It’s almost here; a film festival that will look into the strange, the frightening, and the unbelievably weird – MidWest WeirdFest – the first ever in the area. This special film festival will be taking place on March 3-5 at the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire.

Weird film lovers can look forward to a cinematic smorgasbord of the latest in cutting-edge horror, sci-fi, underground, and offbeat documentary cinema. And as an added treat, some of the filmmakers who have films being screened will be present at the festival to introduce their films and will host some Q&As after particular showings. “There’s also a closing night party at the Fire House bar (and plenty of other opportunities) for mingling with fellow film fans and visiting filmmakers,” said Dean Bertram, the festival’s founder.

SPOOKY SCREENER. After organizing several horror and sci-fi film festivals in Australia, Dean Bertram is launching the MidWest WeirdFest here in Eau Claire on March 3-5 to give river city a dash of strange.

This is a very unique event for Eau Claire, so they are hoping for a full house. This is the first undertaking in the area by the festival’s founder Dean Bertram. While Bertram has helped out with and facilitated similar film fests around the world – most notably he founded Australian film festivals A Night of Horror International Film Festival and Fantastic Planet Sydney Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival – doing it here is particularly thrilling for him. “I’m excited about every film at the fest, but what I most love about running a film festival is connecting filmmakers directly with their audience, and vice versa,” said Bertram.

Among the 50+ films at MidWest WeirdFest is the likes of Happy Hunting, which screens on the fest’s opening night, and the film’s creators, Joe Dietsch and Louie Gibson (a filmmaker who is actually Mel Gibson’s son), are attending. Another fest highlight, Trail To Terror, is  a terrifying documentary turned real life horror film. Director Dakota Laden and his cast from the documentary, will be at the fest for their film. There’s a mad-cap sci-fi adventure called Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time, for which the lead actress and visual effects artist Bryna Smith will be coming all the way from Portland. And finally the fest’s incredible closing night film – a shocking and hilarious documentary called Vore King – will be represented at the festival by director Daniel Schneidkraut, star Raymond P. Whalen, and “La Vore Girl” Heidi Sweet.

This state is well known for mysterious stories and legends, making it a great foundation for the film festival.  “What a perfect place for a film festival dedicated to screening weird cinema,” Bertram said. “I’d like to see MidWest WeirdFest grow as we move forward, both in the number of films programmed, as well as other related side-bar events such as filmmaking forums.”

The biggest reason someone should attend this event is to be among the first people in the world to see some of the latest and greatest horror, sci-fi, underground, and documentary films, and getting the chance to meet, listen to, and hang out with many of the filmmakers themselves when they present their films. So mark your calendars, and don’t miss this first ever, hair-raising, spine-tingling, crazy-weird local event.

MidWest WeirdFest kicks off March 3-5 at Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire. To learn more and see the complete slate of films, check out www.midwestweirdfest.com