Eric Khoo returns to scare horror movie buffs with Scream Asia 2019

Eric Khoo also curated the first edition of the horror film festival last year.

19 Jun – After successfully scaring horror movie buffs in Singapore last year, Scream Asia returns with its second edition this year with local auteur Eric Khoo once again serving as the horror film festival's creative director.

Scream Asia 2019 is set to run in late October, just in time for the spooky Halloween season.

Organised by mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes, it will feature a slate of horror movies, masterclasses, as well as a horror short film competition.

With an aim of developing the horror film industry, the festival's short film competition serves as a platform for potential horror filmmakers around Asia to showcase their talents through directing a short film.

"After our successful run last year, I'm excited to make Scream Asia a platform for discovering new horror filmmaking talents from the region. This year we will introduce the Short Film Competition where winning entries stand a chance to be developed into feature films!" said Eric Khoo in a press statement.

Submission for the short film competition is now open. The final submission date is on 19 September 2019.

It is open to any applicants with residency or citizenship to any Asian country, and are at least 18-years-old as of 17 June 2019. Submitted films must be shorter than 15 minutes and originally made within the past 12 months as of 19 September 2019.

Giddens Ko and Thomas Nam will judge the short film competition alongside Eric Khoo.

15 finalists will be picked for the award ceremony that's set to be held on 26 October 2019. The top three winners picked by Eric Khoo, along with South Korea's Thomas Nam and Taiwan's Giddens Ko, will be announced at the award ceremony.

Following in the footsteps of Joko Anwar ("Satan's Slave") and Yeon Sang-ho ("Train to Busan"), who conducted masterclasses at the horror film festival last year, "Mon Mon Mon Monsters" helmer Giddens Ko will be the one conducting them this year.

Of course, what's a horror film festival without the screenings of bone-chilling, blood-curdling horror movies.

To be held at Cathay Cineplexes, the screenings lineup will be revealed to the public this August. So stay tuned to see what horror movies await you at Scream Fest 2019!

(Photo source: Scream Asia Film Festival's Facebook)