Birmingham film festival celebrates 40 years of cult movie Gremlins
The director of Gremlins will discuss the cult film’s enduring appeal 40 years on from its release when movie buffs gather at an international film festival in Birmingham later this month.
The Cine-Excess International Film Festival and Conference, which runs from 21-25 October, will also mark 50 years since the first screening of horror flick The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
According to co-founder Xavier Mendik, Professor of Cult Cinema Studies at Birmingham City University (BCU), the festival is about “connecting cult movie fans with its creators”.
He added: “When the festival started back in 2007, we wanted to create a unique event that would appeal to film educators, movie fans and cinema industry professionals. I think this appeal to different demographics has certainly helped sustain a wider interest in Cine-Excess.”
This year’s festival theme is “Blood Ties: The Family in Cult and Horror Cinema,” which will explore familial dynamics in some of the genre’s most iconic films.
The international conference will run from 21-24 October and will include an in-person symposium on Friday 25 October at BCU’s School of Art on Margaret Street.
The live chat with Gremlins director Joe Dante will be streamed at 5pm on 24 October. The 77-year-old American will also discuss how the film pioneered new trends in family friendly horror.
Speaking about the film’s appeal to the current generation, Joe Dante said: “I can only say that the eighties are the new fifties to the current generation.
“The Spielberg-Lucas generation often based their popular work on favourite films seen in their childhood, and the same is true today.”
The previous day, cast and crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will delve into the film’s social and cultural relevance during a live stream at 6pm.
Guests include Allen Danziger and William Vail, who played the roles of Jerry and Kirk, plus Ted Nicolaou (Sound Department) and Daniel Pearl (Cinematographer).
All four will receive a Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of the wider cast and crew.
As part of this event, there will be an online keynote address from Professor Tony Williams, author of Hearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1996; University Press of Mississippi, 2014).
The conference features more than 40 additional talks and discussions from international scholars, who will be participating both online and in-person.
