22nd Calgary Underground Film Festival

April 17-27, 2025

13th CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival

November 19-23, 2025

Falling Stars

United States, 2023: 80 minutes: Alberta Premiere
Archives 2024
Special Guest!
Falling_Stars_1_238_1_1
Globe Cinema
Sat, Apr 27 7:00 PM Buy

description

On the first night of harvest in the American West, three brothers set out for the desert to see a witch's corpse.

In a reality where witches descend from the heavens on a fateful night in late October each year to harvest vulnerable humans, three brothers and a friend ignore the town curfew to search for the body of a witch who the friend shot down and buried in the desert the previous year. Despite knowing the very strict rules about how to behave around the exhumed body, the youngest brother accidentally desecrates the corpse, setting off a fateful chain of events. Now, no one is safe on harvest night.

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Locarno Film Festival 2023
Fantastic Fest 2023
Splat!FilmFest Horror Film Festival 2023

DIRECTOR'S BIO
Gabriel Bienczycki is a director, editor and well-established cinematographer. His 2019 film
NOWHERE BAND was a standout on the 2019 festival circuit, picking up multiple awards, including the Talented New Filmmaker Award at the Nice International Film Festival and Best Narrative at LA Under the Stars Film Festival. FALLING STARS is his first feature, which was nominated for the Audience Award at the 2023 Locarno International Film Festival.

DIRECTOR'S BIO
Richard Karpala is a director, writer, producer and editor. His film IRIS won the Jury Award for Best Colorado Short at the 2015 Mile High Horror Film Festival. FALLING STARS is his first feature, which was nominated for the Audience Award at the 2023 Locarno International Film Festival.

press for Falling Stars

"A vibe heavy, slow and steady film, FALLING STARS is a visually striking tale of superstition and familial bonds."
- THN
"Dark, moody, and mysterious, directors Gabriel Bienczycki and Richard Karpala, who also wrote the script, do a great job of drawing you in and keeping you wriggling on the hook while wondering what’s coming next."
- Morbidly Beautiful

details

Drama / First Feature / Horror / Narrative

English
80 minutes

special guest

Director Gabriel Bienczycki in attendance!

credits

Directors
Gabriel Bienczycki
Richard Karpala

Producers
Richard Karpala
Gabriel Bienczycki

Screenwriter
Richard Karpala

Cinematographer
Gabriel Bienczycki

Cast
Piotr Adamczyck
Rene Leech
Shaun Duke Jr
Andrew Gabriel
Greg Poppa
J. Aaron Boykin
Diane Worman

Music
Patrik Herman

community

awards

WINNER: Jury Award: Special Jury Prize Filmmakers To Watch