Fantastic Fest

Last updated

Fantastic Fest
Official Logo of Fantastic Fest.png
Official logo
StatusActive
Genre Film festival
Location(s) Austin, Texas
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2005;20 years ago (2005)
Most recentSeptember 19–26, 2024
Organized by Alamo Drafthouse
Website fantasticfest.com

Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse.

Contents

Lisa Dreyer is festival director. [1] Annick Mahnert is head of programming.

It is often cited as the largest and most prestigious genre festival in the United States, and as one of the top 3 in the world alongside Sitges and Fantasia. [2] [3] [4] [5]

History

The Wachowskis, Fantastic Fest 2012 Wachowskis, Fantastic Fest, Cloud Atlas.jpg
The Wachowskis, Fantastic Fest 2012

The festival takes place in September at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, filling eight screens for eight days and hosting many writers, directors, and actors, either well-established or unknown. The festival has become known as a launch-pad for genre films, where critical acclaim at the fest can lead to big box office returns. [6] A notable feature of this festival is the inclusion of "secret screenings". For these screenings, the audience often does not know what the film will be until seated, moments before it begins. [7] It also features many themed parties, outings, film-themed "feasts", and other events that are hallmarks of the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. In 2007, Variety publisher Charles Koones included Fantastic Fest as one of "ten festivals we love". [8] In 2008, Moviemaker named Fantastic Fest "one of the 25 film festivals worth the entry fee". [9] In 2017, Moviemaker listed Fantastic Fest in "The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World." [10]

In 2022, an online-exclusive section of programming was created: "Burnt Ends." In this new segment, Fantastic Fest wants to showcase "the weirdest, wildest, most fringe films out there." [11]

Festivals by year

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lisa Dreyer named festival director at Fantastic Fest" Archived May 19, 2022, at the Wayback Machine ; in: Screen Daily, 24 February 2022
  2. ↑ Weinstein, Max (March 23, 2022). "The Best Horror Festivals in the World 2022". Dread Central. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  3. ↑ Weinstein, Max (December 23, 2020). "The Best Horror Festivals in the World 2021". Dread Central. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  4. ↑ "World's 50 Best Genre Film Festivals 2021 — MovieMaker". www.moviemaker.com. October 27, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Top 100 Fantastic & Horror Film Festivals in 2025 + Submission Tips". Adrian Țofei • Official Site. January 28, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ "How Fantastic Fest Has Become a Kingmaker for 'Smile' and Other Genre Films". October 10, 2022. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  7. ↑ Wolfe, April (September 27, 2017). "Torches at Fantastic Fest: Sorting Through the Ashes of a Film Festival". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ Brown, Todd (December 5, 2007). "Variety Publisher Names Fantastic Fest One of Top Ten". Twitch. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  9. ↑ MovieMaker, Spring 2008.
  10. ↑ "The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World, 2017 – MovieMaker Magazine". MovieMaker Magazine. July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  11. ↑ Burnt Ends @ Fantastic Fest 2022 https://2022.fantasticfest.com/burnt-ends Archived October 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
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