A new international film festival is being launched in Buffalo in 2013. On the heels of running the successful Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival, filmmaker/novelists Gregory Lamberson and Chris Scioli are onto their next film festival adventure. This time the team will be hosting Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival at the Dipson Amherst Theatre in the University District. The week-long series, to be held Friday, November 8th through Thursday, November 14th, will feature science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, action, animation and cult films. “We built Buffalo Screams into a successful and respected international film festival,” says Lamberson, “but we wanted to expand our scope and saw the opportunity to re-brand. Our mission statement with Buffalo Dreams remains the same – to bring the best independent genre films from around the world to Buffalo and shine a spotlight on local filmmakers who create quality films. Horror films will be a large part of our mix, but we want to showcase other genres as well, and now we can include westerns, martial arts, animation – anything that we consider cool.”
Choosing the Dipson Amherst Theater is a decision that should help to draw “fantastic” film fans from all over the region, and positions another film festival in (or at least on the border of) the city. “Holding the festival at the Amherst Theatre is important to the festival’s success,” adds Scioli. “The theater is located across the street from the University of Buffalo South Campus and shows specialty films. We want to build the largest possible audience for the films we show, and the college demographic is key. Our goal is to program the best film festival in Western New York, and we’re making a long term commitment to build an event that will become a cultural fixture in this area.”
*Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival will screen short, medium length, and feature films in competitive categories. Film submissions will be made through Without a Box, and the Call for Entries will be made soon.
Visit www.buffalodreamsfilmfest.com for more information.