"Murder in the Woods" Sweeps the 2018 Macabre Faire International Film Festival Award Nominations

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. - Jan. 8, 2018 - PRLog -- The ground-breaking film, "Murder in the Woods," makes its east coast debut this week, and horror fans at the Macabre Faire Film Festival will soon see what all the hoopla is about. The film directed and produced by Luis Iga and written and produced by Yelena De Leon has played to packed houses in Los Angeles and Portland, now New York will get its first taste of what critics have called, "a fun, popcorn film… that you'll be talking about at the water cooler at work."

"Murder in the Woods," has been nominated for a total of nine awards at the prestigious festival. The nominations are Best Feature Film, Best Director: Luis Iga, Best Sound, Best Soundtrack, Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Actor: Jose Julian, Best Actress: Jeanette Samano and Best Supporting Actor: Kade Wise.

"I am truly grateful and honored to receive these nominations. I want to congratulate all the nominees and I want to thank the festival director Elsie Ginsberg and everyone involved in the festival for being pioneers in supporting the diversity change that Hollywood needs. Furthermore, this film would not have been possible without our award winning cast and crew; I want to thank them for their hard work in making this film a reality" said director and producer Luis Iga. "I'm thrilled to bring this film to New York; the east coast has a very special place in my heart. I know horror fans come from all over the area to this great festival, I truly hope they enjoy our film" Iga added.

Writer and producer Yelena De Leon said ""I am so very honored to receive these nominations. From the beginning of my film career, which initially started when I was just a kid in Chicago, I realized that there wasn't anyone that looked like me on television. My goal since then has been to write strong characters for people of color, especially for girls, women and Latinas so that the world can see that brown is beautiful. Being recognized for my work on this film, which includes a diverse cast and strong women in non-stereotypical and lead roles, especially in the largest, most diverse city in the world, is truly a dream come true. I want to thank the Murder in the Woods team, our executive producers and this amazing ensemble cast and crew for making a quality film that we can all be proud of and of course the audiences that have come out to support our film. "

The Macabre Faire events and Film Festival have a reputation for being a very friendly environment with a wonderful celebratory ambiance within an intimately sized space. Submitted films are pre-screened by select judges to ensure the films have followed guidelines and are an overall fit for the festival. Then the films are passed on to another set of judges consisting of filmmakers, film critics and or seasoned actors to identify the Official Selections. Once these selections have been identified there is an additional judging process in collaboration with the original pre-screening judges to identify the different category nominees. Festival director Elsie Ginsberg commented, "I really liked this film."

"Murder in the Woods," which starts off as typical kids in the woods fare, and incorporates a couple of genius twists, features an All-Latino cast in non-stereotypical roles. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Chelsea Rendon (Bright, McFarland, USA), Catherine Toribio (Jane the Virgin), and Jordan Diambrini (The Outfield). It also features Danny Trejo (Machete), Soledad St. Hilaire (Beatriz at Dinner), Kurt Caceres (Dexter) and Rolando Molina (American Dad!)

The Macabre Faire ad Film Festival runs Friday January 12 through Sunday January 14 at the Clarion Hotel - 3845 Veterans Memorial Hwy, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779. "Murder in the Woods" screens Friday January 12 at 9:15 pm in Salon A. For tickets go to: http://www.macabrefairefilmfest.com/tickets2.html

"Murder in the Woods" is a production of REZINATE Entertainment, founded by Luis Iga. REZINATE partnered up with Yelyna De Leon to produce this film. Both graduated with an MFA in Film and Television Production from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California (USC) where they met.

About REZINATE Entertainment:

REZINATE is an entertainment company founded by Luis Iga. The company is involved in the Production and Financing of audiovisual projects including Film, Television, Animation, Video Games and Virtual Reality. REZINATE has a global presence and clients and projects that are developed around the world.
www.rezinate.com

For more information on Murder In The Woods:

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6083146/

Website: http://www.murderinthewoodsmovie.com

Trailer: http://bit.ly/mitwtrailermacabrepr

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Instagram: @murderinthewoods

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