[Editorial] Horrible Imaginings Film Festival interview with Rabia Sitabi

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Written By Ariel Powers-Schaub / Senior Contributor & Admin Assistant

Ahead of the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival (HIFF), I got to sit down with Project Director Rabia Sitabi and chat about the upcoming fest. Rabia is a pop culture expert and extremely knowledgeable about international horror. (She also happens to be a contributor to Ghouls Magazine - read her collaboration with Ariel Baska reviewing Tokyo Revengers (2021)!) Rabia met HIFF Director Miguel Rodriguez, and he recruited her to work on the festival remotely. She has worked for other festivals in the past, including holding director positions, so she was an experienced pick for HIFF.

This year, Rabia is the Project Director for HIFF. Similar to a project management position, Rabia worked with the existing systems used by HIFF and put them together in one workflow. In her own words, she “untangled all the wires and braided them back up.” It has been a lot of work, but with her love for the genre and HIFF in particular, it’s been worth it. As a fellow lifelong horror fan, her story was relatable to me: she watched horror films with her family as a young kid, fell in love and never looked back! Scary stories were a part of the household. Rabia added that in the culture she grew up in, fear was not seen as unusual. Spooky stories were used to motivate children into good behavior - for example, fairy tales about demons that will get you if you don’t brush your teeth before bed. These experiences led her to her first film festival job when she was 17, and to many festival experiences since. 

Rabia was able to offer a lot of input in the festival's programming this year, and she is enthusiastic about the lineup. When I asked what she was looking for when programming she said, “to be surprised.” She was looking for every movie to make her emote in different ways, so there is something for everyone. She advocated for a wide variety of films for HIFF. They had many exceptional choices, which means they also had to cut a lot of wonderful films. Rabia is part of a team of diverse programmers, so there are a lot of perspectives in the mix. 

In particular, Rabia is looking forward to the short called My Religious Family (2020), and a South Korean feature called TRANS (2020). She said they are “both bonkers in completely different ways.” She is also eager for the blocks of short films, in which shorts have been grouped into themes to offer a curated experience when watched in order. 

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For virtual attendees of the festival this year, there will be a Discord channel to participate in, and some live-streamed events. HIFF values a community feeling, and they want to bring that community to all attendees, virtual or in-person. Rabia made the excellent point that smaller film festivals such as HIFF can  give independent filmmakers their first opportunities, and continue to bring diversity in narratives to the genre. We don’t want to lose that, so it’s important to support smaller horror festivals when we can, thereby supporting the filmmakers and films. In the future, watch for HIFF to bring even more options for inclusivity and accessibility. The festival hopes to continue a worldwide reach, and bring horror to as many fans as possible. 

Thanks very much to Rabia for taking the time to chat with me! I know Horrible Imaginings will be an amazing weekend! 

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