Hey folks, Harry here... Once again back with an update on FANTASTIC FEST - Austin's own super-genre orientated affair for cool as shit flicks from around the world. We recently had a meeting at my lavish pad where we listened to the score to SUPERMAN RETURNS, whilst planning and discussing what could be made official, what had to be kept... OOooOOOoh so SEEcret.... and what we still had to do. This year's fest will have some badassness that I can't even begin to tell you about - but it makes last year's fest... well last year's fest was 4 days... this is SEVEN - 7 - VII... And that ain't filler and bubblewrap my friends... No no nononononono NO. It's parties, panels, presentations and busting at the seams with stuff from far off lands, cool things from right here that ain't nobody heard of, and then great genre films... be they fantasy, horror, sci-fi, animated and... you might even see a few other cool as hell genre types as well. The qualifications are tough, the films need only be FANTASTIC. We're still searching everywhere for content, we're going to be bringing in some acquisitions people at cool cool cool places, as well as assembling the best audiences possible to see these films. So check out the latest release - and if you think you have a film that could cause one to utter... FANTASTIC... then the contact info you seek is below... And for all those that want to attend a badass film festival with the boring parts cut out.... Here's the first release of many...
FANTASTIC FEST
Sept. 21-28, 2006
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar
Austin, TX
info and tickets at FantasticFest.Com
PASSES ON SALE NOW!
Austin's premiere genre festival FANTASTIC FEST returns for its second year, featuring the best in cutting-edge horror, sci-fi, fantasy and animation! Extended to eight days, the festival promises to triple last year's offerings with more films to terrify, thrill, inspire and amaze you, as well as mind-blowing panels, exhibits, parties, and special guests.
Programming is ongoing, but confirmed as of June 15th, 2006 are THE PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES, the latest exquisite live-action feature from eccentric stop-motion animators The Brothers Quay; the claustrophobic masterpiece HAZE, from TETSUO director Shinya Tsukamoto; the US Premiere of the bizarre Estonian animated super-spy series FRANK AND WENDY; Irish bio-horror ISOLATION starring John Lynch (CAL) and Sean Harris (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE); the regional premiere of INSIDE, Jeff "I Love TEEN WOLF" Mahler's disturbing portrait of an obsessed stalker; and the U.S. Premiere of veteran Canadian indie director Larry Kent's (HIGH) dysfunctional family drama HAMSTER CAGE.
Gruesome co-winners of Scotland's esteemed Dead By Dawn Festival BLOOD TRAILS and BROKEN make their US debuts at Fantastic Fest, as does Simon Rumley's THE LIVING AND THE DEAD and Sean Hogan's atmospheric ghost story LIE STILL. Winner of the Fantasporto Best Feature FROSTBITEN, a teen vampire horror comedy set amid the constant night of Europe's northern climes, makes a regional premiere at Fantastic Fest.
The US Premiere of Robbie Fraser's GAMERZ - a Scottish teen comedy about Dungeons & Dragons nerds - and the regional premiere of Sturla Gunnarson's ambitious period epic BEOWULF & GRENDEL (starring Stellan Skarsgaard and Sarah Polley), join Ten Shimoyama's feudal Japanese martial arts film SHINOBI: HEART UNDER BLADE in the festival's fantasy section.
Stuart Samuels' acclaimed documentary MIDNIGHT MOVIES examines the phenomenon that began with EL TOPO, ERASERHEAD, PINK FLAMINGOS and more, featuring interviews with all involved, from the filmmakers to the theatre owners who took a chance on their unorthodox films.
CHARLES BAND brings his interactive FULL MOON TRAVELLING ROADSHOW back to Austin - a two-hour interactive show featuring clips of Full Moon movies both old and new, with anecdotes by Charlie Band, auctions of original Full Moon props and puppets, a live beheading by guillotine, and even surprise special guests in tow!
Internationally acclaimed film archivist and author Jack Stevenson (Land of a Thousand Balconies) joins us for three unique presentations: MOVIES WITH ROOTS IN HELL about the influence of drugs on cinema; TOTALLY UNCENSORED! A SCANDINAVIAN SINEMA RETROSPECTIVE; and an enlightening examination of Benjamin Christensen's obsessive early mondo film, HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES.
KNB founder and effects guru Greg Nicotero will be live in person presiding over the video presentation GREG NICOTERO'S GREATEST HITS, wherein he will introduce and divulge the secrets to his top 50 Special effects masterpieces.
And that's only the beginning! Check back monthly with us as we make additional content announcements. Expect some HUGE surprise features and celebrity guests closer to festival time, and, like last year, we will treat early purchasers of Fantastic Fest badges to an assortment of warm-up fantastic screenings throughout the summer.
Currently Fantastic Fest badge holders are the only ones eligible to attend the free rolling roadshow screening of THE DESCENT, the claustrophobic spelunking horror favorite from Ain't It Cool News' 2005 Buttnumbathon. To make it even scarier, we'll be screening it at the bottom of Longhorn Caverns and following up the film with a wild cave tour!
Additional films and confirmed guests will be listed at FantasticFest.Com.
Questions? Contact: Kier-La Janisse
FANTASTIC FEST was conceived by co-chairs Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and Tim McCanlies (The Iron Giant, Secondhand Lions), and is presented by the Alamo Drafthouse South under the direction of Tim League ("#1 Theater Doing It Right" - Entertainment Weekly). They comprise a programming team that also includes Harry Knowles (Ain't It Cool News), Matt Dentler (SXSW Film Festival) and Kier-La Janisse (CineMuerte Film Festival).