Day 12 of my 13 Horrifically Silly Days of Halloween series, with my guest Kalen Artinian of the Grand Gerrard Theatre

10/30/2020

Kalen Artinian is a filmmaker based in Toronto. He also runs events at the Grand Gerrard Theatre!

First of all, please tell me a bit about yourself, what you do, and your role at the Grand Gerrard.

As a writer and director, I enjoy telling stories of real world trauma through fantasy and genre. My short films have played at film festivals all over the world and I've directed, shot and edited music videos for artists all the way from NYC to Paris to Saudi Arabia.

My responsibilities at The Grand Gerrard are multiple as it is a very DIY operation. I love programming the films. It feels good sometimes introducing them to new audiences. The Grand Gerrard is open to anyone from all walks of life, if you want to book a screening, a comedy show, and even concerts. We're very flexible that way.

Tell me about some of your favourite projects as a film writer, director and producer.

I have made shorts that cost upwards of 10000$. Don't Scream cost around 50$ and it ended up screening at The Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter recently screened at Final Girls Berlin Film Festival In Berlin. I attended the festival in February just before the pandemic hit the world. The short was very well received and I met some rad filmmakers.

What are you working on now/soon?

Right now, I'm working on a couple different feature scripts that I hope will go into production once this pandemic is far behind us.

There's more interview...read on!

A still from "Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter"

Now, I’d like to turn to your personal all time favs—what are your favourite horror movies?

My all time favourite horror movie is Rosemary's Baby and my 2nd Black Christmas. I can watch them over and over again and they never lose their power.

How about fav Horror-Comedies? And Canadian Horror Comedy favs?

For Fav horror comedies I have to give it Re-Animator, Jennifer's Body, Shaun of the Dead, The Love Witch, Return of the Living Dead.
Fav Canadian horror comedies - I love Ginger Snaps & Manborg.

And now, favourite B-movies? Also, hat about Canadian B-movies?

For B movies, The Creature From The Black Lagoon is my all time favourite, also The Blob (1988) is great.

Some incredible Canadian B movies are Beyond The Black Rainbow and Class of 1984 which was shot in Toronto and is an all time classic.

Are there any other local/Canadian B-movie makers you’d like to plug?

I'm a fan of Torin Langen, an Ontario based filmmaker. His work is very DIY and always has a cool atmosphere. You can check his work at http://candleflamefilms.com

Last but not least, your favourite thing about Halloween…and do you have any Halloween rituals?

Halloween is my favourite holiday. I've been dressing up every year since I was a child and I take my costumes very seriously. Often times building from scratch.