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How Two Film Programmers Centered Horror Fans Over Industry to Build the Overlook Film Festival
The Overlook Film Festival was created by two film programming veterans who wanted to celebrate horror films with fans.
This year’s unlimited “Final Girl” badges — set at the cheeky price of $666 — sold out in one day, before the lineup was even announced. One perfect blend was a Sunday afternoon screening of William Castle’s gimmicky 1960 film “13 Ghosts,” where audience members were given “Illusion-O” magic viewing glasses that matched the original release, with one side calibrated to let you see the film’s spirits, and the other color blocked in case you “don’t believe in ghosts.” The screening was preceded by Phantom Follies with Zabrecky, a magic exhibition that evoked the “spook show” séances that were popular during the Great Depression, complete with a lights-out ghost attack in the auditorium and ending with the magician frightened to death, sprawled on stage as “13 Ghosts” began screening. Looking to the future and growth, Zakheim and Lerman always want to stretch the boundaries of what Overlook can deliver, but know they need to be realistic about keeping the quality control and intimacy of the festival intact, given that it’s entirely volunteer-run.
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