Films / Schedule
We're screening 83 movies at this year's AFF: 21 Features and 62 Shorts, with many World Premieres, US Premieres, New York Premieres, and Buffalo Premieres. One-third of our Official Selections were produced in Western New York! Below is the complete schedule; we'll add images and descriptions soon. Passes are available at the Amherst Theatre box office (in-person purchases only, cash); individual screening tickets ware available at the box office and online through the Diposn Theatres website. Please note that the Friday the 13th World Premiere of Slasher Days of Summer is SOLD OUT.
Amazing Fantasy Fest 2024 Schedule
Friday, September 13th - Thursday, Sept. 19th
Dipson Theatres Amherst, 3500 Main Street
83 movies over 7 Days: 21 Features and 62 Shorts
7-day All Fantasy Pass: $75 ($60 for Seniors and Students with ID) Passes sold after Saturday, Sept. 7th do not include the World Premiere of Slasher Days of Summer, which has sold out.
Fri - Sun Weekend Pass: $60 ($50 for Seniors and Students with ID)
Mon - Thurs Pass: $60 ($50 for Seniors and Students with ID)
Day Pass for Fri, Sat or Sun: $25
Day Pass for Mon, Tues, Wed or Thurs: $20
Individual Screening: $15 (seniors and students pay $10 before 5pm Mon - Thurs)
*Free BONUS programming for sponsors, Full Fantasy Pass holders, and Official Selection filmmakers will be held at The Screening Room Sat, Sept. 28th & Sun, Sept. 29th.
Friday, September 13th - FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS
1:30 pm Block 1: Fragment (US, Horror, 91 mins) Buffalo Premiere: Isolated in her desert home, a computer programmer struggles to cope with unexplainable occurrences that unravel her reality. Written by Katey Baldwin and Kristy Shimek, directed by Robert Vornkahl. Cosmic horror, nudity. Short: Three Baths (NYC, Horror, 7 mins).
3:30 pm Block 2: Flesh of the Unforgiven (NYS, Horror, 89 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Debbie Rochon stars in this extreme horror tale about a couple falling prey to sinister forces at a mountain getaway. Written and directed by Joe Hollow. Nudity, sexual situations, S&M imagery, violence, gore. The good stuff!
6:00 pm Block 3: Nickel City Tinseltown (WNY, Documentary, 1 05 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Immensely entertaining look at Western New York's independent filmmaking community, featuring interviews, clips and historical background. Directed by Adrian Esposito and Curt Markham. World Premiere Short: Eccentrip (WNY, Horror, 20 mins, Q&A).
***The 9:20 om Block 4 Screening of SLASHER DAYS OF SUMMER is SOLD OUT! Unfortunately, no additional screenings were permitted. Passes purchased before the sellout will include this film, and any sold after the sellout (Saturday, Sept. 7th) DO NOT include it. All Sponsors will get seats for this screening; Official Selection filmmakers who did not RSVP (as per our FilmFreeway notification) will not be able to attend this one. Look for future area screenings scheduled by the producers.***
9:20 pm Block 4: Slasher Days of Summer (WNY, Horror-Comedy, 89 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Celebrate Friday the 13th by watching a homegrown slasher comedy filmed in Akron and Lancaster, with a large cast of locals. Written by Ty Cheman and Kristen Skeet, directed by Kristen. Watch out for he Woodsman! Short: Just Another Day in Paradise (WNY, Comedy, 3 mins, Q&A).
Saturday, September 14th - SATURDAY SHOCKERS
1:00 pm Block 5: Ragdoll Assassin (WNY, Comedy, 99 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Hilarious Rochester comedy about a female assassin, her sentient ragdoll, the incompetent henchmen hunting them, and the supervillain behind it all. Written and directed by Curt Markham, our Filmmaker of the Year, who also plays the supervillain!
3:20 pm Block 6: Rich Interior Lives (US, Fantasy/Drama, 99 mins, Q&A) Film Festival Premiere: Noel Coward meets Alan Moore in this brain teaser about a dinner party where one guest may be a psychotic superhero. For fans of The Boys. Written by former Depew native Andrew Bonazelli and directed by Ken Whiting.
6:00 pm Block 7: They Call Her Death (US, Western/Supernatural, 92 mins, Q&A) Film Festival Premiere: Wildy entertaining, violent Euro-style revenge western filmed on 16mm film! Molly Pray is on a bloody crusade against the criminal forces that wronged her. Pray she doesn't come for you! Written and directed by Austin Snell. Buffalo Premiere Short: Forward (WNY, Horror, 11 mins, Q&A) .
9:00 pm Block 8: Black Eyed Susan (NYC, Science Fiction, 80 mins, Q&A) New York Premiere: Cult filmmaker Scooter McCrae (Shatter Dead, Sixteen Tongues) makes his Buffalo debut with this transgressive science fiction thriller about a robot sex doll harboring a dark secret. World Premiere Short: Jane & the Brain (WNY, Horror, 15 mins, Q&A).
Sunday, September 15th - OFF BEAT SUNDAY
1:00 pm Block 9: Florence (US, Horror, World Premiere, 80 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Florence journeys into her own psyche and Dante's circles of Hell while a masked killer circles closer, pushing her to the brink of sanity. Directed by Skip Shea (Trinity, Seed), with Italy sequences directed by Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash)! World Premiere Short: Agency (WNY, Thriller, 21 mins, Q&A).
3:30 pm Block 10: First Person Savior (US, Drama/Thriller, 81 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Former Rochester native John Karyus stars in this unusual, 70's style drama about a man seeking purpose in a fog of video games, junk food, and insomnia. Written and directed by Ramzi Abed. Buffalo Premiere Short: Moonlight Sonata, with Scissors (US, Horror, 8 mins, Q&A).
5:45 – 6:45 Awards: The AFF Awards are presented in the Amherst Theatre and are open to the public.
7:00 pm Block 11: Massacre at Femur Creek (Canada, Horror, 78 mins, Q&A) US Premiere: Kyle Hytonen wrote and directed this 80's style slasher comedy about a masked killer wreaking havoc upon a bachelor party camping trip. Short: Noonday Demon (Canada, Animated, 9 mins, Q&A) Buffalo Premiere.
9:00 pm Block 12: Bronx Lore (NYC, Horror Anthology, 82 mins, Q&A) Buffalo Premiere: Jerry Landi (Batratticus) returns with this compilation of shorts produced in the Bronx. World Premiere Short: The Gory Hole (United Kingdom, Horror, 9 mins, Q&A) , a WTF from Richard Rowntree and Ash Mountain Films.
Monday, September 16th - MONDAY MOVIES
2:00 pm Block 13: US Shorts (103 mins)
Seven amazing horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and comedy shorts produced around the US.:
Night Feeding (US, Horror, 6 mins)
Banjo (US, Horror Comedy, 15 mins)
Sentinels (US, Fantasy, 15 mins)
Bloodlines (US, Fantasy, 3 mins)
Others (US, Science Fiction,19 mins)
Dad’s New Roommate (US, Comedy/Fantasy, 23 mins)
Interitus Adfectus (US, Horror, 20 mins)
4:00 pm Block 14: The Pocket Film of Superstitions (United Kingdom, Fantasy/Documentary, 88 mins) New York Premiere: Caroline Munro and Lynn Lowry are among the stars Tom Lee Rutter's quaint, creepy, and extremely cinematic merging of folkloric horror, the supernatural , and superstitions through the ages.
6:00 pm Block 15: Short Films: WNY & Beyond (66 mins + Q&As)
Shorts produced in Western New York, and in our expanding community that includes Canada, NYC and MA.
Missed. Carriage (WNY, 5 mins, Q&A)
BeeHarmony (MA, Comedy, 1:15) New York Premiere
Joey (NYC, Comedy, 16 mins, Q&A) Buffalo Premiere
Just Right Justice (MA, Comedy, 1 :46)
Duck and Cover (Canada, Comedy, 9 mins, Q&A) – Buffalo Premiere
Road to Roadkill (MA, Comedy, 1 :17 ) -Buffalo Premiere
What Silence Looks Like (WNY, Thriller, 9 mins, Q&A) – World Premiere
Bat Country (MA, Drama/Fantasy, 23 mins)
7:50 pm Block 16: Inbetweening (US, Comedy/Fantasy, 118 mins, Q&A)
World Premiere: Returning filmmaker Mel House's dark comedy/fantasy about the travails of a bi-racial filmmaker, augmented by puppets, animation, a musical number, and Fishbone's Angelo Moore, playing himself, and co-starring Debbie Rochon. A special movie!
Tuesday, September 17th - TUESDAY TALKING PICTURES
2:00 pm Block 17: International Shorts (104 mins)
Six amazing shorts from around the world!
Mystery of the Keeper, (Ukraine, 15 mins)
Dancing with My Mother (Australia, 12 mins)
The Lure (UK, 1:28)
O.U. (US, 20 mins)
The Fawn of Healwood, the Edge (France, 15 mins)
The Detachment (Korea, 39 mins)
4:10 pm Block 18: Life of Pain (WNY, Documentary, 76 mins) World Premiere: Tim O'Hearn produced and Chad Diamond Dann directed this documentary aboout Ted Travis, following his career from collegiate wrestler to pro wrestler "Dr. Pain" to world champion powerlifter. Ted will attend with Tim.
6:00 pm Block 19: Reset (WNY, Horror, 80 mins) World Premiere: A science fiction/horror creature feature written and directed by Michael Yammine, featuring cast and special effects personnel from last year's Demon Behind the Glass. A broken father whose daughter was taken by an otherworldly force fights for his life against a monstrous foe in a never ending cycle of hell. Short: Howl If You Love Me (US, Animated, 8 mins).
8:30 pm Block 20: Local Shorts (WNY, 70 mins + Q&As)
Seven amazing local shorts covering Experimental, Documentary, Thriller, Horror and Science Fiction. Support local art!
Requiem (WNY, 1 min Q&A)
The Harvest (WNY, 4 mins, Q&A)
An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Houseplants (5 mins, Q&A)
Fin. (2 mins, Q&A)
Car Spider (WNY, 11 mins, Q&A)
The Surgeon (WNY, 14 mins, Q&A)
Lake in VR (WNY, 17 mins, Q&A)
Frostbyte (WNY, 17 mins, Q&A)
Wednesday, September 18th - WICKED WEDNESDAY
2:00 pm Block 21: Animated Shorts (104 mins)
Eleven amazing animated shorts from around the world!
The House of Weird (US, 3:29 mins)
Letter from a Stranger (Iran, 6 mins)
Ethel (Switzerland, Stop Motion, 8 mins)
The Bell (Philippines, 11 mins)
The Bitter Desert (Norway, 15 mins)
We Are Here to Help (UK, 5 mins)
The Adjudicators’ Pawn (US, 6 mins)
Sulayman (Philippines, 8 mins)
Les Betes (US, Stop Motion, 12 mins)
Black Sanga: The Prototype (Spain, 14 mins)
On the Streets of Willoughby (US, 15 mins)
4:00 pm Block 22: Voices Carry (Canada, Thriller, 81 mins, Q&A)
New York Premiere: A man gets more than he bargained for when he stays at a BNB.
6:00 pm Block 23: 7 Kills, 3 Songs & A Banana (WNY, Comedy, 93 mins, Q&A) Film Festival Premiere:
The only musical comedy/slasher-thriller produced in Niagara Falls, utilizing familiar locations and a large cast of local performers.
8:20 pm Block 24: WNY Shorts (62 mins + Q&As)
Six locally produced horror thrillers!
Slasher (WNY, 4 mins, Q&A)
Damn Thing (WNY, 9 mins, Q&A)
Junk Food (WNY, 13 mins, Q&A)
Slash Squatch (WNY, 6 mins, Q&A)
Nokk (WNY, 17 mins, Q&A)
Twice (WNY, Thriller, 11 mins, Q&A) – World Premiere
Thursday, September 19th - THRILLING THURSDAY
2:00 pm Block 25: Buried on Shine Mountain (US, Drama/Fantasy, 90 mins) New York Premiere: A prospector leads two young farmhands up haunted Shine Mountain in search of life-changing fortune.
4:00 pm Block 26: US Shorts (74 mins)
Six amazing shorts from across the country.
The Vulture (US, Fantasy, 6 mins)
The Thaw (US, Horror, 17 mins)
Split second (US, Horror, 22 mins)
Routine (US, Mixed media, 5 mins)
Concessions (US, Drama, 7 mins)
Tales from the End! (US, Science Fiction, 26 mins)
6:00 pm Block 27: Special Needs Revolt (WNY, Action/Comedy, 1 13 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Rochester filmmaker Adrian Esposito's long-in-the-works, epic comedy-action film in the Troma mold. A man with Down Syndrome awakens from a coma to discover the US has been taken over by an egomaniacal dictator with bad hair, and must lead the revolt against totalitarianism! Co-written by Adrian, co-star Bill Weeden, and Curt Markham.
8:50 pm Block 28: The Damnation (Canada, Horror, 80 mins, Q&A) World Premiere: Indigenous residents of an ignored community battle vampire-like creatures! A very fun creature feature with social underpinnings, written and produced by Chris Darton,who co-directed with Seb Godin.