In this video I’m sharing something that honestly blew my mind: the submission numbers for my 7th annual Jakob Owens Horror Short Film Contest. The deadline was last night at midnight, and when I woke up and tallied everything from the CSV… we landed at 197 film submissions. That’s absolutely bananas. That means 197 new horror short films got made because of this contest—197 ideas, crews, friend groups, and filmmakers deciding to actually go create something and put it into the world. I also show the trailer for my new short film, “Late Fees,” which was funded by Fear Pix (huge shout out). Tom and I had this idea ever since we started building out the Prism Lens Effects store—because once the space existed, it was like, dude… we have to shoot a short film here. “Late Fees” is premiering at the Top 10 screening night & award party (October 25th at my Barracks Studio in LA). We’ll screen the Top 10, hand out trophies and prizes, and this year there are nine ways to win with $45,000 in prizes—including two filmmakers getting $5,000 to fund their next short. It’s a Halloween party, a film community night, and a reminder that networking and showing up can literally lead to your next project.