Havilah Malone to Host Femme FATAL Film Festival’s Fourth Annual Edition

The Femme FATAL Film Festival returns Oct. 18 to LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Glendale with a world premiere of Serenity, a female-led horror comedy, and a live Q&A with the cast and filmmakers. The event spotlights women working in horror and sci-fi as the genre’s gender gap remains wide.

Why it matters: - The Femme FATAL Film Festival is built to give female-led horror and sci-fi films a visible theatrical platform during Halloween season. - The event lands as women remain underrepresented in top-grossing films, both behind the camera and in leading roles. - The festival also creates networking and collaboration opportunities for independent genre filmmakers.

What happened: - The fourth annual Femme FATAL Film Festival takes place Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Glendale in Los Angeles. - Actress, producer and four-time No. 1 bestselling author Havilah Malone hosts the evening. - The program is headlined by the world premiere of Serenity, a horror comedy written and directed by Amelia Joyce and produced by Roberta Sparta. - Malone appears in Serenity alongside Kylr Coffman, Aaron Staton, Vivian Bang, Felix Merback and Kurt Bonzell. - Joyce, Sparta and members of the cast will join a post-screening Q&A. - Media are invited to cover the event.

The details: - The 2026 lineup is a single curated program, not a set of competing tracks. - The audience sees the full slate together. - Full dine-in service is available throughout the screening. - The festival features female-led horror and science fiction short films. - The festival also screens films directed by men when the projects center female leads or female department heads. - Special guests include Ivotres Littles, host of the YouTube channel Horror Movies and Beyond. - Special guests also include Lilith Fury, an actress, producer and advocate for body positivity and representation of marginalized communities in horror. - Kaci Hansen, known as The Homicidal Homemaker, also appears as a special guest. - Serenity follows an introverted young man drawn into an unusual peer support group while facing quiet, contained dread. - Tickets cost $25.99. - Tickets are available here. - Filmmakers can submit future entries through FilmFreeway. - More information is available here. - The festival also posts updates on Instagram at @femmefatalfilmfest. - Press credentials and interview requests go through Roberta Sparta at roberta@spartaproductions.co or (310) 614-9792.

Between the lines: - San Diego State University’s Celluloid Ceiling report found women directed 13% of the 250 top-grossing films of 2025, down from 16% the year before. - The same report found women directed 10% of the top 100 grossing films. - The report also found female protagonists fell to 29% of top-grossing films in 2025 from 42% in 2024. - Sparta said the festival is meant to be a theater with an audience and a microphone afterward, not just a networking event attached to screenings. - Joyce said the event has grown into a place where filmmakers meet future collaborators. - Malone said the festival gives women behind the camera the same final word that horror has often given women on screen. - The festival’s focus reflects a broader push to widen access for women in genre filmmaking.

What's next: - The festival returns each Halloween season as an annual Los Angeles showcase. - Organizers expect submissions to continue coming from filmmakers around the world. - Future editions will keep using curated screenings and live Q&As to spotlight female-led genre work. - The festival was founded in 2023 by Sparta Productions’ Roberta Sparta and writer-director and photographer Amelia Joyce.