Protagonists who are grappling with the effects of their coming-of-age process often drive the intensity of the most spellbinding genre movies. That’s certainly the case for the three brothers of the new folk horror drama, ‘Falling Stars.’ The siblings, who are driven by youthful freewill, venture into an unknown desert without a grasp of the consequences. They’re driven by their curiosity to find the body of a witch who was shot down and buried by a friend.

The project marks the feature film directorial debut of Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki. The duo also self-produced the movie. Karpala also wrote and edited, while Bienczycki also served as the cinematographer on, the drama.

The duo skillfully reinvented the witch genre and deliver a riveting tale about four friends whose curiosity leads to their demise. The filmmakers used editing and camera angles as their primary tools to create the project’s most frightful moments.

‘Falling Stars’ chronicles how each year, on a fateful night in late October, witches use the darkness as cover to descend to earth to harvest those caught outside without protection. The authorities have put a curfew in place to limit the disappearances. Despite the warnings, three brothers leave the house to see the body of a witch, shot down by a friend who buried her in the desert.

After confirming the very strict rules about how to behave around the body, the friend and the brothers unearth the witch. But when the youngest brother accidentally desecrates the corpse, he triggers a chain reaction that endangers his closest loved ones. Now, no one is safe from the Harvest.

The project received acclaim had its World Premiered last month at the Locarno Film Festival on the Piazza Grande. ‘Falling Stars’ will have its North American Premiere at Fantastic Fest tomorrow, Friday, September 22 at 4:45pm in Theater 7 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar in Austin. The movie will then have its second screening on Tuesday, September 26 at 11:15am in Theater 5. The feature is paired with the short documentary, ‘The 200 Phenomena of Calgary, Alberta, Canada’

Prior to premiering, ‘Falling Stars’ was chosen to be part of the 2022 US in Progress showcase at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. The drama was also presented in the 2022 Frontières Platform in Cannes as part of the Buyer’s Showcase.

In honor of the movie’s North American Premiere at Fantastic Fest, Karpala and Bienczycki generously took the time yesterday to talk about scribing, helming, producing, shooting and editing the project during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Listen to the interview’s audio above, and find more information on the film’s page on Fantastic Fest’s official website.