Silver Scream Film & Comic Festival Returns to Santa Rosa with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Anniversary Celebration

They're coming to get you, Santa Rosa. Fifty years on, the dead still won't stay down, and they're crawling to the Roxy 14 for the third annual iteration of the Silver Scream Film and Comic Festival. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of George A. Romero's landmark NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and the Silver Scream Fest will be showing the brand new Criterion Collection edition for the very first time in a movie theater, accompanied by appearances by its producer, Russell Streiner, and many more members of the cast and crew. Other announced guests for 2018 include the heroines of horror triumvirate of Dee Wallace (CUJO, THE HOWLING), Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, CHOPPING MALL), and Kelli Maroney (CHOPPING MALL, NIGHT OF THE COMET).

As a partnership between Famous Monsters and Santa Rosa Entertainment Group, Silver Scream Film and Comic Festival was established in 2016 as a way to celebrate and discover new genre talent in film, writing, and comic books. The festival's debut year at Santa Rosa's Roxy 14 theater, saw celebrations of Wes Craven's career and the 35th anniversary of AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, while in 2017, running alongside the Famous Monsters Convention in Dallas, celebrated with guests from STAR TREK and SHIN GODZILLA.

But the call to return to California was strong, especially after the disaster of the October 2017 wildfires that swept Sonoma County and left many without homes or jobs. Silver Scream felt it was important to honor the community of Santa Rosa and donate portions of its proceeds to wildfire charities.

"Santa Rosa Entertainment Group and the CULT Film Series are extremely proud to bring The Silver Scream Film and Comic Festival back home," said co-producer Neil Pearlmutter. "We have a great mix of independent films, genre favorites, and renowned classics in the lineup, but it is equally important that we acknowledge the devastation experienced by our community this past October. We are healing and look forward to showcasing the resilience of our people and beauty of our region."

In addition to special screenings and guests, Silver Scream will show independent features and shorts throughout the festival. Selection is currently underway on Withoutabox.com and the festival is accepting feature films, short films, animation, screenplays, graphic novels, and graphic novel scripts. Winning screenplays will receive a free listing at Inktip.com, while graphic novel winners in each category will be published by American Gothic Press.