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Parents just don’t understand.

After a heated argument with her parents over her gender identity, Venus Price runs away from home, suitcase in hand. Her older sister Jazmin spots her wandering down the sidewalk and decides to listen, fully respecting Venus’s feelings and struggles. Jazmin reassures her sister that she doesn’t need to have all the answers right now, but she does need to return home eventually. To show her support and emphasize the importance of family, Jazmin takes Venus on a ghost story adventure.

The stories are rich with history, a history their family line knows well. The women of their lineage have faced unmistakable trauma for who they were and what they believed, a trauma that doesn’t die easily. Our first story –

Witchcraft Becomes Her

_{Starring: Zoey Luna, Naomi Grossman, Gil Zabarsky, Gavin Herscher, Rosemary Ace Rosas}

_{Zoey Luna, Naomi Grossman in Hauntology}

In a quest to have her true self realized, Julian (Ace Rosas/Zoey Luna) embarks on a dark magical journey assisted by her friend Annalisa (Naomi Grossman), testing her limits, her desires and her ability to stand in her truth, demons be damned.

Venus isn’t yet convinced but starts to grasp the gravity of a life lived without question. Venus’s next ghostly jaunt takes them to a grave that houses their a member of their family, Mabel Bishop, who’s lifestyle didn’t suit the hatred and bigotry of her time and was murdered by a local and prominent townsman.

A man appears to Venus who seems lost in thought, worriying Jazmin who know understands her sister may be haunted as well.

The Day Mabel Came Out of the Grave

_{Starring: Abigail Esmena, Aubree Bowen, Jacinda Forbes, James DeForest Parker, Alexandra Warr, Sarah Escandon}

_{Aubree Bowen, Abigail Esmena (left) and Jacinda Forbes (right) in Hauntology}

Iris (Aubree Bowen) and Jade (Abigail Esmena) are on the outs. Iris couldn’t seem more disinterested in Jade these days and is annoyed by every touch. Overwhelmed by lonliness Jade takes the long journey through a nearby forest, bereft, and spots something that may quell that ache forever.

A man in a hat appears to Venus who seems lost in thought, worriying Jazmin who know understands her sister may be haunted as well. And with the graveyard spirits going haywire, the women are forced to walk on foot to the home of their late Aunt Mae, in Jazmin’s next story-

Paint and Black Lace

_{Starring: Aaron Turnbull, Kurt Oberhaus, Samantha Robinson, Kim Lea Mays, Noah Bunch, Ryan Satre, David Dietz, Jeremy Dubin, Jeanne Turczak, Genevieve Satre, Christian Buel}

_{Kurt Oberhaus, Aaron Turnbull and Kim Lea Mays in Hauntology}

It’s been slim pickin’s in the art world but not for Shane (Kurt Oberhaus) and Owen (Aaron Turnbull), as they just stumbled upon a cash cow, the paintings of a popular deceased artist. Things at the gallery couldn’t be better until the artist’s ghost (Kim Lea Mays) makes a shocking move and the artist’s ex-lover, Christina (Samantha Robinson), makes a damning accusation.

Venus understands the pain, hatred and lonliness the women in her family must have felt for simply loving and simply existing, but the sisters have bigger problems as the spirits are hungry and the women are walking right into their trap and that trap is bane of their families’ existence –

The Old Dark Cashel House

Starring: Lindsey McDowell, Nancy Loomis, Annie Fitzpatrick, James DeForest Parker, Yesenia C. Buel

_{Lindsey McDowell (right) and Annie Fitzpatrick and Nancy Kyes (left) in Hauntology}

Travel journalist, Madeline Ishii (Lindsey McDowell) has hit the jackpot. She’s been given permission by the woman of the house, Josephine Cashel (Nancy Keyes nee Loomis) to enter and document her findings in hopes to put in end to the centuries of haunting rumors. The housekeeper, Ms. Boxell (Annie Fitzpatrick), is dismissive with low-bubbling racism and reminds Madeline that there are distinct rules she must obey…or suffer the consequences. A statement Madeline takes lightly.

Its a culmination of terror, family trauma, blood and remembrance. Venus and Jazmin discover that the ghosts of their family are not just reminders of the past but also guides to their future. Each haunting encounter teaches them lessons in strength, revealing that while the world can be a terrifying and unforgiving place, the bond they share as sisters is unbreakable. Through stories of transformation, love beyond death, and artistic obsession, they come to understand that facing their fears together makes them stronger, no matter how dark the world may seem.

MAIN SCREEN
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST – 11.00 PM
Director: Parker Brennon.
With: Nancy Loomis, Samantha Robinson, Naomi Grossman, Zoey Luna.

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE – Jazmin takes her fearless runaway younger sibling Venus on a road trip and shares the most chilling tales surrounding their Ohio hometown. And each place they visit has its own ghost story and queer perspective: trans woman Julian casts a spell to become her ideal self but the dark spirit unleashed tries to invade her life; a troubled married couple find a love beyond the grave; an up-and-coming art gallery is forging paintings of a deceased artist with very bloody consequences; and a journalist secures an interview with the eccentric owner of a haunted Victorian mansion.