HARD:LINE International Film Festival Faces “The Corona Monster” by Announcing First Films
Josh Millican
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The annual HARD:LINE International Film Festival will be bringing extreme cinema from around the world to Regensburg, Germany in 2020. Horror films, thrillers and science fiction will wrap their shadowy hands around Ostentor Kino as well as living rooms of fans in Germany from the 23rd until the 27th of September. Due to the danger of a possible second wave of infections, the HARD:LINE team has decided to take the unusual step of being the first Regensburg based film festival to also offer the festival program as an internet stream.
“Corona is a real threat that must be taken seriously. As a festival, we are responsible for the safety of our guests,” says Florian Scheuerer, Festival Director.
The team around festival director Florian Scheuerer has been working since February on the planning of the event. The festival gathers over 3000 people on the eastern side of Regensburg and results in simultaneous groups of up to 1000 people on the festival grounds. The festival is therefore classified as a larger event. Such an event would be forbidden until the 31st of August and thereafter only possible on the conditions that specific preventative measures are carried out. In reaction to this, the festival organizers have weighed various options and, in coordination with sponsors, supporters and partners, have found a possible solution.
“This year, a film festival like ours is only possible with massive restrictions that should nevertheless impact film lovers as little as possible,” Scheuerer explains.
A foundational limitation is that each screening is limited to only 50 people. Due to contact-tracing requirements, these seats will only be available to those with festival passes. An hour between each screening is also required to allow for adequate ventilation. The festival is therefore reducing its program to 10 feature films and 2 blocks of short films. The remaining seats in the theater will then be distributed virtually. Copyright protection will be maintained by the use of an internationally recognized platform that operates to the highest and most demanding standards. In cooperation with Festival Scope and Shift 72, every film will be made available to ticket holders to stream for the 24 hours following the theater screening. A maximum of 100 virtual tickets for each film will be made available. Aftershow parties and special festival guests will unfortunately have to wait until next year.
“Even with Corona starting a new era for cultural events resulting in us having to run our festival much differently this year, HARD:LINE will remain a cinematic experience,” Scheuerer continues.
As a hybrid festival HARD:LINE is going in new directions and, even in 2020, wants to give all film lovers the possibility to enjoy extreme cinema. This year may be different, but festivals have the responsibility to gather people together in a theater to enjoy film in the best possible manner; as a shared experience. This experience is doubly important for cinema’s fringe genres of horror, thriller and sci-fi. The festival team sees it as its duty to present a festival that serves both sides of the cinema equation, namely the film viewer and the film maker. The team is ready to do what can be done in the face of this corona monster. And after it has been defeated, film lovers can laugh about it together in the cinema.
Today, HARD:LINE organizers announed the first three films to be featured:
AL MORIR LA MATINEE
Argentina, Uruguay 2020 | 86 min | Director: Maximiliano Contenti
World premiere
Synopsis:
Montevideo, 1993. A stormy night at the “Cine Opera”. During the screening of a horror film, a particularly suspicious man enters this unattended cinema. Ana, the projectionist’s daughter, is left in charge of the last feature, taking her father’s place only for that night. In the darkness of the cinema, spectators begin to fall into the hands of this man. The clever murderer manages to make the cinema a dead end.
THE DEEP ONES
USA 2020 | 82 min | Director: Chad Ferrin
> World premiere
Synopsis:
After suffering the loss of a child, American expat Alex and her husband Petri decide to take a much-needed holiday. Once they’ve touched down in the seaside city of Oxnard, they are spirited to a gorgeous beachfront bed & breakfast where they are welcomed by the charming if enigmatic Russell Marsh. What begins as an alluring vacation from their problems soon devolves into a series of bizarre occurrences when the peculiar locals begin to show their true colors. While Alex struggles to keep a grip on her sanity, Petri finds himself increasingly drawn to the mysterious Mr. Marsh and his cabal of scantily-clad companions. An archaic evil has been summoned from the shores of this quiet crabbing community, one that has designs on Alex. As she is sucked into a maelstrom of murder, mind control and maternal horror, she will have to confront the abyss head on or lose everything she holds dear.
KUMANTHONG
Vietnam 2019 | 100 min | Director: Le Binh Giang
> European Premiere
Synopsis:
A shaman arrives in a small rural town and hires a mute young woman who he soon marries and implicates in his sacrificial magic. Practicing dark magic in his desperate attempts to revive his mother, his young wife soon realities what is at stake and risks her life to save her friend whose been caught. Based on the real story of Vietnam’s first serial killer, Le Binh Giang (kfc) finishes this film with a gory flare.
Find out more about the HARD:LINE International Film Festival and how to attend, HERE.
Check back soon for announcements regarding other feature films screening at HARD:LINE, as well as short film programs.
Are you a fan of the HARD:LINE International Film Festival? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
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