FrightFest, in partnership with Variety Magazine, are set to present the inaugural Variety Award at FrightFest to renowned special effects and make-up artist Greg Nicotero.

Nicotero will be presented with the award on Saturday August 25th, following an on-stage interview at this year's FrightFest The 13th.

"FrightFest is very proud to be associated with Variety Magazine," said FrightFest co-director Ian Rattray. "We feel Greg Nicotero is a perfect choice to receive this historic award - the first to be given out at a FrightFest event."

An acknowledged master of his field Nicotero is an idol of horror fans with a 30-year career that has seen him work on virtually every major horror franchise.

"Film4 FrightFest is delighted to welcome back Greg Nicotero," added co-director Alan Jones. "Every time we see him his career seems to have taken another quantum leap and we are thrilled Variety has recognised his contribution to the genre in both fan and business terms. We love his company as much as his professionalism and are looking forward to hosting him on this auspicious occasion."

One of the founders of KNB Effects Group in 1988, with Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero has worked with the great modern filmmakers on both the big and small screen. His enduring relationships with directors including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Wes Craven, Frank Darabont, George A. Romero and Sam Raimi demonstrates the value top filmmakers place on his skill.

From The Pacific, Deadwood, and The Walking Dead on television to features including Kill Bill, Misery, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Mulholland Drive, Sin City and The Green Mile, Nicotero and his studio have consistently supplied some of the most spectacular and imaginative effects and prosthetics seen on screen over the past three decades.

Film4 FrightFest The 13th is on from Thursday 23rd August to Monday 27th at the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square. It will present 48 films in three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery and the newly-created Re-Discovery strand will play in Empires 4 and 5. There are eleven countries represented, with a record-beating fifteen world premieres and twenty-three UK or European premieres.

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