An international conference exploring how mental health issues are represented in horror films is being hosted by staff, postgraduate and final year undergraduate students from the Stage and Screen faculty of The Northern School of Art.
‘Nightmare 24’, which takes place at the School’s university-level campus in Hartlepool on Thursday 25 April 2024, is subtitled ‘Dreams or nightmares? Madness or sanity? I don’t know which is which’ and will explore the representation of mental health in the horror genre from both cinematic and audience perspectives.
The day’s schedule will focus on three key strands: The contextual impact of ‘Let’s Scare Jessica to Death’ (1971, dir. John D. Hancock), Body Politics and Horror, and Recontextualising Mental Health in Horror. The line-up features presentations by academics from a broad range of UK Universities as well as online papers from international colleagues.
International film journalist and author Matt Glasby is the keynote speaker. His work has been published by the likes of GQ, Radio Times and Total Film, and his books have sold nearly 40,000 copies worldwide. His latest, ‘The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film’, is an illustrated guide to the scariest movies ever made.
Kim Newman, an internationally renowned film critic and prominent advocate of ‘Let’s Scare Jessica to Death’, will deliver a digital address. Kim is a contributing editor to Empire film magazine, writes for Sight & Sound amongst other international publications and is a previous winner of the Bram Stoker Award, The International Horror Guild Award and the BSFA award.
Organiser Dr David Edwards, who is an Acting Lecturer and Creative Practitioner at The Northern School of Art, said: “The themes of this year’s conference will shed light on the areas of mental health both in cinematic texts as well as how audiences respond to these films. We are aiming to develop our understanding of artistic, social and psychological attitudes to mental health representation by aligning filmmakers and academics to create a working dialogue across the industry.
“We’ve worked hard to make the event accessible and to structure both the academic and professional artistic discussions so that we can attract as broad an audience as possible. It’s been a great experience for our students who have been involved in helping to organise the day and will also be attending.”
Magician Dave Alnwick, who has a passion for using magic to tell scary stories and is renowned for combining theatre, horror, and magic to create terrifying, immersive experiences, will perform digitally for guests.
Delegates will also see work and contributions by students from across The Northern School of Art’s film, textiles, fine art, photography, costume and animation faculties which will be on display at the venue, including showings of award-winning short films by recent graduates.
The event concludes with a 7pm public showing of a 4K remaster of cult zombie comedy drama ‘Harold’s Going Stiff’ (2011) which will be presented by its director Keith Wright and is followed by a live Q&A conducted by Fortean Times columnist Bob Fischer.
A drinks reception, featuring presentations to the winners of a Nightmare 24 competition for the School’s Illustration degree students, wraps up the day.
Nightmare 24 takes place on Thursday, April 25 2024, 9am – 5pm at The Northern School of Art, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS247EX. Conference tickets cost £25 for in person attendance. To book visit www.northernart.ac.uk
Online access will be available via a pre-recorded stream from Friday 26th April at 5pm through to Friday 3rd May at 5pm. The link will be made available closer to the time and is priced at £10.
The full agenda for the conference is as follows:
- 9am– Registration and refreshments.
- 10am-Conference opens with opening comments from Dr David Edwards and Kim Newman (Empire Film Magazine)
- 10:30-12:00pm-“Madness or Sanity?” Recontextualising Horror for the Contemporary Audience
- 1pm-Lunch
- 1-2:30pm-“I can’t exist by myself because I’m afraid of myself” – The Politics of the Abject Body
- 2:30pm-Break
- 3-4pm-“Your mind and your body don’t belong to you” – Horror and Concepts of the Self
- 4pm-Keynote: The Babadook and Monstrous Trauma (Matt Glasby)
- 5pm-The Northern School of Art Short Film Screenings
- 7pm-Harold’s Going Stiff (2011) followed by a live Q&A with director Keith Wright conducted by Bob Fischer
- 9pm-Conference closes
- 9pm onwards-After drinks & social at The Owl, Hartlepool, TS24 7DA
Screening only tickets for ‘Harold’s Going Stiff’ featuring a live Q&A with director Keith Wright, on Thursday, April 25 2024, 7 – 9pm at Church Square Hartlepool TS24 7EX, are also available priced at £5/£2 concessions. To book visit www.northernart.ac.uk
