Horror-fest director denies allegations of non-payment
By J.K. Radomski
MONTREAL — “Insufficient funds” and “the check is in the mail” are two phrases scaring up a lot of complaints against the organizer of last year’s International Festival of Fantasy, Horror, Science-Fiction and Thriller films staged here.
Festival director Sylvain Krief and his company SKP Prods. are accused of not paying his staff and associates more than $20,000.
And late last month, his own public relations firm, Ixion Communications, filed a civil suit in Quebec Court against him for the recovery of $11,319.
“After spending several months negotiating with Mr. Krief to pay us for the work we did during the festival, we were forced to take him to court,” Ixion Communications’ vice president Henry Welsh said. “Since last November he’s been stringing us along, and he’s threatened that he would trash my company if we told anyone about his procrastination.” Several of the festival’s other employees are also claiming that they haven’t been paid yet.
Part-timers, staffers and even the festival’s program director said Krief owes them amounts ranging from $83 to $8,000.
New York-based Troma Inc., which had 13 of its films shown at the festival, is also unhappy.
“We’ve had no problem like this at any other festival before,” said Steve Gaul, director of marketing for the production house that made cult favorites The Toxic Avenger and Rabid Grannies. “This festvial still owes us $600 in film rental fees, and $800 in shipping costs. And these charges go back to November.”
But Krief denies the charges.
“It’s all just one big misunderstanding,” Krief said. “There may be a few bills unpaid, but everything else is accounted for.”
Krief said the money owed to Troma is just a small amount that is overdue, and that his track record — paying all but three of 113 film distributors so far — should be taken into account.
“I don’t know why everyone has turned against me,” Krief said. “We all had such a great time, and we’re going to have another festival no matter what anyone says.”
Krief is currently looking for sponsors to fund this year’s horror film fest, which is scheduled to run Oct. 29-Nov. 11.
According to Krief, Welsh signed an agreement to buy approximately $25,000 into his company, making him a partner with Krief. When Welsh could not come up with that amount, Krief stopped all payments to Ixion Communications.
But Welsh disputes Krief’s argument.
“What he says doesn’t make sense. The agreement we had was personal,” Welsh said. “He owes the company and I owe him. That’s that. He can’t withold payment to the company I work for because he’s upset with me.”
Welsh said he decided not to invest the money into Krief’s SKP Prods. because of allegations surrounding the festival’s mismanagement and financial viability.
While Krief claims the festival broke even last year and that the money owed to Ixion Communications is under his lawyer’s trust pending Welsh’s investment payment, his company’s lawyer did not have any records of SKP Prods.’ economic strength, despite Krief’s claims that he would.
“I have no idea how the company is doing,” said Serge Amar, of Strenthel, Catz, Nelson and Montigny. “Why Mr. Krief said we would know and could verify this is beyond me.”
New Zealand’s Peter Jackson, director of Braindead, is also questioning Krief’s claims.
According to festival insiders, Jackson was a last minute replacement to director Alan Smithee (Starfire, Ghost Fever) whom Krief wanted to invite as a special guest. Krief then learned that Alan Smithee is a pseudonym directors use to disassociate themselves from a project.
Jackson said he was promised paid airfare to the festival.
“It seemed so perfect. I’m just starting out and this festival from across the world wants me over,” he said from the Christ Church, New Zealand, location of his new film Heavenly Creatures. “I was told that my flight would be reimbursed, but up to now, nothing.”
Jackson said he was further confused when Krief sent him a check that bounced. Two weeks ago he made an inquiry.
“I called up Sylvain Krief to find out what was happening. He told me there was a mix up in checks and faxed me a copy of what I should have. It was a check dated the same day, but for $26 less than the one I had, and 75 digits ahead in sequence from the one I was holding. I realized then that I had been taken in by a con man.”
When questioned about Jackson’s check, Krief said that someone in the New Zealand director’s accounting department must have lost it, or even stole it.
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