Stanley Film Festival was a horror film festival located in Estes Park, Colorado. Founded in 2013, the festival showcased independent horror films, including features, shorts and special events with guest filmmakers. The festival was named for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park where it is held, a neo-Georgian hotel that was the inspiration and setting of Stephen King's horror novel The Shining. The festival also held a student film competition titled, The Stanley Dean's Cup.
The inaugural festival was held May 2–5, 2013.[1] Opening night film: The Purge with director James DeMonaco and producer Jason Blum in attendance.[2] The 2013 festival was curated by Programming Director Landon Zakheim and programmer Michael Lerman, with films from 13 different countries.[3]
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTRALIA | Colin and Cameron Cairnes | ||
| USA, Chile | Nicolás López | Closing Night | |
| USA | Jonathan Levine | ||
| USA | Larry Fessenden | ||
| United Kingdom | Peter Strickland | ||
| Israel | Navot Papushado & Aharon Keshales | ||
| USA | Katie Aselton | ||
| Cabin Fever – UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT | USA | Eli Roth | |
| NETHERLANDS | Richard Raaphorst | ||
| MEXICO | Adrián García Bogliano | ||
| Singapore, Indonesia | Kimo Stamboel & Timo Tjahjanto | ||
| USA | Frank Khalfoun | ||
| USA | Ryûhei Kitamura | ||
| USA | Rodney Ascher | ||
| United Kingdom | Ben Wheatley | Centerpiece | |
| Germany | Robert Wiene | ||
| USA | James DeMonaco | Opening Night | |
| USA | Calvin Lee Reeder | ||
| USA | Stanley Kubrick | ||
| United Kingdom | James Nunn & Ronnie Thompson | ||
| USA, Canada, Indonesia | Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sánchez, Timo Tjahjanto & Adam Wingard | ||
| Lithuania, France, Belgium | Kristina Buozyte | ||
| Sweden | Sonny Laguna & Tommy Wiklund | ||
It included Room 237 director Rodney Ascher and subject Jay Weidner, Leon Vitali, who was Kubrick's personal assistant on The Shining,
Mick Garris, director of The Shining (TV miniseries), and moderated by Badass Digest writer Devin Faraci.
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Eli Roth | Example | |
| Audience Award for Feature | Maniac | ||
| Audience Award for Short | Ryan Spindell | The Root of the Problem | |
| Stanley Dean’s Cup | John McSween | Peak of Terror |
The 2nd annual festival took place April 24–27, 2014.
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Alexandre O. Philippe | Opening Night | |
| New Zealand | Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement | Closing Night | |
| Australia | Jennifer Kent | ||
| Austria | Marvin Kren | ||
| Norway/Iceland | Tommy Wirkola | ||
| UK/USA | Stanley Kubrick | ||
| France/USA | Jean Epstein | ||
| USA | Joe Dante | ||
| New Zealand | Gerard Johnstone | ||
| USA | Adrian Garcia Bogliano | ||
| Japan | Takashi Miike | ||
| Sweden/Denmark | Antonio Tublen | ||
| South Korea | Kim Ki-duk | ||
| USA | Henry Selick | ||
| Germany | Katrin Gebbe | ||
| Spain/USA | Nacho Vigolando | ||
| Norway | Mikkel Brænne Sandemose | ||
| Japan | Hitoshi Matsumoto | ||
| Hong Kong | Juno Mak | ||
| USA | Ti West | ||
| USA | Mick Garris | ||
| USA | Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer | ||
| Belgium / France / Luxembourg | Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani | ||
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – 40th ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION | USA | Tobe Hooper | |
| Spain | Alex de la Iglesia | ||
| Spain | Narciso Ibáñez Serrador | ||
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Elijah Wood Daniel Noah Josh Waller | Founders of SpectreVision | |
| The Master of Horror Award | Joe Dante | ||
| Audience Award for Feature | What We Do In The Shadows | ||
| Audience Award for Short | Here Be Monsters | ||
| Jury Award for Short | Ghost Train | ||
| Stanley Dean's Cup Jury Award and Stanley Dean's Cup Audience Award | Wormbug |
The 3rd annual festival took place April 30 - May 3, 2015.
Opening night film: Cooties with SpectreVision production company partners Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, and Elijah Wood in attendance.[5]
| Film | Country | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Rodney Ascher | ||
| USA | Ted Geoghegan | ||
| USA | Dan Berk & Robert Olsen | ||
| USA | Craig Macneill | ||
| New Zealand | Jason Lei Howden | ||
| USA | Tim Kirk | ||
| USA | Todd Strauss-Schulson | Closing Night | |
| USA | Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion | Opening Night | |
| Goodnight Mommy Ich Seh Ich Seh | Austria | Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz | |
| United Kingdom | Corin Hardy | ||
| Vietnam | Ham Tran | ||
| USA | Karyn Kusama | Centerpiece | |
| United Kingdom | Brian O'Malley | ||
| Over Your Dead Body Kuime | Japan | Takashi Miike | |
| Mexico | Adrian Garcia Bogliano | ||
| Shrew's Nest Musarañas | Spain | Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel | |
| Some Kind Of Hate | USA | Adam Egypt Mortimer | |
| USA | TBenni Diez | ||
| USA | Ben Cresciman | ||
| Belgium | Hans Herbots | ||
| When Animals Dream Når Dyrene Drømmer | Denmark | Jonas Alexander Arnby | |
| Canada | David Cronenberg | Retrospective | |
| USA | Stuart Gordon | Retrospective | |
| USA | James Whale | Retrospective | |
| Diabolique Les Diaboliques | France | Henri-Georges Clouzot | Retrospective |
| United Kingdom | Roman Polanski | Retrospective | |
| USA | Jim Sharman | Retrospective | |
| Award | Recipient | Film/Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visionary Award | Tom Quinn | RADiUS-TWC co-president | |
| Audience Award for Feature | The Final Girls | Director Todd Strauss-Schulson | |
| Audience Award & Jury Award for Short Film | The Babysitter Murder | Director Ryan Spindell | |
| Stanley Dean's Cup Colorado Prize | Moon Studios | Director Merritt Crocker | |
| Stanley Dean's Cup International Prize | Inherent Noise | Director Karol Jurga |