Matilda Szydagis

SAG-AFTRA * AEA

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Your Team Films
Matilda Szydagis and Ric Sechrest founded YOUR TEAM FILMS as a love letter to 70s/80s horror films and shows. Their short horror trilogy has won numerous festival awards. As a co-collaborator, Matilda wrote and produced all three shorts and directed two of them. She wrote a feature horror screenplay about waking nightmares, trauma, and nostalgia called RESIDUE. Katarzyna "Kathy" Műller is their script consultant. www.yourteamfilms.com  
RESIDUE is a classically minded horror movie written by Gen X for Gen X. X-FILES meets IT FOLLOWS meets JACOB'S LADDER.

"RESIDUE is a riveting story that explores nostalgia and its link to trauma in a new and provocative way. The piece has many elements of a strong psychological thriller, as it blends elements of the supernatural with concepts from modern medicine. The author has a unique voice and a flair for storytelling." -Austin FF

Jeff Howard (Midnight Mass, Haunting of Hill House, Oculus) said my pacing reminded him of Coen Brothers and that my dialogue "kicks ass" and is "bouncy, enjoyable, fun, real.”

ACCOLADES thus far:

Semi-Finalist - FADE IN Horror Competition (2025)

Quarterfinalist - Dallas Intl Film Festival (2025)

Second Rounder - Austin Film Festival (2024)

Quarterfinalist - Big Apple Film Festival (2024)

Quarterfinalist - Outstanding Screenplays (2024)
THE HOOSAC is a GHOST STORY about a lonely soul who can't escape his past life. Inspired by the real life tragedy that plagued the construction of the Hoosac tunnel in a small New England mill town. Part I of trilogy. 10 min. 
THE RUINS is a HORROR STORY about a woman who is cursed by circumstance and her tragic past. Inspired by real life ruins in the Hudson Highlands of NY, isolated and haunted by fire. Part II of trilogy. 10 min. 
THE DAM is a HORROR STORY about disquiet waters, angry woods, and the man haunted by it all. Inspired by the North Woods of Maine and the Golden Road. Part III of trilogy. 6 min. 

THE HOOSAC AWARDS WON:

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD – Haunted Horror Film Festival

SEMI-FINALIST – Polish International Film Festival

THE HOOSAC OTHER NOMINATIONS:

BEST SHORT - NYCIFF

BEST ACTOR - NYCIFF

THE RUINS AWARDS WON:

BEST HORROR SHORT - Los Angeles Independent Film Festival

BEST HORROR SHORT - Directors Circle Festival

BEST HORROR – Tops Shorts Film Festival

BEST DARK DRAMA – Terror Film Festival

BEST SHORT FILM DIAMOND AWARD - European Independent Film

FINALIST – Upstate NY Horror Film Festival

SEMI-FINALIST -  LA Cinefest

SEMI-FINALIST – European Cinematography Awards

THE RUINS OTHER NOMINATIONS:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Independent Horror Movie Awards

BEST ATMOSPHERE – Independent Horror Movie Awards

BEST DIRECTOR – Terror Film Festival

BEST ACTRESS – Terror Film Festival

BEST SOUND DESIGN – Terror Film Festival

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS – Terror Film Festival

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE – Terror Film Festival

THE DAM AWARDS WON:

BEST HORROR - Top Shorts Film Festival

BEST HORROR Platinum Award – EIFA

BEST NY HORROR SHORT – Upstate NY Horror Film Festival

FINALIST – 13Horror.com

SEMI-FINALIST -  LA Cinefest

SEMI-FINALIST – European Cinematography Awards

SEMI-FINALIST – LAIFFA

Honorable Mention - Berlin Flash Film Festival

THE DAM OTHER NOMINATIONS:

BEST ATMOSPHERE – Independent Horror Movie Awards

BEST ORIGINAL CONCEPT – Independent Horror Movie Awards

BEST SCARE – Independent Horror Movie Awards


OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:

Marché du Film Festival De Cannes

Lady Filmmakers Festival

Chicago Horror Film Festival

Berlin Short Film Festival

Big Apple Film Festival

Smoky Mountain Film Festival

Berlin Independent Film Festival

Eerie Intl Film Festival

Diabolical Film Festival

Audience Film Awards

Bad Film Festival

New York City Independent Film Festival

Los Angeles Independent Film Festival

Fantasmagorical Film Festival

Upstate NY Horror Film Festival

Haunted Horror Film Festival

Terror Film Festival

Great Lakes Intl Film Festival

European Short Film Festival

European Independent Film Awards

European Cinematography Awards

Halloween Horror Picture Show

NewFilmmakers New York

Grand Concourse Film Screening Series

Independent Horror Movie Awards

Scream in the Dark Film Festival

Berlin Flash Film Festival

Queens World Film Festival

Jim Thorpe Film Festival

Coney Island Film Festival

Dickens Horror Film Festival

Zero Film Festival

Winter Film Awards Film Festival

Los Angeles Cinefest