SCARY GIRLS Terrifies Male Execs by Honoring Emerging Women In Horror
If you follow FilmSlop at all, you know we love platforming female and queer storytellers. Well, a frightening level of talent was just honored at The London West Hollywood for the SCARY GIRLS film showcase and awards show, hosted by indie film company DesiMo Productions. SCARY GIRLS rolled out the blood-red carpet to celebrate women and gender-expansive voices in horror and dark comedy for an incredible evening that might be the thing of certain male executives’ nightmares.
Actor and producer Desiree Staples had this vision when she founded DesiMo Productions as a vehicle to uplift underrepresented voices in comedy and genre filmmaking. SCARY GIRLS (the second event in a series by DesiMo) is a living, breathing extension of that, giving filmmakers a chance to showcase their work, be validated for it, and, most importantly, get together and connect as a community.
Its honorees Saturday are proof of mission accomplished, with the likes of Ivy Wolk (Ryan Murphy's The Shards, The Napa Boys), Annapurna Sriram (Fucktoys), Haley Z. Boston (Netflix’s Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen), and Shreya Navile (Netflix’s Best of the Best) all taking the stage to receive top accolades.
To give an idea of just how scary-talented these artists are, Wolk received the Visionary Award for her role as Prancer in The Napa Boys (co-written by Armen Weitzman and Nick Corirossi), and her work as Rhonda in The Shards,FX’s prestige erotic thriller limited series from Ryan Murphy (quite the departure from Glee). Triple-threat Sriram took home the Trailblazer Award for writing, directing, and starring in her feature film, Fucktoys, which takes viewers to an alternate pre-2000s universe where a young woman seeks out psychics to break a curse. If the title sounds biting, wait until you watch (it bites visually, too).
It’s clear that SCARY GIRLS wants to be the event that helps bridge the gap between genre filmmaking and mainstream distribution, because, damnit, people need to see this stuff. Netflix’s Something Very Bad is Going to Happen is proof of the very good things that happen when voices get a chance, as Boston deservedly received honors for her work as creator and showrunner of the series that evening. Putting out somewhat of a masterclass in atmospheric dread, tension-building, and jump scares, Boston won Outstanding Achievement for Excellence in Comedy & Horror.
Speaking of jump scares, SCARY GIRLS curated a gripping slate of films as part of its showcase, including SKIN, for which Navile aptly received the Fearless Performance Award as the lead. Nine other films were screened as well.
The four honorees of the evening were selected to represent some of the most distinct voices in a swelling group of artists who are thinking outside the haunted house. But really, the most horrifying thing about SCARY GIRLS is that the talent there isn’t getting the attention they deserve, though I have a feeling that’s about to change thanks to events like this. Lock your corner office doors, execs.
