Pacoima : School Will Host ‘Tribute to Schlock’

It may not resemble the glamour of Cannes or Sundance, but the Pacoima Film Festival will present something the other two don’t have the guts to show.

Schlock. Lots and lots of it.

On Thursday night, Pacoima Middle School will host “A Tribute to Schlock,” a collection of short horror films by students throughout the San Fernando Valley. One movie tells the story of a monster that stalks teen-agers. Another revolves around zombies who can’t cope with living in Los Angeles, so they decide to return to their graves.

“These are films based in the tradition of Ed Wood,” said festival coordinator James Gleason, referring to the notorious horror-film director who died in 1978. “They have story lines that hold, and the kids spent a lot of time on special effects.”

Altogether, the festival will present about a dozen films from elementary, middle and high schools. Most of the footage was shot in VHS and has been transferred to three-quarter-inch video.

The festival, Gleason said, also will include three musical numbers performed by Pacoima Middle School students. The school is a magnet for the performing arts.

Gleason, who took his movie production class to Sundance three months ago, said no awards will be handed out at the festival, which gets under way at 6 p.m. “It’s not a competition,” he said. “It will be just for fun.”

And don’t forget the schlock.