New York’s ALZA Festival is loading up its first-ever microdrama celebration with nine new world premieres ahead of its October 16-18 debut.

The additions include Lifetime’s Reunion Island, a thriller about reality show contestants trapped in a deadly game at a Maui mansion. The cast features Felix Merback and Eric Guilmette, with direction by Gary and Edmund Entin.

Also joining the slate is vertTV’s supernatural horror Bite Club, which reunites horror legends Barbara Crampton and Russell Todd on the 40th anniversary of Chopping Mall. The series follows a student investigating her friend’s murder at a university hiding vampire bloodlines. Sam Irvin directs.

Other premieres include South African dramedy Confessions of a Gold Digger, workplace comedy Bandana Besties, and a trio of thrillers from Reelarc: Fatal Match, Splitlight, and Zero Point.

Beyond screenings, the festival is packing in conversations with industry experts Richard Lawson, Jeffrey Schenck, Jay Blumenfield, Todd Spicer, Jen Cooper, Phil Viardo, Rob McGillivray and Manny Ruiz about how vertical storytelling is reshaping entertainment. A special panel features the leading men of GammaTime microdramas sharing behind-the-scenes stories and debuting an exclusive teaser for The Summer I Turned My Sexiest 2.

“There is no better place than ALZA to hear directly from the people who are helping shape the way we consume entertainment,” says Pete Torres, founder and CEO of ALZA Festival.

Festival passes and tickets are available now at ALZAFestival.com/ticketing.