Big Announcement

We keep hearing about women waking up one morning and suddenly feeling they are ready to become a mother. Well, let me tell you dear readers that a few months ago, I've had a similar experience, albeit NOT of the motherhood variety.

I feel it is time for me to move on to something bigger, to something FEATURE LENGTH! Yes, I will be making my first feature and I couldn't have found a better idea than the one I've been cherishing and nurturing for the past 3 months. A bit like Athena springing out of Zeus' head, this idea came to me almost fully grown, just needing a few stitches here and there. I'll be keeping my lips sealed about it for now, but expect to hear more as soon as the project starts taking form.

Over the last years, I've had the privilege of meeting amazing people who encouraged me to take a first step toward that goal and who are actively supporting me in this endeavor. Because 2011 marks the tenth year anniversary of my first attempt at filmmaking, the timing couldn't be better!

It is going to be a long and wild ride, but I'm ready for it!  To celebrate this new project and help me raise funds for it, I created a DVD compilation of my short films that I will have for sale here and on my website. It will be the first of many fundraising activities for the film; I will post more information as soon as I figure out my Paypal account and finish setting everything up.

See you very soon!

It's that wonderful time of the year again...

...and thanks to all the wonderful women involved in the cause, it promises to be even bigger this year! 

As you might guess, this makes me extremely happy, but what gets me even MORE ecstatic is the fact that the lovely Soska twins (fellow Canuks, YAY!) over at Twisted Twins Productions asked me to participate in their massive blood drive PSA in honor of the Women in Horror month! 

It is truly an honor to be featured in such a fun video starring some of the coolest ladies of horror I've had the pleasure of meeting for such an awesome cause! Not only am I in it, but you can also see excerpts from my short HOLLYWOOD SKIN and from the upcoming RED! If you haven't seen it yet, make sure to check it out (you'll even understand where my pic comes from!):

 

Also, I kept my lips sealed, but now that the Women in Horror Month is here, you can expect a lot of fun updates and big announcements throughout February! Woohoo! Yes, I'm a bloody tease, but the month is only beginning ladies and gents!

Until next time, bleed for me, bleed for all the women actively working in horror and bleed for everyone who needs it! There can never be too many blood donations, so take an hour of your life to help someone in need!

Bloody kisses,

M.

Public apology

Earlier this year, I released a short film titled HOLLYWOOD SKIN that has been quite successful critically and on the festival circuit.

However, it has just been brought to my attention that I omitted to include in the end credit that it was developed and made as part of the I HATE L.A. anthology project. This project was started by my friend Elisabeth Fies in order to showcase the work of female genre filmmakers by challenging us to come up with a short film depicting a negative aspect of life in L.A.  You can learn more about the project on the official website. 

I apologize for this omission and for any inconvenience it might have caused. The correction will be made on future screener copies, so please, if you plan to talk about or review the film, I would appreciate your collaboration in appropriately contextualizing the short.

Thank you for your attention!

Sneak Peek of my latest project!

Dear readers,

It's been so (too) long since my last update. I apologize for this and all I can say is get ready because the next few weeks will make up for it update-wise!

In the meantime, here is a little sneak peak at what kept me so busy:

RED - trailer from Maude Michaud on Vimeo.

RED is a sexually charged supernatural thriller about scopophilia, voyeurism and snuff films.

Slated for a February 2011 release (just in time for the Women in Horror Recognition Month), the film stars Cameron Hartl, newcomer Olga G., scream queen Isabelle Stephen and includes a special appearance by Shannon Lark.

Let me know what you think and stay tuned for behind the scene pictures and more info about the film!

Quirk Films invades Fantasia!

I’m probably breaking a few bloging rules and etiquette by promoting events that are already past, so mea culpa and I promise many in-dept posts about what kept me so busy in a very near future!

But, in the meantime, let me just say that it is with great pleasure that I’m announcing that not one, not two, but THREE of my short films are playing as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival, here in Montreal! This is one of the biggest genre festival in North America (and my favorite!) so I’m psyched that my work is screening there!

First, there is REFLECTION (FRANKENSTEIN UNLIMITED) which screened last Sunday, July 18th at  in the De Sève theatre. Sadly, I had to miss the screening because I was in L.A. promoting HOLLYWOOD SKIN at the Viscera festival (more on this very soon!), but from what I’m been told, there was a good turnout and the film was well received.

Then, SNUFF and HOLLYWOOD SKIN will both be featured as part of the Fantastic Weekend of Québec Shorts which will take place at the Impérial Cinema this coming weekend! The Fantastic Weekend is a special Fantasia event which consists in three days of short film programming that aims to showcase the work of local filmmakers.

SNUFF will screen on Friday, July 23rd at 11:30 PM.

HOLLYWOOD SKIN will screen on Sunday, July 25th at 3:30 PM.

I hope to see you there!

Screening of SNUFF in San Francisco tomorrow night!

A Nightmare To Remember is a short film festival run by the amazing Reyna Young, aka Miss Misery from the Last Doorway Show. This year, festival goers will have a nightmare to remember because SNUFF is part of the official line-up of shorts!  ;)

Saddly, I can't go, but if you're in the area, please do check it out and cheer extra loud for me! 

Check out their nifty flyers for all the info:

P.S.: I've also seen two of the other shorts, DEATH IN CHARGE (which I love, love, love!) and HORROR OF OUR LOVE (which is one of the most refreshing take on the slasher subgenre I've seen in a while) and let me tell you that they're both worth checking out if you have the chance!

It's review week!

Over the weekend I've had the (nerve-wracking) pleasure of receiving three links to reviews of my work. As you may guess, this is both exciting AND terrifying (because let’s face it, no one likes getting negative reviews)! I was relieved to find that I worried for nothing. :)

First off, we got another great review for FRANKENSTEIN UNLIMITED from Cinema Crazed which includes an overall positive response to my segment, REFLECTION:

“Maude Michaud's "Reflection" is Frankenstein tale about the ugliness of the human soul and how vanity can ultimately be our own undoing. Anna is a young disfigured girl who is granted the gift of plastic surgery to correct a scar on her face. But when she achieves true perfection in her own eyes--like that old adage goes--a monster is created. Anna is then forced to sit and watch what havoc she's wrought on the people in her life who stuck by her when she was deformed and face her own self-destruction pondering how her beauty was within, and her ugliness was unleashed once she became a superficial beauty. Michaud's direction is detailed and his is a think piece that works as a dissection of our own views of what is most valuable in our lives even if we lack aesthetic value.”

You can check out the full review by Felix Vasquez Jr. HERE.

Then, Nick Perron over at Micro-Shock reviewed the A.Normale Horror Movie Night from last week (May 22nd), and includes a mention of SNUFF:

“The first was called Snuff, which was by Montreal filmmaker Maude Michaud. Powerful powerful short film. It starts off from the point of view of a Snuff filmmaker stalking his next victim, and in a twist of fate -- has the tables turned on him by his would be victim. Filmed in glorious 8 mm.”

Check out the full text HERE.

And of course, fresh off the press and acting as the cherry on top, Mike Snoonian from All Things Horror features yours truly and reviews my two latest, SNUFF and HOLLYWOOD SKIN, which will both play this week as part of their monthly horror night in Somerville, Massachusetts! And I will be there for a Q&A. :)

This piece is worth checking out in its entirety!

Thanks Mike and everyone else who reviewed my work!