TISH FEST 2025: MEET FILMMAKERS SCREECHER FILMS, CREATORS OF SOUL HEIST

Screecher Films is an indie production company founded in 2018 by writer/director/editor Julian Hoffman and producer/composer Zac Spiegelman, specializing in bold horror-comedy with a retro 1980s/1990s aesthetic. Their debut short, Revenge of the Slasher (ROTS), a subversive slasher comedy, won multiple festival awards and streamed on Amazon Prime and MUBI. During COVID, they released Ernie Lives, a short follow-up to ROTS. Now, they’re gearing up to unleash Soul Heist and Brain Rot, continuing their signature blend of epic, old-school horror fun.

TRAILER

TISH FEST 2025: MEET FILMMAKERS SCREECHER PRODUCTIONS, CREATORS OF SOUL HEIST

What made you fall in love with film? 

Zac loves a good soundtrack. He instantly connects with the music. I just loved getting lost in a new world. -Julian

What was the first film you saw in a theatre? 

We’re speculating here but my first memory of sitting in a movie theatre was for A Bug’s Life. And Zac thinks his first was The Iron Giant. 

What do you love about the collaborative process of independent filmmaking and film festivals? 

We’re all one big community. We love meeting people and seeing films made by people who love what we love. The thing that keeps us going is the support of other filmmakers and movie lovers. 

As a filmmaker, what lengths have you gone to to achieve getting a shot, delivering a performance, or producing a scene? 

We bleed for our movies. On our last shoot, I cut my head open so bad we ended up in the hospital for four hours. Zac had to show them pictures from the set to prove I wasn’t in a bar fight. I now have a scar but it was worth it and the film looks fantastic! 

What's next for you as a filmmaker? 

We’re putting out two films this year: Soul Heist and Brain Rot. We’ve been working on these for quite a while and we can’t wait to see the reaction. And we have more to come. Be on the lookout for Screecher Films this year.

SHARING IS CARING