“The haunted house that follows you home” earns up to $1 million from CineCoup

Algonquin College TV Broadcasting graduates win up to seven figures to produce a unique horror film – “Hellmington“

(Ottawa, June 10, 2015) Though the nightmare will soon begin, for now it’s all smiles and celebrations for Algonquin College TV Broadcasting graduates Alex Williams and Michelle Aseltine.

“Honestly it feels crazy,” says Alex. “You go into the big event with this mind set of “This is the last stage of the CineCoup accelerator”. And then once they say your name you realize “This is just the beginning.” And that feeling makes me happier than I can describe.”

Alex and Michelle entered the CineCoup Competition in February with a concept for a horror film called Hellmington, “a feature length horror film about the haunted house that follows you home,” explains Alex.

“Last Halloween a few of us were in a haunted house in Niagara Falls and I thought to myself “What if someone just vanished? Who would be responsible for that? The company running the haunted house? Would it be my fault because I was with them?” And it sparked this really intense conversation where we began to explore all of the possibilities.”

It was announced in May the team had made it to the final five – and just recently, at the Banff World Media Festival, CineCoup announced they would fund Hellmington (and one other film) to the tune of up to $1 million each.

For the team behind Hellmington – co-writer, director, and editor Alex; producer Michelle; Jack-of-all-trades Jamie Napier (also an Algonquin College graduate); and others (the full team was eight people) – winning was the easy part. Now, the real work begins. “It’s all about making it perfect, so we are going back to the script to fine tune and get it ready for the camera,” adds Alex.

“Beyond being exceptionally creative, what stood out about Alex, Michelle and Jamie as students was their enthusiasm and spirit,” says TV Broadcasting Program Coordinator Jeremy Atherton. “They encouraged, supported and pushed classmates while at Algonquin, and this continues after graduation as they launch their careers. This win is a ‘life changer’ for this group of graduates and it really will accelerate their careers. They are talented and energetic young film-makers and I can’t wait to see what they put on the screen with that one million dollars.”

Watch the trailer Hellmington here, and keep an eye out as it comes to a theatre near you.