The inaugural Jacksonville Horror Film Festival is set to launch March 13\u201314 at Hicks Auditorium, co-founded by UNF alumna Samantha Spaniak and award-winning filmmaker DJ Remark.<\/p>\n
The two founders, a pairing of architecture and horror expertise, planned the festival with a \u201cFirst Blood\u201d theme aimed at first-time filmmakers. They promise \u201ca staple event for the city for both casual movie goers and horror cinephiles alike.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Founders: an unlikely match<\/p>\n
Spaniak, who graduated from the University of North Florida in 2010 with a major in Art History and a minor in Art Studio before earning a master\u2019s in architecture from the University of Florida, is currently pursuing a career in architecture with Hoefer Welker, an architecture, planning & interior design firm.<\/p>\n
Remark, a former IT professional who switched careers to filmmaking, is a member of the Downtown Council of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
The co-founders met while working on Remark\u2019s feature film, \u201cHellgate,\u201d available on Amazon. Spaniak used her architectural background to construct the \u201ccaves\u201d for the movie, an experience that later fueled plans for the festival.<\/p>\n
Remark and Spaniak\u2019s collaboration can be attributed to Remark\u2019s misjudgment of Florida\u2019s geography while writing \u201cHellgate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDJ is from Ohio, so he wrote the script while thinking there were caves in Florida, and there is not caves in Florida, so he needed someone to build a cave. This is where I came in,\u201d said Spaniak. \u201cOver that time, we bonded, and he introduced me to a form of appreciation for horror.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When seeing her name in the movie\u2019s credits, Spaniak explained how \u201crandom\u201d yet exciting it all felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe merging of these two art mediums [architecture and filmmaking] is kind of what I think gets me excited,\u201d Spaniak said. \u201cArchitects are artists, and we have a way to influence the world and cultivate other mediums.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remark attributed his shift to filmmaking and his affinity for the genre to the \u201cartistry\u201d and creativity behind horror.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided that I hated my life and wanted to do what I was meant to do, which was make films,\u201d Remark said of his 2018 career change.<\/p>\n
He shot his first short film on a cell phone, bought filmmaking starter gear off of Amazon, and moved to Jacksonville in 2021 to shoot \u201cHellgate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Festival debut<\/p>\n
Both founders are motivated by a shared desire to \u201cbring people together, especially over the arts,\u201d and to \u201cactivate downtown\u201d Jacksonville through the \u201cFirst Blood\u201d themed festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remark said that horror is \u201ca very enigmatic genre\u201d that crosses all demographic boundaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can, you know, help develop the culture and make the culture of Jacksonville a little more spooky, I\u2019m all about that,\u201d said Remark.<\/p>\n
According to the co-founders, the \u201cFirst Blood\u201d festival has received 68 submissions from six countries and will feature 27 screenings of short films, feature films, and music videos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the co-founders described the festival as a small-scale event, Spaniak noted that one of the sponsors is Macabre Spirits, a horror-centric spirits brand co-founded by \u201cScream\u201d star Matthew Lillard.<\/p>\n
In addition to screenings, the event will feature cosplayers, vendors, specialty popcorn, and award several film-related prizes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Further details on the festival can be found on the Jacksonville Horror Film Festival website<\/a>.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n