Murder in the Woods with Jose Julian & Danny Trejo Wins Three Awards at Macabre Faire Film Festival

Luis Iga’s horror slasher film, “Murder in the Woods,” was the recipient of three awards at the  Macabre Faire Film Festival, on Saturday January 13, 2018. The film, which was produced and directed by Iga, and was written and produced by Yelyna De Leon,  has sold out in film festivals all over the country, and on Friday, a New York audience got to see what all the fuss was about.

Macabre Faire Festival Judges were in agreement with audiences and critics who give it “4.5 out of 5 stars” and call, “Murder in the Woods”  “a fun, popcorn film,” and a “badass film,” that, “delivers on its promise in heaps.” Director/producer Iga wanted “to thank Festival Director Elsie Ginsberg, and the judges for their hospitality and for putting together such a thorough and fun event for filmmakers.”

Kade Wise took home the Best Supporting Actor in a Feature award. Wise thanked director / producer Luis Iga “for [his] amazing vision and exceptional guidance on set,” that helped Wise attain, “this cinematic milestone of unfiltered diversity and inclusion in the horror world,”  Iga said, “Our goal was to cast a diverse group of actors to showcase the amazing talent pool that we have in Hollywood outside of the norm. It was a pleasure collaborating with Kade; he is a remarkable talent. This award is very well deserved, and I hope this opens the doors for him and other diverse actors.”

Wise’s character in the film is a throwback to ’80’s horror films as a wise cracking, annoying, party guy. He also thanked writer / producer Yelyna De Leon for her vision of “seeing my talent first and envisioning what it could look like.” De Leon said she cast Kade in the role because in the audition process, ” He proved to us that he had what it takes to not only be funny, but could also find the right tone for a horror film since fear is something you can’t fake. I knew that finding an actor that could bring this character to life was going to be a hard task, and finding Kade proved to be very lucky for us. It was no surprise to me that he won the best supporting actor because he brought all his talent to the screen.”

The film also won best sound design, for its sound effects and crisp, clear sound. “It was an incredible collaborative experience working with the Triptych Audio Team. We spent long hours working. I primarily worked directly with Darrell Tung  and Di Le. I’m forever grateful for their talent, passion for sound, and for always pushing the boundaries when I asked for more,”. Iga said. “I also want to thank my USC SCA sound mentors Midge Costin, Suhail Kafity, Doug Vaughan and Robb Navrides, who taught me that sound is 90% of the movie, especially in horror,” he added.

De Leon agreed: “Sound. That’s what scares me in horror films. Having been taught at USC by Don Hall, Midge Costin, Robb Navrides and the late Kenny Hall, all great sound masters; we knew we were looking for creative geniuses that could give this indie film the big budget score it deserved. I mean, we have Danny Trejo and his character deserves theme music that is epic because that’s what happens every time he comes on the screen!”
The third award given to “Murder in the Woods” was for best soundtrack for the eerie and gritty score by Isabelle Engman and Gerardo Garcia Jr., and a collection of ten songs curated by music supervisor Brittney Bouchard, including the song “Another Night in California,” written and performed by Bouchard.   Producer/director Iga raved, “It was a pleasure collaborating with this team of composers. They always surpassed my expectations. Isabelle is form Sweden and Gerardo is Latino from Laredo Texas. The fusion of their diverse ethnic background makes their music out of this world. I’ve known Brittney for over 10 years, and know just how passionate and dedicated to her music she is . I want to thank her, Mescal Miranda, Natalie Major, DJ Phinisey, Tyler Shamy, Louie Franco, Courtney Ballarado, Frank De La Mora deeply for providing the incredible songs for this film.”

Writer /producer De Leon concurred: “When we met Isabelle and Gerardo, both graduates of the USC Thornton school of music, and listened to their compositions, we knew we had our composers. We chose an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from old new wave to Latin-hip-hop, rap to pop. We have to thank all of our amazing musicians, sound supervisor Brittney, Composers Isabelle and Gerardo and our USC faculty for teaching us what great sound, soundtrack, music and score is.”

“Murder in the Woods,” can be seen in upcoming film festivals. Check the film’s website for future screenings.

“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.

Website: http://www.murderinthewoodsmovie.com

Trailer: http://bit.ly/mitwtrailermacabreprwin

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