FESTIVAL Team

DEAN BERTRAM (Founder, PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR)

Dean has a PhD in weird (well, in the history of UFO belief, but same, same). He is a filmmaker, writer, and co-host of Talking Weird. Dean has programmed for several film festivals, and has been running them since he launched Australia’s oldest and most respected genre fest A NIght of Horror International Film Festival in 2006.

JENN DORRELL (EVENT DIRECTOR)

A lifelong fan of all things weird, Jenn is a sensitive and paranormal investigator. She co-hosts and runs the tech for Talking Weird, and has recently launched her solo show HAUNTED JENN, in which she invites viewers to accompany her on a very personal quest for answers to her experiences with the paranormal.

Lisa DeviTA (SCREENPLAY COMPETITION HEAD)

Lisa DeVita is known for her work as a writer, producer and armorer on PEELERS (2016), SKEW (2011) and VANITY INSANITY (2007). A published writer and a film history enthusiast, Lisa decided to pursue work as an armorer learning about the various weaponry used from different time periods. This helped enhance her on-set experience as well as her screenwriting, as it provided a unique perspective into the cinematic world. Lisa is currently writing a comedy feature, a sci-fi novel trilogy, and continues to work as an armorer on several independent projects.

STEVEN WALLACE (PROGRAMMING CONSULTANT)

Steven is a film producer and an artist. He's had films shown at int'l film festivals including SXSW, and juried gallery exhibitions of his art shown in the United States and Europe. He's contributed to half a dozen film festivals in one way or another over the last decade. And lastly, he has the notable distinction of being the person who came up with our wonderful name "MidWest WeirdFest".

SEVE SCHELENZ (SCREENPLAY READER, CONSULTANT)

Sevé has worked in the film industry for over 25 years. He has written, directed, edited and produced two independent feature horror films (SKEW, PEELERS). Sevé has also produced two television series (Great Scott!! …television that bothers you and Stand Up On Whistler Mountain). He has worked as an editor and colorist on over 75 productions and has been a judge for several film festivals. Sevé continues to write and develop projects as you read this. Some have suggested he may be a bit ambitious.

BRYN TILLY (PROGRAMMING CONSULTANT)

Bryn has been a genre lover since he was a young lad (SINBAD in the cinema and DR. WHO on television). At university he studied film criticism, analysis, and production, and worked on Peter Jackson’s cult classic BRAINDEAD. In the early 90s he began writing film reviews for a local newspaper, and has been a film critic ever since. In 2013 he launched the genre movie site cultprojections.com. In 2015 his short horror film UMBRA was selected to screen at FrightFest and Sitges Film Festival. After several years as shorts programmer for A Night Of Horror International Film Festival, in 2020 he took over the reins as Festival Director & Head of Programming.

JOSEPH PERRY (PROGRAMMING CONSULTANT)

Joseph fell in love with horror films as a preschooler when he first saw "The Creature from The Black Lagoon" and "Godzilla Vs. the Thing.” His education in fright fare and the weird continued with TV series such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits," along with legendary northern California horror host Bob Wilkins’ "Creature Features" and silver- and golden-age horror comics. He is a contributing writer for Gruesome Magazine, Diabolique Magazine, Ghastly Grinning, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, When It Was Cool, and the Drive-In Asylum zine. He is a co-host of the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era and Uphill Both Ways podcasts. Joseph is also a selection and awards judge for FilmQuest, Portland Horror Film Festival, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and Wreak Havoc Film Festival.