The Mountains of Madness Film Festival will bring three days of indie horror, sci-fi and fantasy films to Sparks. The inaugural festival will host four screenings each day, with a variety of feature-length films, as well as curated blocks of short films from around the world. Q&As with filmmakers will follow each screening block.
Founder Karl Redgen, an Australia native and current Reno resident, is a veteran of the international film festival circuit as a filmmaker and screenwriter. Redgen’s first film shot in the U.S.—specifically, in Lovelock—The Devil in Me will be among the eight films in the running for Best Nevada Film.
The Mountains of Madness Film Festival begins at Galaxy Theatres Victorian, at 1250 Victorian Ave., in Sparks, at noon on Friday, Nov. 13, and wraps up with an evening awards ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 15. Go to momff.com for details.
What inspired you to organize a horror sci-fi film festival in Sparks?
I’ve been on the festival circuit for quite a number of years as a filmmaker, and have seen what is being put on, and what events that filmmakers are going to, and I felt that there needed to be something similar to that in the Northern Nevada region, as we don’t really have anything like that. One of the key things is that we have a big film community and a lot of filmmakers, but not a lot of places for those films to be shown in an actual cinema environment.
I gather, having read about your work, that you’d be inclined to believe that genre films are particularly accessible for indie filmmakers.
Yeah, absolutely. And with genre filmmaking, you can sort of make it on any budget. There’s something about horror and sci-fi that allows filmmakers to use their skills and use what they have available to them to make films that can be scary. You can just shoot something in a house, or you can shoot something with small amount of characters and still have a really big result.
Besides the Lovelock locale, how has filming The Devil in Me been different from your previous films?
Well, I’m originally from Australia. I’ve lived in America for the last two years now. And one of the big differences for me was filming with an American crew … (and) the big professionality that comes across with crew members from America. One of the biggest challenges was being able to find all those crew members to be able to go out to Lovelock and shoot The Devil in Me. It was quite an interesting experience, being able to shoot something in a new country with new people in a new city, and also being isolated in Lovelock for six full days while shooting somewhere that’s completely out of the norm, which was kind of cool.
As a writer and filmmaker, what do you focus on to deliver impact, when you’re working with a narrow time frame like a short film?
My biggest focus, I would say, is the script, so that’s what I start with. I start with the characters and the story, and really try and focus on bringing a really good story within a small amount of time. So, I always try and think—do a three-act structure; have a character—that’s really important. And I usually always start with a theme, like, ‘What’s important about this film?’ And one of the big things that I try and focus on, especially with my short films, is the world-building. Does this story have more to tell than what we’re just showing onscreen? Does it invite the audience to ask questions about who these characters are, and what they’re doing in this small timeframe that we’re supplying to them?
Has anything surprised you about launching the Mountains of Madness Film Fest?
I think the excitement that people have for it. I talk to a lot of people, especially in the community of filmmakers who are really excited that something like this is launching in their city. I’ve had quite a few people messaging me or reaching out or emailing. I’m just saying that they love the idea that there’s a new genre film festival launching in Sparks, and a few people say they’ve grown up here their whole lives and not seen anything like it. I think the attention and the excitement from the local community is the thing that’s been the most rewarding and surprising at the same time.