Previously on Miguel’s Madness (a third-person recounting for anyone who doesn’t know)… Following a series of panic attacks and mental breakdowns in Oakland, Ca, Miguel posted dark suicidal ideation on a very public forum while in a fog of rage, despair, and guilt. The ensuing reactions, and a return to some emotional balance, led him to write a long journal to give his friends and family context for the last public screams into the void of social media. Because increasing financial insecurity has been an intensifying effect on all of these struggles, former film industry colleague Dor Dotson ..read more

This will be long.  Yesterday I wrote some dark and upsetting thoughts and posted them in public. It was also apparently posted to Facebook, as well. Even I am aware of the inadvisability of this, many people are upset and scared for me. As I write this, I have literally hundreds of messages from people in response, ranging from comments to the posting, to direct messages, to direct outreach via text message. Also, as of this writing, I have yet to read most of them at all.  The first thing I want to say is that I don’t really remember the actions of either writing or posting yesterd ..read more

It is Saturday, September 11, and perhaps it is a testament to my tunnel vision that, while so many people seem to be reflecting on the two decades that have transpired since the attacks on September 11, 2011, my brain is still intent on trying to reflect on our 12th annual event, which was still in the thick of things one week ago. Perhaps it is inadvisable to start this reflection in this way, but I have always been fairly transparent with my darkest thoughts and I do think it is illustrative of the all-consuming nature of festival organization. Honestly, I’ve been trying to sit down and wr ..read more

The world has lost an exceptional person with the passing of Todd Stadtman. Todd was the creator of the magical and (especially for me) super influential film blog DIE DANGER DIE DIE KILL (FOURDK), as well as the author of the necessary nonfiction book Funky Bollywood: The Wild World of 1970s Indian Action Cinema, the novels Please Don’t Be Waiting for Me and So Good It’s Bad, countless articles for equally countless outlets, to say nothing of his work as a musician and spinner of tunes for his Pop Offensive radio station. Directly due to the conversations I had with Todd, I learned to love ..read more

Friends and neighbors, THIS is what I needed this week! Ok, if you have followed my thoughts on everything affecting film festivals since the start of the pandemic, then you might know that my thinking about virtual events has shifted somewhat since March. I started this consideration with a flood of anxiety, but after an unexpectedly successful 2020 virtual festival and an equally successful Campfire Tales event this past weekend I have to say my focus is more keenly on the value that the virtual experience can bring. “The Rougarou” director Lorraine Caffery gives an impromptu discussion wit ..read more

It is October 1st, and once again time to consider our 31 days of Halloween. Truth be told, I will personally exceed this number by more than a couple since I will be doubling up with Turner Classic Movies’s excellent month of programming, as well as some other watch parties that may be happening. Normally, TCM would lead the charge here, but Criterion Channel has put together a delightful collection of 70s-era horror, so I decided to pick largely from there. In addition to that, we at Horrible Imaginings have a number of events, both virtual AND in collaboration with The Frida Cinema’s PopUP ..read more

This past week, I was planning on introducing several awesome Latino genre films at the 27th annual San Diego Latino Film Festival. I spent the last several months watching films and selecting a solid collection for our Un Mundo Extraño series of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films. One of those films was a wild genre-masher from Brazil called BACURAU. Not only did this star one of my faves, Udo Kier, but also a wonderful performance by Sônia Braga. Here was the description: A few years from now: Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita ..read more

Let me say who I am. I am a person who is leading a triple life. I am a dad and husband. I am involved in several arts organizations, one of which I am the founder and director of. I am an Educational Technology Analyst for one of the largest Universities in Southern California. On top of my mother canceling her trip to see her granddaughter, those second two have given me direct consequences with this COVID-19 situation, and the first one provides me the motivation to keep going to the best of my limited abilities.  I have now experienced the cancelation (or postponement, though I wonder ..read more

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