Black Heritage in Horror Month 2025: An Interview with Jamal Hodge

What inspired you to start writing?
Pain, uncertainty, and hope. Honestly, I was a naive child, filled with joy at the thought of meeting another face. But when homelessness found my family in the South Bronx, I quickly learned that people weren’t always safe. Being exposed to ‘American history’ in school further revealed what it meant to be Black in this country, a trauma, in my view, that demands mental health support, like counseling, in schools. These harsh realities made me dream of a better world. I found that place within the pages of books, the ink of a pen, and the boundless depths of my own imagination.
The Ninth Annual FINAL FRAME Horror Short Film Competition is proud to present our 2024 judges.

A veritable whirlwind of talent, the competition judges for Final Frame represent the same tenacity, perseverance, ingenuity, and passion we see reflected in our finalists’ films. We can’t wait to have them preside over an evening of frights and freak-outs leading up to their selections for Grand Prize, Runner-Up, Best Writing in a Short Film, and more!