Guests
Heather Dorff
Heather Dorff was born and raised outside of Chicago, I.L. until she was 11 years old. She moved to Rome, Georgia with her family for nearly 9 years. Heather realized her passion for acting through high school and community theater productions while in Georgia. She has spend time in New York and New Orleans as well, giving her a wide perspective of people and cultures around the country.Upon her return back to Chicago, she decided to explore her attraction to acting further through Act One Studios. Not long after starting this training Heather landed her first acting roles in music videos featuring Ross Crean and Etare Neged. To further herself as an actress, Heather began studying Mesiner with acting coach, Ed Hooks. Shortly after, she received her breakout role in short vampire thriller, Afraid of Sunrise. From there she received a number of featured and lead roles in Richard Diaz’ Dark Light, Keith Romine’s Acceptance, and Nevermore Productions’ Midnight Rain. She is also producing and starring in the short dark drama, What They Say, a film based on a short story she penned.
She has been featured in several indie films, shorts, music videos, commercials, and has worked with a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, makeup artists, and photographers all over the country.
Apart from acting, Heather has experience in modeling, public speaking, event hosting, and has interest in taking stunt and fight combat classes. She plans to continue expanding and perfecting her acting technique by continuing courses in Chicago.
Heather is very excited to be hosting this years Chicago Horror Film Festival and her much anticipated film “What They Say” will world premier at the festival as well!
For more details about Heather Dorff visit: www.HeatherDorff.com
Jason R. Davis
Jason R. Davis is the founder of the Chicago Horror Film Festival and the Indy Horror Film Festival. He has an education in film studies and screenwriting. However, before he went into film, he had another love that had driven him. Writing. Reading. The Art of Fiction.
He has spent much of his life both reading and writing. As a child in middle school, he would often wake up in the early morning hours before school and start pounding away stories. He would use his father’s alarm clock that he could hear in their bedroom and know that it was his time. His first typewriter was a Christmas present that year, and he would clatter away.
All through middle and then high school he continued to write. When it was time to go to college, he even thought that he would just go on and continue his education in the English arts. However, instead of continuing with just writing, he had a moment of inspiration and decided to follow another passion. He went to Columbia College where he could study filmmaking and writing.
In 2003 he founded the Chicago Horror Film Festival. With very few outlets that supported the horror genre at the time, it gave him a venue to not only show his own films, but for other great horror films from around the world. In 2005, the festival grew to a point where he created its sister festival, the Indy Horror Film Festival.
Now, with a strong knowledge in horror, and what makes a terror filled story, he has transitioned himself from festival director and filmmaker to fiction writer. He is currently on break from both festivals to pursue his writing. “Inside the Mirrors” was released December of 2009 as is available for order wherever books are sold.
Word on the street is that Jason might just lead a pack of zombies to the festival… Beware!!!
Visit Jason on the web at: IAmDavis.com Twitter Facebook
Ron Fitzgerald
Master Ron Fitzgerald is an Actor, Gothic Illusionist and Host for strange, dark fun! Fitzgerald has performed from Hollywood to Hong Kong with his wicked and weird style of Illusion in his live show “Fitzgerald’s Realm of Magic”, which includes Ron eating razor blades! He is the only illusionist edgy enough to close the second stage at Lollapalooza. Fitzgerald has appeared as an actor in the feature films “The Item”, “The Thirsting”, “Blood Gnome”, “MAGUS” and others, with more on the way. Ron is the voice of the creature in the upcoming Horror movie “Contagion”. He has been a host at the Chicago Horror Film Festival, the Indy Horror Film Festival, In The Dark Burlesque, Festival of Flesh and Chad Savage’s Zombie Pin Ups as well as other productions including his own cable TV show. One thing is for sure, Fitzgerald is so much freaky fun, he’ll leave you screaming for more!
Willy Adkins
Mr. Willy Adkins is the CEO of Spook Show Entertainment and a “jack of all trades” in the entertainment industry. He is well know for his paranormal investigation ventures. Willy founded The Illinois Ghost Hunters, The Paranormal Research Community & Afterlife Paranormal. His paranormal ventures have taken him all over the country. Willy is also known for his life long passion of dark arts and photography. He started taking photos under the name “Deviant Desires Photography“ 15 years ago. The name has grown to be internationally recognized. Present day Willy is staying busy producing, writing and acting in independent film. His first film release, “I Hunt Ghosts” a documentary about ghost hunting is currently available on DVD. He is currently working on a short film called “Headline News” . Headline News will world premier at The 2011 Chicago Horror Film Festival and be Willy’s Director debut! Many people in the industry know Willy for his horror hosting experience as the character we call “Mr. Willy”. Looking ahead Willy will be staring in a film bringing his “Mr. Willy” character to film called “Immortal Vengeance – The Chronicles of Mr. Willy“. Willy is also the new Director and Producer of The Indy and Chicago Horror Film Festival’s. Whats next for Willy? Well, at the speed he is working the sky is the limit!
More info about Willy Adkins on his official website: www.MrWillysLair.com or IMDb.
Bev Meza
Bev Meza‘s obsession with horror flicks began when she was a little girl. She would stay up late at night to watch Elvira and became so captivated by scary films, that by the time she was in her teens, her dream was to become a scream queen! Bev’s biggest fantasy for the longest time was to make out with the hot guy, have sex, then get slashed up on screen! She has written horror scripts while working at Spelling Entertainment, of course they were more interested in “Charmed”, but it wasn’t until recently that she hooked up with writer/directors Ezequiel and Elias Matar that inspired her once again to make that fantasy come true! Bev is very excited to be a part of the Chicago Horror Film Festival, as she will be hosting the official “Music of Horror” after hours party at Live Wire following the festival Sunday night. When asked of any final words for her bio she said, “Yah, Bring on the blood baby!”.
Windy West
Windy West, a native ofPhoenix,AZis an accomplished model and actress with a broad range of working experience with over a decade in runway, print and TV work.
Her variety of styles and looks include glamour, pin-up, body paint and live modeling. She has also appeared on many romance novel covers.
She’s a graduate of AZ state university and her interests include jewelry design, horseback riding and travel.
Windy is trilled to be hosting the “Music of Horror” kick off party Thursday night prior to the CHFF! She can be seen on the big screen during the festival weekend in the film “RITUAL” as well!
John Wesley Norton
Writer / Director of “Paranormal Calamity” & “Michael Morlock’s Supernatural World”.
Bio Coming Soon!
Ezequiel Martinez
Ezequiel’s mother forced him to make skits and flicks when he was a little enchilada. At the age of 22, he made his first movie deal at disney after dropping out of college. Ezequiell has worked for Madonna’s company Maverick and many other studios as a screenwriter. He went crazy and decided to make his own movie titled ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT. The movie has been nominated and won several awards at many festivals. Ezequiel has had involvement in a record 3 films showing at this years festival, “On A Dark And Stormy Night”, “CRY”, and “Ashes”. Ezequiel is proud to be writing for Disney now and is always working on something new and sure to impress.
Andre Noe
Andre Noe conceptualized the idea for RITUAL based on his gritty remake of the Main Title Theme from the movie Phantasm. The result, he embarks on his latest directorial project in this short movie/music video adaptation of a night in the life of The Lady in Lavender.
Andre was raised and currently resides inPhoenix,Arizona. His career in the music industry spans nearly 30 years, which includes writing and producing music, as well as performing music for live audiences. He understands the importance that music and sound have on a listener and a viewer.
His attraction to making movies started at the age of 12 when he and friends would shoot Super 8 movies depicting some of the most popular scary movies of the 70s and 80s. At this early age, he began storyboarding ideas, which served as his debut to directing the forthcoming scenes.
However, for RITUAL, Andre took a different approach to making his short film: He wrote the screenplay based on the music itself rather than writing music for the completed film. This formula allowed him to create imagery, which follows the dynamics of the music.
Greg Bronson
Greg Bronson is a native toArizona. He began his acting career inHollywoodin the early ‘90s. His versatility as a ‘Character Actor’ along with period piece costumes allow him to slip into any role.
He has an extensive array of acting credits to his name, notably Independence Day and Mars Attacks, as well as TV like E.R. and X Files. He’s also worked with Will Smith on his Will 2K music video.
Greg also brings other talents to the table such as a variety of vocal accents, make-up and stunt work.
Michael Wexler
Star of “Paranormal Calamity” & “Headline News”
Bio Coming Soon!
Ursula Bielski
Ursula Bielski is a Chicagohistorian and author who has been writing and lecturing about Chicago’s supernatural folklore and the paranormal for more than 25 years. A leading authority on the Chicago region’s ghostlore and cemetery history, Ursula is author of seven books, including the Chicago Haunts series, Graveyards of Chicago and There’s Something Under the Bed! , which addresses the relationships between children and the paranormal. Ursula is co-founder and president of Chicago Hauntings Tours, the city’s most respected ghost tour company and one of the most acclaimed tour companies in the nation, appearing on Haunted America’s Top Ten list for five years running. Ursula has been involved in countless investigations of haunted sites in and around Chicago, including such notorious locales as Wrigley Field, the Congress Hotel, the Indiana Dunes, the Red Lion Pub, Hull House, Bachelors Grove Cemetery, Rosehill Cemetery, haunted Archer Avenue, Chinatown, the Eastland disaster site, Death Alley, Dillinger’s Alley and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre site. Her paranormal travels have also led her to investigate sites as diverse and infamous as the Bell Witch Cave in Tennessee; the Oshkosh, Wisconsin Opera House; New Orleans’ House of the Rising Sun; the City Cemetery in Key West, Florida; and the Civil War Battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Aside from her writing, Ursula has been featured on numerous television documentaries, including productions by the A&E Network, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, Comcast and PBS, as well as The Maury Show. In addition to her books, Ursula is the author of numerous scholarly articles exploring the links between history and the paranormal, including articles published in the International Journal of Parapsychology. Ursula is a past editor of PA News, the quarterly newsletter of the Parapsychological Association, a past president and board member of the Pi Gamma Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society, and holds membership in the Society of Midland Authors. Ursula holds a B.A. degree in history fromBenedictineUniversity and an M.A. in American cultural and intellectual history fromNortheasternIllinoisUniversity. Her academic explorations include the Spiritualist movement of the 19th century and its transformation into psychical research and parapsychology, and the relationships among belief, experience, science, and religion.
