Graham Denman’s GREENLIGHT Tops SHRIEKFEST 2019 Winners
Sean Decker
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In its 19th year, Los Angeles’ annual Shriekfest Film Festival came to a close Sunday night following three days of screenings at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood with its International Film Festival & Screenplay Competition, and among the winners was debut feature director Graham Denman’s film Greenlight, which took home the award for Best Thriller Feature.
Denman’s film, which proved to be a wickedly sharp black comedy, superbly tense psychological thriller and a thoughtful rumination on blind ambition, received a standing ovation from a packed house on its Friday night premiere, and stars Chase Williamson (Artik, John Dies at the End), Shane Coffey (Starry Eyes), Caroline Williams (Tales of Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), and Chris Browning (Bright, Angel Has Fallen) in a story which revolves around aspiring director Jack Archer (Williamson), who can’t seem to catch a break in Hollywood. Enter B-movie producer Bob Moseby (Browning), who offers Jack his first feature directorial gig, a dream job which quickly descends into nightmare.
Denman told us of Greenlight (which was written by Patrick R. Young and Eric England from a story by Denman and produced by Rudy Scalese) and of its premiere and win, “I’m so incredibly honored and humbled to see the overwhelmingly positive response our film had at Shriekfest. It was unbelievably special to take my love of film via Greenlight and share it with everyone in attendance. We made this film for anyone who has ever been told ‘no’ or ‘you can’t’ and I sincerely hope that Greenlight reminds any artist or filmmaker they absolutely can, and should anything they want if they believe in it. I’m so proud of our entire cast and crew for their dedication and hard work, and thank you all so much for supporting our independent film. I’m grateful beyond words.”
Check out an exclusive image from Greenlight below.
Additional winners of Shriekfest 2019, which was hosted by festival creator and director Denise Gossett (voted ‘Most Influential Woman in Genre’ by SyFy Wire) were the feature films Making Monsters which took prize for Best Horror Feature Film and Volition, which received the award for Best Sci-Fi Feature. Of the shorts, Overkill won for Best Horror Short, We Die Alone received Best Thriller Short and Peep took home the award for Best Super Short.
The winner of the Best Horror Feature Screenplay went to “The Blood-Red Night of Hatchet Valley” written by Edward Martin III. “Dark Noise,” penned by Christopher Allan Poe and Jen Badasci took home the trophy for Best Sci-Fi Feature Screenplay, and the winner of Best Thriller Feature Screenplay went to “Agriturismo” by written by Nick Rufca.
For a complete list of all of the winners, and for news and updates on and tickets to Shriekfest’s upcoming Orlando, Florida iteration taking place this November, visit their official site at www.shriekfest.com and follow them on Instagram at @shriekfest and engage with them using #shriekgeek
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