Abertoir

Welsh horror film festival

Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales is an annual horror and horror film festival held in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales.

History

The festival began as a three-day event in 2006, expanding since to a six-day programme of films and events.^[1]

In 2014, Abertoir collaborated with the Wales One World Film Festival (WOW) for the UK premiere of the Argentinian supernatural thriller The Second Death (La Segunda Muerte).^[2]

Description

Abertoir the only film festival dedicated to horror films in Wales, and is a member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation.^[1]

The festival screens new big-budget horror films, along with classics and independent films. It also includes a short film competition, screening entries from around the world. It often also features music concerts, stage productions and masterclasses.^[1]

It maintains a partnership with the WOW Film Festival.^[3]

Notable guests

Notable guests of honour have included:^{[citation needed]}

Lloyd Kaufman (2007)
Mark Gatiss (2008)
Doug Bradley (2008 and 2009)
Herschell Gordon Lewis (2009)
Robin Hardy (2006 and 2010)
Victoria Price (daughter of Vincent Price) (2011 and 2015)
Catriona MacColl (2012)
Richard Johnson (2013)
Fabio Frizzi (2013, 2015 & 2016)
Luigi Cozzi (2014 & 2016)
Ian McCulloch (2014)
Dario Russo and David Ashby (creators of Danger 5) (2015)
Lynn Lowry (2016)
Sergio Martino (2017)
Lamberto Bava (2017)
Brian O'Malley (2017)
Gary Sherman (film director) (2019 & 2023)
John Scott (composer) (2019)
Norman J. Warren (film director) (2019)
Prano Bailey-Bond (film director) (2021)
William Crain (film director) (2022)

Notable premieres

The following films were premiered at the festival before general release:^{[citation needed]}

Broken (2006)
Isolation (2006)
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2007)
Dead Wood (2007)
Planet Terror (2007)
Colin (2008)
The Uh! Oh! Show (2009)
Rare Exports (2010)

Notable bands

Notable bands which have played at the film festival include:^{[citation needed]}

Daemonia (band of horror composer Claudio Simonetti) (2008)
Zombina and the Skeletones (2009 and 2010)
The Damned (2010)
Devilish Presley (2011)
Fabio Frizzi and the Frizzi 2 Fulci Band (2015, 2016)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "About Abertoir Horror Festival". Abertoir. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ Gillam, David (13 March 2014). "Preview: Wales One World Festival". Wales Arts Review (Interview). Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ Denning, Louise (28 February 2022). "Wales One World Film Festival, The UK's Longest Running World Cinema Festival Celebrates Its 21st Birthday". Cardiff Times. Retrieved 8 October 2022.