Buffalo Films: Lamberson’s fest continues tradition of dedication to cinema

A film festival curated, in whole or in part, by Gregory Lamberson is something not to be missed. And the latest one opens tonight (Friday, Sept. 11).

The Buffalo writer/filmmaker (and tireless champion of the local filmmaking community) has been running at least one every year for most of this century. The titles may change, from Buffalo Screams to the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival onto its current incarnation as the Amazing Fantasy Fest, but whatever it’s called you’re guaranteed some of the best of contemporary imaginative filmmaking. This year is the third as Amazing Fantasy Fest.

Slogging through endless submissions, Lamberson finds dozens of films deserving of rescue from disappearing into the undifferentiated morass of cable and streaming. AFF has a high percentage of filmmaker attendance, with most features including a post-screening Q&A.

Tickets are available at the theater box office or online at www.dipsontheatres.com.

Single admissions are $15, $10 for matinees before 5 p.m. For $30 you can spend the whole day on Friday, Saturday or Sunday; the rest of the week it’s $20. A pass for all seven days is $80 ($60 for students and seniors).

For more information, visit https://www.amazingfantasyfest.com

— M. Faust

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Here is the full schedule, as per the AFF website:

Friday, September 11th

1:10  BLOCK 1          Big City Pizza (Animation/WTF, US, 81 mins)      

A WTF animated feature NSFW and not for kids! A crazy day in the life of Boney, a skeleton pizza delivery man.  Trailer:https://vimeo.com/1118943522?fl=pl&fe=sh       

2:45  BLOCK 2  Seven Amazing Shorts (US & CAN) 95 mins

ONE OF THE BEST SHORT BLOCKS WE’VE EVER HAD!

Blindsided (Thriller, US, 8 mins); Battle of L.A . (SF, US, 15 mins); Fireflies in the Dusk (Fantasy, US, 18 mins); He’s Sick (Horror, US, 7 mins); Pocket Change (Thriller, US, 15 mins); Choice (Dark Fantasy, CAN, 16 mins); The Beast is Loose (Horror, US-PR, 17 mins).

4:40  BLOCK 3           Horrorbuku  (Horror, US and Malaysia, 87 mins)

A surreal tale about a horror author in Canada who finds a mysterious mask that compels him to writ an intense novel set in Malaysia. Very creepy!   Shorts: Vowels  (Horror, US, 6 mins); El Otro Lado (US-PR, 7 mins) Subtitled in English. 100 mins.

7:00    BLOCK 4          Mindflip (Horror/SF, WNY, 90 min) 

SPECIAL GUEST LYNN LOWRY!

Our Opening Night Feature: the World Premiere of a WNY sci-fi/horror comedy written and directed by Ken Rowe, starring genre icon Lynn Lowry, Chad Ridgely, Bob Bozek, and many talented Western New Yorkers! An ageing horror movie queen seeks to transplant her mind into a younger body with horrifying and hilarious results. Lynn Lowry is attending! Trailer:https://vimeo.com/1173763417?fl=pl&fe=sh.

Short: King Karno (Animation, US, 3 mins). Attending filmmaker: Richard C. Thompson. (repeats Monday)

9:30  BLOCK 5            Broken Spear (Martial Arts, China, 94 mins)  ACTION BLOCK

ONE OF THE BEST OF THE FEST!

One of the best of the fest! In the twilight of the Tang Dynasty, a legendary spear-master must take up his weapon again when the ghosts of his past come hunting for him. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1181067138?fl=pl&fe=sh

Short: Gante (US-PR, 20 mins) An extraordinary vigilante/slasher/crime drama from Puerto Rico! Subtitled in English. Attending filmmaker Raul Gabriel.

Saturday, September 12th

1:00  BLOCK 6            Segments of Jonah presents… “Journal of the Homunculus” (Fantasy/Surreal, US, 119 mins)

ONE OF THE CRAZIEST AND MOST IMAGINATIVE MOVIES WE’VE EVER SCREENED!  SPECIAL GUEST LYNN LOWRY

Lynn Lowry and Debbie Rochon co-star in this surreal fantasy epic created by and starring Tommy Graef, aimed at fans of Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Holy Mountain). A truly mindboggling cinema experience unlike anything you’ve seen before! lynn Lowry is attending! Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1207880401/ccaad842dd?fl=pl&fe=sh

Shorts: Let’s Go to Space (Stop Motion Animation, WNY, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Clifton Gunn; The Next Door (Animation, WNY, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Elijah Henry.

3:50  BLOCK 7            The Pitchfork Retreat Horror, NYS, 95 mins)

AN ALL STAR HORROR CAST!

Three horror authors arrive at a private island retreat, hell-bent on winning a life-changing competition. The All Star cast includes Tony Todd, Danielle Harris, Dee Wallace and Adrienne Barbeau! Attending filmmaker: Co-screenwriter and co-director Gregory Van Voorhis. Trailer: https://youtu.be/438rTKeCYpY?si=DPzbKXM_NYD6Dgz_

Shorts: House Haunting (WNY, 6 mins), attending filmmaker Allison Courtney; Fragility of a Party-Goer (Comedy, WNY, 17 mins), attending filmmakers Josh McMillan and Hope Muehlbauer.

7:00  BLOCK 8       WNY Horror Short Premieres (76 mins plus Q&As)

SURE  TO BE ONE OF OUR BUSISEST BLOCKS! GET YOUR  TICKETS IN ADVANCE

Join us for the World Premieres of five new horror shorts produced in Western New York, including the final chapter in the “Junk Food” Trilogy! One of our hottest blocks. Picture Perfect (5 mins) and Abel’s Nightmare (8 mins), attending filmmaker Bradley Liverman; Beast of the Frontier (18 mins), attending filmmakers Josh McMillan and Hope Muehlbauer; We Like Red (21 mins), attending filmmaker Christopher D’Addario; The Eucharist (24 mins), attending filmmaker Connor Greczyn.

9:20   BLOCK 9            Amazing Horror Shorts (84 mins plus Q&As)

SOME OF THE BEST HORROR SHORTS OF THE YEAR, TWO PROUCED IN WESTERN NEW YORK!

Noctis Monstorum (US, 6 mins), attending filmmaker P.J. Rahall; Bird Flu (NYS, 13 mins); Bishop’s Day (US, 11 mins), attending filmmaker Chritopher Kelly; Babysitting the Demons on Maple Street (WNY, 18 mins), attending filmmaker Amanda L. Woomer;

Do You Hear What I Hear? (NYS, 9 mins), attending filmmaker Manny Serrano; Manic (WNY, 18 mins), attending filmmaker Amelia Favata; Shroomery (US, 20 mins), attending filmmaker Dane A. Benko.

Sunday, September 13th

1:00  BLOCK 10         Shattered Dreams (Horror. WNY, 57 mins)

SEPTEMBER IS OWNED BY THE SEPTEMBER BROTHERS!

The latest production from WNY’s September Brothers is a psychological thriller starring Amelia Favata. Q&A with attending filmmakers Michael Buttino and Golden Groves.

Preceded by three shorts: two from WNY filmmakers and one from Puerto Rico. DCP short – Deadman’s Float (WNY, 9 mins), attending filmmaker Andrew Reardon; The Wrongest Yard (US, WNY Filmmaker, 10 mins), attending filmmaker Nick Smith; Make ur Dreams Real (US-PR, 13 mins), attending filmmaker Cesar M. Arroyo and Ashmarie Ramos Sanchez. 89 mins plus Q&As.

3:15  BLOCK  11        Amazing Feminine Perspectives (46 mins plus Q&As)

SEVEN WILDLY DIFFERENT SHORTS!

Impermanence (Animation, WNY,1 min), attending filmmaker Sharon A. Bennett; The Observers (Comedy, WNY, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Jo O’Donnell; My Long Covid Story (WNY, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Sabrina Pena Young; Kissing the Lipless (WNY, 5 mins), attending filmmaker Amanda Besl;

Quota (UK/US, 7 mins), attending filmmaker Delilah Gyves-Smart; A Genre Fluid Film (US/MA18 mins) attending filmmaker Adam (Jessica) Griswold; Eviction (US/MA, 9 mins), attending filmmaker Ashes Homon-Rahall. 46 mins plus Q&As.

5:00  The AFF Awards – Film is Art, not a competition, and it’s an honor just to be nominated… but someone has to win these plaques! Presented in our venue.

6:30   BLOCK 12         Green Flag (Horror-Thriller, WNY, 54 mins)

OUR TRADITIONAL POST-AWARDS DOUBLE FEAURE BLOCK!

We are excited to add the World Premiere of the WNY Horror-Thriller Green Flag written and directed by Mandy Hebblethwaite to our program! A young woman (Mira Steuer) takes her friend (Amber Baum) with her to hang out with a stranger (Louie Visone) she met online. Nail biting suspense ensues!  Trailer coming. Green Flag is the second half of what is essentially an epic double feature block which we do every year after the AFF Awards. It will actually go on at 8pm after four incredible shorts:

Neko Neko Night (CAN, Animated, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Fanelie Ollivier; 11:11 (Surreal Thriller, WNY, 20 mins), attending filmmakers Connor Greczyn and Anna Logan; My Friend Johnathon (Surreal Thriller, WNY, 13 min), attending filmmaker Kevin Thompson; El Jacho: A Puerto Rico Legend (Horror, US-PR, 20 mins), attending filmmakers Arian Borges and Linda Maymi. 2 hrs 31 mins plus Q&As.

Monday, September 14^th

2:30   BLOCK 13         Amazing US Shorts (93 mins)

Nine amazing shorts produced in the U.S.: Maev’s Mirror (Fantasy, 7 mins); These Colors Don’t Run (Horror, 10 mins); Volatile (Post Apocalyptic, 11 mins); Do Evil Thoughts Make an Evil Man? (Thriller, 13 mins); Old Smoke (Supernatural,6 mins); Camp Evergreen (Horror, 10 mins); The Three Pawns (Medieval Action,15 mins); The Light (Horror, 6 mins); Turnbuckle (Sports Drama,15 mins).

4:30   BLOCK 14         Amazing Animation (71 mins plus Q&A)

OUR ANIMATION BLOCK!

14 amazing animated shorts from around the world: King Karno (US Encore, 3 mins); Impermanence (WNY Encore, 1 min); The Town without Laws (US, 3 mins); Neko Neko Night  (CAN Encore, 3 mins); The Fangs I’m After (US,  3 mins); Tetanus (US, 5 mins); The Next Door (WNY Encore, 3 mins); Snacktime (France, 8 mins); Barbed Wire (Iran, 9 mins); Yokaitopia (US, 8 mins); Hephaestus and Aphrodite (US, 8 mins); Unstable Diffusion (US, 3 mins); Let’s Go to Space (WNY Encore, 3 mins); Tin Tune (US, 11 mins), attending filmmaker Carolyn Gair.

6:00  BLOCK 15         WNY Shorts I (39 mins plus Q&As)

LOCAL SHORTS!

Four amazing shorts produced in Western New York, followed by Q&As: Oblivion (Drama, 5 mins), attending filmmaker Maxwell Sebastian; Blessed Are the Unclean (Spiritual Drama,13 mins), attending filmmaker Paige Cummings; Pie (Thriller, 6 mins), attending filmmaker George Pavlidis; Cosmos (Romance, 15 mins), attending filmmakers Gabrielle Nunzio and Marissa Graves. Support local artists!

7:30  BLOCK 16         Sprites of Spring (Drama, WNY, 111 mins plus Q&A)

WORLD PREMIERE!

World Premiere of a WNY thriller about a missing person’s case that takes many unsuspecting turns, including devil weed-smoking devil worshippers! Written and directed by Brian Dudeman Zubrycki and starring Alexandria Romanov, Cloe Weiser Fisher, Paul McGinnis and Sean C. Sanders. Trailer: https://youtu.be/yR32jYRIreU?si=p4gsaw7C48i5HnyO

Tuesday, September 15th

2:00  BLOCK 17         International Shorts I (103 mins)

Four longer shorts from around the world: Dance the Light Away (Creatures, NZ, 20 mins); Golio Corvo (Thriller, Italy, 25 mins); Sheathed (Martial Arts, China, 29 mins); Are You a Human Being? (SF, France/Switzerland, 29 mins).

4:00  BLOCK 18          City Exterminator (Experimental/Dystopian, Lebanon, 87 mins)

A unique dystopian thriller from experimental filmmaker Christophe Karabache. Strong, powerful images combined with subtextual themes. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1078237678?fl=pl&fe=sh

6:00   BLOCK 19         WNY Shorts II (36 mins plus Q&As)

LOCAL SHORT!

Five local shorts with filmmaker Q&As: No Bar (Noir, 2 mins), attending filmmaker Jo O’Donnell; The Passing of the Good Dr. Marlow Green (Drama, 6 mins), attending filmmakers Al Waren and Rick Masi; Trilobite (Experimental, 7 mins), attending filmmaker Amanda Besl; The Man in the Vinyl Curtain (Surreal Thriller, 10 mins), attending filmmaker Mathhew David Green; Palace (Supernatural Thriller, 18 mins), attending filmmaker, Shane Collins. Support local artists!

7:45  BLOCK 20         The Demonatrix (Horror, US, 90 mins)

THE DOMINATRIX! SPECIAL GUEST AURELIO VOLTAIRE! GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!

When a phony séance leads to a dominatrix being possessed by a demon, a priest must team up with his mentor to send it back to hell.  Co-written and co-directed by Jeff Ferrell and goth rocker Aurelio Voltaire, who also stars with Doug Bradley (Hellraiser) and Larry Fessenden (Habit). Excellent creature effects! Attending filmmaker – Voltaire! Trailer:https://youtu.be/-RVdkzyVxmg?si=mWHe35mQmdKdzOBD

Short: Specter Nectar and the Death Machine (Animated, WNY, 3 mins), attending filmmaker Emily Sugar.

Wednesday, September 16^th

2:30 BLOCK 21         International Shorts II (78 mins)

Seven stunning shorts from around the world: Hunted (Action, Croatia, 3 mins); The Old Man and the Grave  (S. Korea, 6 mins); Spark (Germany, 4 mins); Ethereal (Iran, 13 mins); The Last Unit  (Spain, 22 mins); Astray (Netherlands, 15 mins); Jasmine. Home. Mother (Lithuania, 15 mins).

4:00   BLOCK 22       Angel Lust (Dark Fantasy, UK, 105 mins)

A possessed woman hanged in 1792 travels through the corridors of time in a twisty, erotic thriller written and directed by Michael Fausti (EXIT, Burnt Flowers), one of our favorite directors. Trailer: https://youtu.be/7HR22jA90nc?si=AuQ1EmngRYK3faip

6:00     BLOCK 23         WNY Shorts III (46 mins plus Q&As)

LOCAL SSHORTS!

Four short films produced in Western New York: See You Around (Thriller, 5 mins), attending filmmaker Maxim Mezzio; Planet Heart (SF, 10 mins), attending filmmaker,  Samantha Zotara; Grace Again (Drama/Thriller, 16 mins), attending filmmaker Nathan Barbour ; Plastic Accordions (Dramedy,15 mins), attending filmmaker, Joseph Marciniak. Support local artists!

7:30      BLOCK 24         It’s Always Almost Over (Comedy/Drama/Romance, NYS, 105 mins)

ONE OF THE BEST OF THE FEST!

Dramedy about a man whose plan to leave his small upstate New York town is derailed when he meets a vibrant woman. Charming and well-acted. Attending filmmaker Jay Leonard, who previously impressed us with his feature Break Glass. Trailer: https://youtu.be/dYna56189ro?si=lKYtYDKM4U-mSv5J

Thursday, September 17^th

2:30  BLOCK 25         US Shorts II (70 mins)

Three amazing short films produced in the U.S., two of them in Puerto Rico: Last Call (US, 20 mins); Grief (US-PR, 21 mins); I’m Leaving (US-PR, 29 mins).

4:00   BLOCK 26         RIP (Supernatural Comedy, Italy, 105 mins)

A stylish and offbeat supernatural comedy about an obituary writer whose life is turned upside down by a group of ghosts, including that of his father. Subtitled in English. Trailer: https://youtu.be/SexwJpEVq3Q?si=JEvrOjJOZzZAtq4D

6:00   BLOCK 27         Sci-Fi Shorts (69 mins)

Four entertaining and mind-bending shorts with Q&As: Illuminagents: Bermuda Short (CAN, 6 mins), attending filmmaker Herman Wang; Encyclopedia Galactica (US, 11 mins), attending filmmaker Kenneth Reynolds; Terminus (US, 15 mins), attending filmmaker; Continuity Error (SF/Comedy, WNY, 37 mins), attending filmmaker Jim Perri.

7:40  BLOCK 28         The Girl Inside the Photograph (Thriller, CAN, 108 mins)

Our Closing Night Feature is an intense thriller: A young woman searching for her missing cat uncovers a sinister past lurking behind the walls of her home. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/854233142?fl=pl&fe=sh