The Complete Howard French Course Expands 2026 Horror Film Festival Run

Psychological horror feature starring Paul Parducci adds screenings in Delaware, Indiana and New York City.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Complete Howard French Course, a psychological horror feature starring Paul Parducci as the enigmatic Howard French, will continue its 2026 festival run with upcoming screenings in Wilmington, Delaware; Shelbyville, Indiana; and New York City. Directed by Gustavo Sampaio and distributed by California Pictures, the 83-minute film follows four young seekers whose discovery of a videotape from the 1980s draws them into Howard French’s unsettling lessons on enlightenment.

The new dates extend a festival journey that has taken the independent production from Philadelphia to Spain, Canada and the Netherlands. The film previously screened at the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival, where it was named a finalist for Best Feature, as well as Fango Fest in Spain, the Toronto Indie Horror Film Festival and the BUT Film Festival in Breda, the Netherlands.

Its premise begins with an ordinary object: an old videotape. What appears to be a dated instructional recording becomes the entrance to a far more disturbing experience. The story uses the texture of analog media, along with mystery and found-footage influences, to build tension around what the four seekers see and whether they can trust the person guiding them.

Parducci’s performance places Howard French at the center of that uncertainty. The character is both instructor and possible threat, and the film gradually reveals how his identity and intentions connect to the nightmare unfolding around the group.

Writing about Parducci’s performance in The Coldness, Dread Central critic Mary Beth McAndrews observed, “Parducci’s own performance … absolutely nails the balance between grizzled cop and broken man with nothing left.” In The Complete Howard French Course, Parducci applies that dramatic experience to a different kind of role, allowing much of the film’s unease to develop through suggestion rather than explanation.

The upcoming screenings are:
• September 25, 2026 — Horror Fest Film Festival, Wilmington, Delaware
• September 26, 2026 — Cinema Scares Film Festival, Shelbyville, Indiana
• October 3, 2026 — New York Sci-Fi Film Festival, New York City, at 9 p.m.

The New York screening is scheduled as the festival’s feature presentation. The festival’s published program lists Sampaio as director and describes the story’s used-bookstore encounter as the event that leads the four seekers to Howard French and his course. Screening schedules may be updated by the individual festivals, and attendees should consult the linked festival pages for current ticket and venue information.

The film was written by Parducci and produced by Pardco Pictures and GS Productions. California Pictures is handling distribution. Additional information about Parducci’s film and television work is available through https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0661158/.

For distribution, licensing, sales and release inquiries, contact California Pictures directly at monique@californiapicturesinc.com.

About the Filmmakers

Paul Parducci is an actor, writer and independent filmmaker whose credits include Good Burger, NYPD Blue, The Coldness, Geometry, EVP, The Drowning Project, What Happened to Suzy and The Complete Howard French Course. Gustavo Sampaio directs The Complete Howard French Course and has collaborated with Parducci on projects centered on psychological horror, suspense and ambiguity. Pardco Pictures and GS Productions produced the film, with California Pictures serving as distributor.

Media Department
Pardco Pictures
pardco@sbcglobal.net

Media gallery