourites from SWMF plus a couple of wildcards.

TRITCH | D: Natalie James | 2011 | Australia | 15 minutes
In modern day Shanghai, a wealthy housewife’s life of luxury becomes increasingly disrupted by the presence of a young ghost.

DOLL PARTS | D: Karen Lam | 2011 | Canada | 9 minutes
A serial killer’s bad day is made much worse when he picks up the wrong girl hitchhiking.

SELF-PORTRAIT | D: Jovanka Vuckovic | 2012 | Canada | 2 minutes
In the process of taking off her make-up, a woman reveals her true face.

THE RED SHOES | D: Heidi Lee Douglas, Vivien Mason, Bryony Geeves | 2013 | Australia | 5 minutes
A tourist in Sydney finds herself a new pair of shoes, with unpleasant results.

RAVENOUS | D: Carmen Falk | 2013 | Australia | 7 minutes
A young girl is left with her strange grandmother. It’s all a bit disturbing.

STELLA BUIO | D: Lori Bowen | 2012 | USA | 15 minutes
A medium reunites a family with the dearly departed as the reanimated corpse of their loved one wreaks havoc.

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• Moderated by Briony Kidd

Originally from Montreal, URSULA DABROWSKY is an independent horror writer and director based in Adelaide. In 2009, she completed the first instalment of her Demon Trilogy, Family Demons. Her sophomore effort, Inner Demon, is due for release in 2014. Ursula is currently developing Demonheart, with script consultant, Stephen Cleary. She is also working on an online horror game, Demon House, with games producer, Dan Thorsland.

KIER-LA JANISSE is a writer and film programmer based in Montreal, Canada. She has written for Filmmaker, Rue Morgue and Fangoria magazines, has contributed to The Scarecrow Movie Guide (Sasquatch Books, 2004) and Destroy All Movies!! A Complete Guide to Punk on Film (Fantagraphics, 2011), and is the author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi (FAB Press, 2007) and House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films (FAB Press, 2012).

ALEXANDRA HELLER-NICHOLAS is a film writer based in Melbourne, Australia. Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study is her first book and is published by McFarland. Her second book, ‘Found Footage Horror Films: Fear and the Appearance of Reality’ is to be released in late 2013.

After a series of experimental shorts, PHILIP BROPHY made his feature debut with Body Melt (“A slime-soaked all-out shocker!”—Fangoria) in 1992. He’s also a musician, composer, sound designer, writer and film curator. Recent film project include The Morbid Forest and The Prostrate Christ and the animation The Hungry Vagina.

This event is included in the short films screening (see above)