MidWest WeirdFest have announced the full program for 2023. The 7th annual film festival – a cinematic celebration of of all things fantastic, frightening, paranormal, and just plain weird – takes place March 3rd – 5th, 2025 at the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Among the fest’s fantastic line-up of horror, sci-fi, underground and documentary cinema, are several fantastic films that will be premiering at the event. One of these is BRAEK (pictured above), a genre-bending crime caper come rural horror movie. Says BRAEK director John Fallon:

The making of BRAEK was a suicide mission and I couldn’t have pulled it off without my small yet efficient cast/crew. Better to go to war with 15 lions than a 100 sheep as they say. We are very proud to have our USA premiere at Midwest WeirdFest, a festival that I’ve always esteemed. BRAEK is more than just another ‘home invasion’ type spiel; it also tackles some heavy themes and shows what happens when ‘one kind of man’ goes head to head with ‘another kind of man’. It’s layered and brutal. We hope the MidWest WeirdFest audience enjoys it!

BRAEK is one of the amazing feature films that the festival is announcing as part of its 2023 program for the first time today, along with over sixty short films. The final wave of feature programming includes:

• THE BIGFOOT TRAP (dir: Aaron Mirtes) WORLD PREMIERE
  A journalist’s life is changed forever when he’s locked inside of a Bigfoot trap by an insane Sasquatch hunter. But is the biggest threat to his survival the hunter, or something big and hairy lurking in the woods? THE BIGFOOT HUNTER is a fun and wild ride, and a fantastic addition to the exploitation sub-genre of Bigfoot movies!
• BRAEK (dir: John Fallon) US PREMIERE
  The McCabe family’s weekend getaway was never meant to be a life-changing experience. Governor William McCabe (Nick Baillie), a respected politician, was looking forward to some rest and relaxation. His beautiful wife Lauren (Melissa Anschutz) and distant stepdaughter Erin (Lane) strain to enjoy their time together, as the facade of the trophy family has worn dangerously thin. Things take a severe turn for the worse when a charismatic stranger (Kevin Interdonato) knocks on their door and triggers an unexpected chain of events.
• THE DEBT COLLECTOR (dir: Richard Wolstencroft) INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
  An ex-IRA hitman returns to Australia and finds work as debt collector. He soon decides to seek revenge on men who abused him as a child in a Catholic orphanage. A young woman he rescues from abuse convinces Vaughn to continue his run of vengeance. That decision has spiralling consequences.
• THE DIABETIC (dir: Mitchell Stafiej) MIDWEST PREMIERE
  Like a mumblecore for invisible disability, THE DIABETIC follows a lonely and irreverent 30 year old Type 1 Diabetic named Alek who returns to his hometown to re-live his teenage ‘glory days’ with an old acquaintance Throughout the seemingly never-ending night, and as Alek’s blood sugars become erratic, he pushes their adventure to darker and darker places with complete disregard for anyone’s well-being.
• FOLLOW HER (dir: Sylvia Caminer) WISCONSIN PREMIERE
  Jess Peters, a struggling actress and live streamer, has finally found her hook: secretly filming creepy interactions she encounters via online job listings, and using the kinks of others to fuel her streaming success. For her next episode, she’s been hired to write the ending of a screenplay in a remote, lavish cabin. But this client isn’t what he seems, and even though the money is great… the real payment here could cost her life.
• LOGGER (dir: Steffen Geypens) MIDWEST PREMIERE
  Based upon the fable ‘Death and the Logger’ by Jean de la Fontaine (1668) and inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’ (1950) we follow a logger into the woods, where he discovers a brutally mutilated body. He falls into a catatonic state and gets the unexpected help of Death herself. From that moment on, the story is told by three different point of views. The surreal truth slowly unravels until the final battle with Death turns everything back to normal.
• WELCOME TO KITTTOWN (dir: Douglas James Luciuk) WISCONSIN PREMIERE
  A post-apocalyptic survivor and his unlikely ally journey through a barren, disease-ridden wasteland searching for safe haven. Don’t miss this horror / buddy-comedy / post-apocalyptic gem! Imagine THE ROAD meets SHAUN OF THE DEAD and you might have a vague sense of what’s install! The future has never looked so bleak… or hilarious.
• YOUR LOVE IS MINE (dir: Luke Wijayasinha-Gray & Luke J. S.) INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
  A mesmerizing and haunting love story of Violet (Senie Priti) and Sam (Lester Ellis Jr). When their relationship is threatened by sudden tragedy, one of them goes to unthinkable lengths to preserve their union.

Feature films previously announced as official selections of the 7th annual MidWest WeirdFest can be found here. MidWest WeirdFest’s full 2023 program and schedule can be viewed here: https://www.midwestweirdfest.com/program

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Feb 20, 2023 by Phil Wheat