Jeff Lieberman (born in New York, 1947) is one of the most idiosyncratic and innovative American genre directors of the 70s. His three best-known films, all cult classics, range from bizarre to completely bonkers – "Squirm" (1976), "Blue Sunshine" (1978) and "Just Before Dawn" (1981). They combine low-budget ingenuity (similar to that of Roger Corman) with a unique vision, inventive and unusual storylines, eccentric humour and a cynical world view. "It all comes down to a good story," says Lieberman. His films are indeed built around tight plotting that doesn't fall back on the supernatural as a root cause of the horror, but acribes the perversion of nature and society to the inherently corrupt nature of people themselves. Jeff Lieberman is the festival’s Guest of Honour.