Founded in 2018 by filmmaker Christian Ackerman, we at Black Vortex Cinema create horror films, events, books, our YouTube show Film Villains, and more!
CHRISTIAN ACKERMAN
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER
Los Angeles-based producer, writer, and director Christian Ackerman began his career as a production assistant at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Since then, he has gone on to produce 33 features including Fear the Night, Collide, Deltopia, and Night of the Bastard.
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As a writer, he wrote Night of the Bastard (with partner Chuck Foster), Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In (with Foster and Joe Bob Briggs), and Deadly Reunion.
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Starting in 2018, he spearheaded the revered My Favorite Horror Movie trilogy of books, featuring 150 essays by horror legends and luminaries on the film that shaped their lives.
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Besides writing, directing, and producing, Christian has worked on over 2000 hours of television.
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He served as curator and/or judge for Filmquest, SoCal Creative & Innovative Film Festival, Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In Festival, and Comedy Ninja Film Fest, and is the founder of National Horror Movie Day.
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His films have won over 50 awards and have been seen by millions of people around the world.
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CHUCK FOSTER
WRITer/PRODUCER
Thanks to his makeup artist mother, Chuck Foster grew up on sets and was immersed in the entertainment industry from birth. His father is known around Los Angeles as Grimsley, the famed late ‘70s horror host, while grandfather Norman Foster has been renowned for his work with Orson Welles and Walt Disney. Grandmother Sally Blane, sister to Loretta Young, starred in films with Henry Fonda, Edward G. Robinson and brother-in-law Ricardo Montalban.
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In the early 2000s, Chuck moved to New York City and became a music critic for publications like Under the Volcano, Horror Garage and The Big Takeover, yet always made time to work on films with creative partner Christian Ackerman. Together, they wrote the award-winning short films The Summoners and Watch Your Back, as well as the unproduced feature for Ackerman’s short film Hell’s Belles, which also won several awards.
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More recently, Chuck has become a contributing writer for Film Threat, regularly covering events like Tribeca Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and New York Comic Con.
He served as Festival Director of Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In, wrote the upcoming action horror-film Night of the Bastard with Christian, and is a co-founder of National Horror Movie Day.
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