The neon-soaked queer thriller THE POWER OF THE STRIKE, the second film by Dima Barch, was selected to play at the biggest genre film festival in the US, Beyond Fest 2024. One of the most recognizable horror movies in the Russian language, DEAD END, Barch’s debut, was a 2022 Beyond Fest selection. This summer, went on to DEAD END win the Best Short Award at the Portland Horror Film Festival and is about to screen at L’Etrange Festival (Paris, France), FilmQuest, and TOHorror Film Festival (Torino, Italy) soon.
Called “…the future of queer story-telling” (Mary Beth McAndrews, Dread Central), THE POWER OF THE STRIKE is inspired by the anxiety of fleeing, alienation, and vulnerability of a queer person as the Other, as well as Barch’s favorite filmmakers – George A. Romero, Brian De Palma, Gregg Araki, Carter Smith, Panos Cosmatos, and Joe Begos.
“Beyond Fest is such a big thing for me not only as an alumnus [[their programmers discovered Barch as an international filmmaker two years ago] but also as a queer horror filmmaker in danger. In our Puritan times, the room for writers and directors such as Gregg Araki – with his punk approach to cinema, or over-stylish Brian De Palma, is so small. Being highlighted by the People’s Republic again is a dream come true moment!” – Dima Barch, a writer, director, and producer (“DEAD END”, “THE POWER OF THE STRIKE”).
THE POWER OF THE STRIKE will also continue to play at film festivals this fall, and then see its online premiere on Screambox on October 18th.
