Monster Fest returns for its sixth edition November 24-27 at the Lido Cinemas in Melbourne, with support from Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
Writer and programmer Kier-La Janisse joins the team as festival director alongside festival co-founder and head of Monster Pictures acquisitions Neil Foley.
They're joined on the programming team by longtime programmer for the American Cinematheque, Chris D; scholar and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (Rape Revenge Films: A Critical History); pulp expert Andrew Nette (Beat Girls, Love Tribes and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture from the 1950s to the 1980s); film scholar and archivist Dean Brandum (Technicolor Yawn); curator Hussein Khoder (ex-Melbourne Underground Film Festival); media researcher Catherine Seccombe (ABC) and Trasharama programmer Dick Dale.
“I’m really excited about having someone of Chris D’s stature join the team this year,” said Janisse.
“He’s got exquisite taste and brings a wealth of experience to the festival. Not to mention our returning shorts programmers and the dynamic duo of Andrew Nette and Dean Brandum, who are delving into the depths of cinema obscura to bring us the strongest repertory programming of any Monster Fest to date.”
Monster Fest was established in 2011 by Foley and Grant Hardie as the exhibition arm of Monster Pictures.
Submissions are open until August 12 for features, shorts and expanded cinema projects.