Lady Filmmakers Film Festival / Chicago Horror Film Festival - The Ruins
THE RUINS is a horror story about a woman who is cursed by circumstance and her tragic past. Inspired by real-life ruins, isolated and haunted by fire.
Interview with Writer/Director Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest
Watch The Ruins on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! THE RUINS is part 2 of our horror short trilogy. The first film, THE HOOSAC, was a huge success. It won the Audience Choice Award for Best Horror Short at the International Haunted Horror Film Festival and was nominated for Best Horror Short and Best Actor at the New York City International Film Festival. We are filmmakers with an itch for throwback horror. We want to keep the genre alive and based on feedback from our audiences, it is working. Their itch is being scratched so to speak.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Our goal is to make intelligent horror. There’s an underlying sense of dread and we would categorize it under psychological thriller/ horror. We grew up with shows like Tales From the Darkside, and the horror movies from the 70’s/80’s made a huge impact on us as kids. We think younger audiences of today missed out on some thrillers of yesteryear and we hope to turn that around.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
THE RUINS touches on how everyone has their inner demons and how people cope differently with them. Living in NYC can be the loneliest place in the world. This is a peek inside.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
The script was slightly tweaked once we started shooting and saw the potential of the environment once we started doing camera setups. We also wrote a short story version of the script to help us better visualize the concept as a whole including the backstory of the characters. And we our brilliant script consultant to thank, Katarzyna Müller, who added finesse to some of the moments in the film.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been amazing. People are particularly loving the cinematography and the imagery. We are in 16 film festivals thus far and still have several months to go in the circuit, so it’s all very exciting.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It’s been fantastic. Let’s face it, filmmaking is expensive; accessible, but expensive. Even if you have the gear, submitting to festivals and traveling to viewings can get pricey. It’s all worth it to interact with our fans in person. We love them. They teach us so much. No complaints ;)
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
First and foremost we want to increase our fan base. As we said, we learn so much from them. Their needs and desires when it comes to independent films. We also hope to get more interest from film festival directors from upcoming fests, future potential audiences, a greater flow to our website and to our Facebook page, and of course, a major goal is to secure a producer who will turn our short into a full-length feature.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great if film festival directors highlight our film more via Facebook and their websites. They have the connections to make independent filmmakers these days and we are very thankful for every opportunity they give us.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
So far, we’ve had a wonderful reception; people laugh and jump at the right scenes After the screenings, we have strangers coming up to us saying how much they loved THE RUINS so that’s always lovely to hear!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film: To what degree and in what capacity do we incorporate our inner demons into the real world?
Can we ever overcome childhood trauma?
Would you like to add anything else?
THE RUINS has won Best Horror Short at LAIFFA; Semi-Finalist at Los Angeles Cinefest; nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Atmosphere at the Independent Horror Movie Awards; Semi-Finalist at the European Cinematography Awards; and an award nominee at the Great Lakes International Film Festival.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
As we mentioned, THE RUINS is actually part two of a trilogy. We are now turning our focus on part 3 which promises to be equally thrilling and even has us creeped out.
Interview: September 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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THE RUINS
THE RUINS is a horror story about a woman who is cursed by circumstance and her tragic past. Inspired by real-life ruins, isolated and haunted by fire.
Short synopsis:
A NYC psychiatrist - an advocate for the healing power of nature – struggles with PTSD. When it flares up, she decides to take her own advice and embarks on a hiking trip to get away. She checks into a hotel where she encounters a front-desk clerk who seems overly interested in her. After coming upon some ruins in the woods, her hallucinations become increasingly more horrific. The trip turns brutal, when the ruins hit too close to home.
Length: 11 minutes
Director: Ric Sechrest
Executive Producer: Matilda Szydagis
Writer: Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest
About the writer, director and producer:
Ric Sechrest: (director/writer) based in New York City. Degrees: Ohio University, MFA; University of Maine, MA; Syracuse University, BS. SAG-AFTRA, AEA. www.RicSechrest.com
Matilda Szydagis: (writer/producer) from Chicago, NYC based, fluent in Polish, and holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago; SAG-AFTRA, AEA. www.matildaszydagis.com
Key cast: Matilda Szydagis, Ric Sechrest, Gavin Starr Kendall
Looking for:
Ideally, we’d like a producer who is intrigued with our story to turn our shorts into full-length features. We would love for Guillermo del Toro to give us a call ;) shorts such as Mama and Lights Out were discovered “on-line” and turned into incredibly successful features. If Michael Clear, Richard Brener, or Ben Everard are inclined to give us a call, we would be overjoyed.
Funders: self-funded
Made in association with: Your Team Productions
Where can I see it in the next month?
THE RUINS can be seen at the Chicago Horror Film Festival September 24th; Lady Filmmakers in Beverly Hills September 30th; Halloween Horror Picture Show in Tampa September 30th; Great Lakes Intl Film Festival Sept 21-30th; European Short Film Festival in Berlin October 4th; Upstate NY Horror Film Festival in Rochester Oct 13-15th; Terror Film Festival October 19th.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yourteamfilms
Website: www.yourteamfilms.com