GenreBlast is back for 2025!

Winchester, VA, July 24th, 2025 - GenreBlast Film Fest has announced its lineup for the ninth year of their international independent genre film festival. The three day in-person event will feature eleven feature films and roughly ninety short films from around the world as well as the results of their annual screenplay competition. Emanating from the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia, GenreBlast continues to champion truly independent genre cinema and this year features an eclectic lineup of cross-genre films.

With horror, science-fiction and fantasy, action, and offbeat cult and transgressive midnight offerings, the fest prides itself on being an eccentric mixtape of genres and filmmakers. 

Of the eleven features selected this year, there are five world premieres, one international premiere, one North American premiere, one east coast premiere, one regional premiere, one Virginia premiere and a special advance screening.

Ricky Umberger’s latest found footage horror film, THE MAN WITH THE BLACK UMBRELLA, makes its world premiere at GenreBlast IX. Other world premieres include Brian K. Williams and Scott Schirmer’s psychosexual horror/thriller GUSH along with local sci-fi flick INTER-STATE, directed by Sam Gorman. Theworld premieres are rounded out by Michael Smallwood’s end times sci-fi drama TONIGHT AND MAYBE TOMORROW and Michelle Iannantuono’s experimental meta comedy FIRST DRAFTS: THE OUTCASTS. Becca Kozak’s splatterpunk gut punch SUGAR ROT will be an international premiere outside of Canada and Mark Beal’s practical FX-heavy folk horror nightmare MARGINALIA screens as a North American premiere. UK pulp thriller BURNT FLOWERS, directed by Michael Fausti, is an east coast premiere. MEAT MACHINE, Jeffrey Garcia’s whacked out midnight movie sleazefest has a regional premiere and Izzy Lee’s trauma horror tour-de-force HOUSE OF ASHES is a Virginia premiere. A special advance screening of Cranked Up Films’ vampire action western noir BLOOD & RUST, directed by Jeremy Herbert, screens Saturday night, August 30th

The fest runs from Friday, Aug. 29th through Sunday, August 31st at the Alamo Winchester concluding with a livestreamed awards ceremony followed by the GB Aftermath After Party. Script table reads and a live comedy show will also be on the schedule during the fest. Weekend passes are now on sale at the Alamo Winchester website: https://drafthouse.com/winchester. Additional information can be found at the fest's official website: www.genreblast.com