A note to anyone affiliated with a film festival that frequently employs the words scream, fear, horror, fright, dark, or creeeeepy: If you send me a press release, I'll throw you some blog-love. That's what happens when a childish genre nerd gets to work at a slick 'n' popular website like this one. Case in point: A very cool guy called Adam Lopez helps run an event called Toronto After Dark, and he asked if I wouldn't mind spreading the word on their upcoming slate. And since this is a small but reputable festival (and not to be confused with TIFF's own "Midnight Madness" line-up, which is like a mini-fest all by itself), I said "Sure, Adam!" And guess what? I'll do the same for LA Screamfest, UK Frightfest, and New Zealand Gorefest -- even though I just made that last one up.

TADFF (an acronym I also just made up) runs from October 17 to 24. The festival generally plays between 16 to 20 films, and while their final slate hasn't been decided just yet, they have snagged a few juicy titles for their first batch. The Jack Ketchum adaptation Red will be screened, as will Darren Lynn Bousman's Repo! The Genetic Opera and (of course) the stunningly wonderful Swedish import Let the RIght One In. Other titles include Bill Plympton's Idiots and Angels, the action-packed Mirageman, the self-explanatory Tokyo Gore Police, and the recent fest favorite Who is KK Downey?

For more information on Toronto After Dark, you can pick through their website right here. I'll also include a little promo video after the jump -- and here's the best part: You can get a full festival badge for around one hundred bucks Canadian! If they screen 17 movies, that equals out to about ... six bucks a flick! (Less, actually!) Stop back in a week or two and we'll have the full line-up. You Canadians get all the luck.

Somehow, I have remembered to take photos on my vice-filled journey through the CineVegas Film Festival, and while a lot of them didn't come out as I planned, you can see a couple (along with a bunch from Getty Images) in the gallery below. You'll find shots of the parties, of the fest in motion, of fire-breathers in bikinis, of naked women covered in paint (ahem, see above), of singing sensation Bijou Phillips, and even a candid shot of the world beer pong champion (I think you'll be able to figure out which one that is). Wish you were here!

I'm coming to you live from the tenth annual CineVegas Film Festival in the fabulous Palms Casino and Resort. Yes, that's the very same hotel where the Real World Vegas clan turned a hot tub into a simmering cauldron of gonorrhea. Thankfully, I'm staying in a different suite. I arrived late Friday night, was also fortunate enough to attend the now legendary Britney Spears party, and woke up yesterday with a crippling hangover.

The fest is sponsored by Grey Goose, and to quote the greatest songwriter/pants-wetter of our day, Fergie, Grey Goose got this girl feeling loose! I can't seem to turn around without being handed a cocktail. I can certainly see why Nicolas Cage had such a problem with alcohol in that movie about leaving Las Vegas ... strangely, its title escapes me right now.

I don't like the word "awesome" very much. At least, not for the last 10+ years. Every time I hear the frakking word, it sends my brain back to high school and that whole cheerleader chant: "A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Awesome, awesome, to-tal-ly." AH! That being said, the word still means all of that super-cool stuff, so maybe this new festival will help reclaim the word in my tired-of-cheerleader-chants brain. indieWIRE reports that a new fest called "From Here to Awesome" is getting set up as a "New Discovery and Distribution Festival."

Co-founded by Lance Weiler (Head Trauma), Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), and M dot Strange (We Are the Strange), the new Awesome Fest is now accepting video submissions from filmmakers "explaining why they think their film is 'awesome.'" Through the wonder of the Internet partners MySpace, YouTube, and Current TV, audiences can zip through the submissions and vote on their favorites. In the Spring, the ten top picks will get screened in theaters, on the net, and zoomed onto your portable device of choice.

But here's the kicker -- any and all revenue is going directly to the lucky filmmaker. As if that wasn't enough, the filmmakers keep all of their rights. Weiler says: "Less and less films are getting traditional distribution deals. From Here to Awesome is an attempt to answer some of the largest issues facing filmmakers today -- discovery, distribution, and sustainability by putting the power to distribute in the hands of the filmmakers and their audiences." Good luck, fledgling filmmakers!

Paolo Cherchi Usai worked on his film Passio for six years. Scored to Arvo Part's "Passio," the film has been hailed by many as a masterpiece. Documentarian Ken Burns says "It seeks to do what most films and filmmakers shrink from: make a statement about all and everything; about who we are, where we have been, and where we are going." Werner Herzog thinks the film should be sent into space to represent human life, along with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." And you will likely never get to see it. Usai doesn't want Passio to be in theaters or released on DVD. To make absolutely sure of it, he has destroyed the film's negative. Says Usai: "Film was never meant to be permanent. Film was born as something ephemeral. I consider film more as a performing art than an art of reproduction."

Passio made its U.S. premiere Friday at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. It had only been performed once before - an Australian exhibition. Usai made just seven prints of the film, and will only allow viewings accompanied by a live orchestra and chorus. Says Usai: "This is a different animal. I wanted to make something where every experience will be radically different from another experience." Passio is a silent film full of disturbing, obscure film images such as: "the skull of a black man being measured by white scientists, a woman's seizure, the scraping of an eyeball," etc. The images are allegedly so extreme that a viewer fainted at the Australia screening. The film's mission is to expose "our neglected or repressed collective memory." If Passio sounds like something you might be interested in seeing, well...sorry. You probably won't get the chance.

If I described Diggers as being about "four old friends who struggle to (finally) mature in the face of grown-up stresses, miseries and generally unpleasant turns of event," you'd probably respond with something like "Oh yeah, just like 45% of all indie/comedy/dramas I've seen this decade." And you'd be right -- it's not a stunning sense of originality that makes Diggers worth watching; it's the actors, combined with the asset of a surprisingly insightful screenplay that does the job. It's amusing to note that while screenwriter Ken Marino's old State-mates are out banking huge coin writing chaff like Let's Go to Prison and Herbie: Fully Loaded, his first screenplay is a much more personal and low-key affair.

While Diggers would most likely be labeled a "drama," the truth is that there's a lot of solid wit to be found here. It's just couched in between a lot of (surprisingly compelling) melodrama, which helps the 'funny bits' to succeed more often. Plus, Diggers is packed with really strong performances, particularly from likable folks like Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Sarah Paulson, Josh Hamilton, Maura Tierney and Ron Eldard. Marino gives himself a very juicy central role, but the guy manages to steal every scene he's in, so it's not like it's a bad thing. (His scenes with Ms. Paulson are really quite excellent.) Rudd, Eldard, Hamilton and Marino make for a quietly compelling quartet of old pals; the guys exhibit a clear and casual chemistry that helps the semi-familiar material go down a lot more smoothly.

If you've turned on the television at all this week, you're probably aware that there's a film at Sundance called Hounddog, in which there's a rape scene featuring 12-year-old Dakota Fanning. There's been a lot of talk about the rape scene in theory, but most of it has come from people who haven't, and may never, see the film. After being shut out of the film's sole Sundance press screening, I swung by a public screening of the film, to find out what ticket buyers had to say after seeing it for themselves.

Lancaster, California has a film festival. If you've ever been there then you understand my statement. The town is small, was formerly known for its plethora of alfalfa fields and thus has little to attract an audience there. Unlike Palm Springs -- a desert resort community -- Lancaster is over an hour outside of Los Angeles and has a public pool with one adult lane. The point? It still has a film festival.

Darryl MacDonald, Godfather of film festivals, could be partially responsible for Lancaster's conception. MacDonald is partially responsible for most film festivals big and small. For Variety, MacDonald gave some pointers on how to make a film festival -- if you're thinking of creating one -- successful.

Here is a quick outline of what to do:

• Find a distinguishable characteristic for you film festival. Variety stated there are about 1,500 film festivals a year in North America alone.

• Figure out how to attract filmmakers to show their films at your festival.

• Money! You have to pay for publicizing your fest, the facilities to play your film, and much more.

• Gain credibility. MacDonald says this takes time and "you get that one of two ways: You buy it or you get a lot of celebrity participation."

What do you do if Angelina Jolie isn't interested in Lancaster, Pennsylvania or California? Then it's your job as the creator of your festival to come up with something clever. Yes, the festival will cost a lot of money but if you love film and there isn't a festival for miles then make one yourself. Go forth and good luck!

Let's play the question game again. I'll ask you a series of questions. If, at any point, you answer no to one of the questions, you can probably stop reading this post, as it will no longer interest you. I'll doubt you'll do that though, because really, who stops in the middle of a 200 word article? That's like stopping halfway through a piece of toast. You could do it, but ... why? It's not like it's a big commitment. Ready? Good.

1. Do you like Kevin Smith?
2. Do you appreciate amateur films?
3. Do you enjoy alcohol? (not an actual requirement, just a bonus for those of you who do)
4. Do you have 20 spare bucks?
5. Will you be in or around Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 6th?

If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, you might want to make your way to Cinespace sometime around 6pm this upcoming Wednesday and join Kevin Smith and a collection of other fans for the big Movies Askew Film Festival. The 12 films that will screen have been culled from thousands of shorts collected by Smith and company over the last year, and the big winner will be announced after the final flick screens -- sometime around midnight. The prize includes a fancy camera, a fancy TV and sound system, and a position working on the next View Askew film. You can read more about it here, if you happen to be interested.

So, I'm going to Cannes. I've never been before. As much as I'd like to spend the next seven weeks picking out the perfect pair of open-toed sandals for my first stroll down La Croisette, I'm afraid that if I don't find lodging soon, I will be covering the Festival from a cardboard box, and cute footwear will be the least of my worries. So: got any hotel recommendations? Or, better yet, do you or anyone you know have, or have info about, a housing share? I'm looking for space for myself, and the illustrious James Rocchi. If you have any tips, please send them directly to me at karina AT cinematical DOT com.