Director Christopher Coppola will screen the first feature film he made, DRACULA'S WIDOW (1988) at the 2011 Big Bear Horro-Fi Film Festival® in Big Bear Lake, California. The story of a young owner of a waxworks who unwittingly imports the widow of Count Dracula when he orders Romanian antiques. Dracula’s Widow will show on Saturday night, October 1, at 8 p.m.

The film stars Sylvia Kristel (of EMMANUELLE fame) as the grieving, blood-thirsty widow, who feeds on a few victims before going after the museum owner himself (in more ways than one, as it turns out, in a particularly explicit scene). A thief witnesses the grisly murder of his accomplice and before long the police get involved. The ‘80s horror staple also stars veteran actor Josef Sommer and Lenny Van Dohler (TV’s TWIN PEAKS ). Horror special effects were created by the now-legendary Todd Masters.  

"I was fresh out of art school when I made DRACULA'S WIDOW,” said Coppola, who wrote and directed the film. “I remember when I went in there I was all gung-ho with the idea of making the first authentic color film noir vampire movie, using primary color plexi-glass backdrops as a modern version of the extreme high-contrast, burn-a-flea-off-a rat's-ass-lit black and white noir. In the end, it came out like a total bouillabaisse of camp, horror, EC comics, comedy, ‘40’s noir and artiness.  Though I hated it then, I enjoy watching it now, especially after a few shaken, not stirred, gin martinis."  

Coppola is a longtime fan of horror and an ardent supporter of the Festival in Big Bear Lake. This will be his second year attending. In addition to introducing DRACULA'S WIDOW, this will be the second year he hosts his “micro-PAH,” an abbreviated version of his guerilla filmmaking workshop called Project Accessibility Hollywood . He will announce a theme on Saturday morning to the Festival-goers and challenge them to create “mini-films” presenting the chosen topic using their cellular and smart phones.   The activity is free and open to everyone at the Festival and the Big Bear Lake community. The amateur projects are reviewed by the audience as part of the Festival closing ceremonies and prizes are awarded.  

Founded in 2009, the Big Bear Horro-Fi Film Festival® is held annually in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, CA, to recognize excellence in the film genres of horror and science fiction. This year’s festival is scheduled for September 30th – October 2 at the Big Bear Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available for purchase for the three-day event. For more information on screenings, the workshops and to get tickets, please visit the Festival’s official website.

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