A LONG Eaton filmmaker with a taste for ghouls, guts and gore has had two of his shorts accepted into a US film festival.
Working with shoestring budgets, aided by friends and family, Anthony Winson has been making movies since he was 14.
But now his two most recent projects, The Devil's Claw and its sequel The Devil's Claw 2, are to be screened as part of the annual Macabre Faire Film Festival in Long Island, New York.
While it all started as harmless fun, getting together with friends to play around with his dad's camera, the 23-year-old from Dovedale Estate, Long Eaton, now has more than half-a-dozen features and short films under his belt.
The Devil's Claw was released independently in February and follows the story of a terrified woman desperately trying to escape the clutches of an unseen beast lurking among the shadows.
The sequel follows a rescue party who are preyed upon while on the lookout for the original film's doomed protagonist.
Anthony says the festival organisers were so impressed by both entries that they waived the submission fee just so they could screen it.
"I was over the moon," he said. "I got a message from them and thought it was spam at first. But it turned out it was this really great festival and I was just ecstatic."
Both films were shot in the space of a couple of days and cost next to nothing to make."We only needed some syrup and a bit of red food colouring for the blood. I think it cost about a fiver!"
Anthony says his dream would be able to make filmmaking into a full-time career, following in the footsteps of his heroes, directors Wes Craven, John Carpenter and Sam Raimi.
He added: "If I could get my foot in the door I would love to be a horror director. That's my life goal."
Anthony's grandad, Richard, who has supported him throughout his career so far, says that he's in awe of his grandson's talent.
He said: "I was a projectionist for 20 years and have always been interested in film.
"Not only does he do all the special effects and gets everyone together, but the final result is so professional."
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