Location | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
---|---|
Founded | 1991 |
Awards | Sea Devil Award, Silver Scream Award, Silver Méliès |
Festival date | Annually, at the end of October |
Website | www |
The Imagine Film Festival, formerly Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (AFFF), also known as Imagine Fantastic Film Festival or simply Imagine, is an annual film festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. [1] The festival was created in 1991 as the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, with a focus mainly on fantasy and horror films, [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] before changing its name in 2009. [7]
Imagine started out as the "Weekend of Terror". After several years, this weekend turned into a full-blown festival in 1991, titled the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (AFFF [8] ). It showed a wide array of international genre films, not just horror but also sci-fi, fantasy, martial arts and anime.
In 2004, the AFFF hosted the Golden Méliès Gala (best European fantastic long and short films).
In 2009, the festival got a new name: Imagine Film Festival. With the name change, the organization wanted to emphasize that the festival had become more focused on films that cannot be strictly defined as fantasy, horror or science fiction over the years. [8]
In 2013, after many years based at the Kriterion, the festival chose the EYE Film Institute as its home base. During the years at Eye, the festival started adding VR experiences as well as games, under the flag of "Imagine Expanded", and extended its science programme.
In 2022, both the timing and the venues were changed: to the end of October instead of mid-April, and at two new base venues. [9]
Imagine takes place at the end of October, at LAB111 and de Filmhallen. [10]
The festival aims to acquaint both film lovers and the general public with a selection of new and classic films from genres such as fantasy, horror and science fiction. A large part of the program consists of genre films, exploitation films, cult films and obscure films, though the offerings have become increasingly diverse over the years.
The event is organised by the Foundation AFFF for no profit and receives subsidies from the Film Fund and the City of Amsterdam.
The Imagine Time Capsule was awarded between 2010 and 2015. Other former awards include the Black Tulip Award, the VR Award, and the Lifetime / Career Achievement Award.
As of 2024 [update] , the prizes awarded at the festival are: [11] [12]
Formerly Black Tulip Award. In 2006, the jury prize was awarded in three categories but afterwards only in the category of best feature:
The Méliès Awards are an initiative of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (formerly European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, or EFFFF), of which Imagine has been a member since 1996. Affiliated festivals each year grant two Silver Méliès Award during their festival, one for best fantastic feature, and one for best fantastic short. The winners then join the Méliès d'Or Award ceremony.
Amsterdam Méliès-winners:
Year | Film Title | Director |
---|---|---|
2024 | Mr. K | Tallulah H. Schwab |
2023 | Infested | Sébastien Vanícek |
2022 | Attachment | Gabriel Bier Gislason |
2021 | Censor | Prano Bailey-Bond |
2020 | Dogs Don’t Wear Pants | Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää |
2019 | O Beautiful Night [13] | Xaver Xylophon |
2018 | The Place [14] | Paolo Genovese |
2017 | Skins [15] | Eduardo Casanova |
2016 | The Survivalist | Stephen Fingleton |
2015 | Liza, the Fox-Fairy | Károly Ujj Mészáros |
2014 | The Samurai | Till Kleinert |
2013 | The End | Jorge Torregrossa |
2012 | Sleep Tight | Jaume Balagueró |
2011 | Suiker | Jeroen Annokkeé |
2010 | Transmission | Roland Vranik |
2009 | Before the Fall | F. Javier Gutiérrez |
2008 | The King of the Mountain | Gonzalo López-Gallego |
2007 | Them | David Moreau & Xavier Palud |
2006 | Storm | Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein |
2005 | Calvaire | Fabrice du Welz |
2004 | The Green Butchers | Anders Thomas Jensen |
2003 | My Little Eye | Marc Evans |
2002 | The Devil's Backbone | Guillermo del Toro |
2001 | Heart of the Warrior | Daniel Monzón |
The Silver Scream Award is voted by the audience of the festival.
In 2018, the inaugural VR Award was awarded to an eight-channel video Australian work called The Summation of Force, by filmmaker Matthew Bate and photographers Narelle Autio and Trent Parke. [17] [18]
The Lifetime/Career Achievement Award has been awarded to the following people:
This prize was awarded for online entries between 2010 and 2015:
Year | Film Title | Director |
---|---|---|
2015 | We Love Robots | Bram Roza & Jurriaan Verdoold |
2014 | Looking for Laika | Thijs Molenaar & Laurens Roorda |
2013 | Monsterpop | Boriz Baatsen |
2012 | Mayan Prophecy | Geoffrey Cramm |
2011 | Under the Dress | Sasha Meijer |
2010 | The Vegan Vampire | Suzi Terror |
Wesley Earl Craven was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the horror genre, particularly slasher films, where he mixed horror cliches with humor. Craven has been recognized as one of the masters of the horror genre.
The Sitges Film Festival and also translated as Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia and originally the International Week of Fantasy and Horror Movies, is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specialises in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost international festivals. Established in 1968, the festival takes place every year, usually in early October.
Ellen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award.
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. It focuses on niche, low budget movies in various genres, from horror to sci-fi. Regularly held in July/August, by 2016 its annual audience had already surpassed 100,000 viewers and outgrown even the Montreal World Film Festival.
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse.
Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), formerly European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF), established in 1987, is a network of 22 genre film festivals from 16 countries based Brussels, Belgium, and dedicated to promoting and supporting European cinema, particularly films in the fantasy, horror and science fiction genres.
Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Díaz is a Spanish film director, producer and writer. Two-Time European Golden Melies nominee, he is well known for his works like the short films Brazil and Norman's Room, and his feature film debut Before the Fall.
The Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival is a Slovenian film festival specialized in genre movies, with emphasis on horror and fantasy. The festival takes place every summer in the town of Ljutomer, in the Prlekija region of northeastern Slovenia. More recently, the festival has also taken place in Ormož.
Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King, which was released in 1997.
The Fancine Fantastic Film Festival of the University of Málaga, is an annual film festival held by the University of Málaga in Málaga, Spain. It has been held since 1990 in the month of November. It focuses on the fantastic, science-fiction, and horror movie genres.
The Méliès d'Or is an award presented annually by the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), an international network of genre film festivals from Europe. The Méliès d'Or was introduced in 1996 for science fiction, fantasy, and horror films. The award is named after film director Georges Méliès.
Narelle Autio is an Australian photographer. She is a member of the In-Public street photography collective and is a founding member of the Oculi photographic agency. She is married to the photographer Trent Parke, with whom she often collaborates. She has won two Walkley Awards for photojournalism, two first prize World Press Photo awards, and the Oskar Barnack Award.
Issa López is a Mexican director, writer and producer. Twelve Spanish language features have been produced from her scripts, four of them directed by herself. She has won several literary awards, including the National Novel Award granted by Mexico's Institute of Fine Arts and Literature in 2007.
ShortCutz Amsterdam is an annual film festival promoting short films in Amsterdam, Netherlands held the whole year through.
Liza, the Fox-Fairy is a 2015 Hungarian black comedy film directed by Károly Ujj Mészáros, starring Mónika Balsai, Szabolcs Bede-Fazekas and David Sakurai. The film drew an audience of over 100,000 in Hungary.
The Substitute is a 2015 short film written by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and directed by Nathan Hughes-Berry. The film is inspired by Sims-Fewer's experience of life at boarding school and was shot on location at St Angela's Ursuline Catholic School in East London.
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films belonging to genre fiction, as well as television and home media releases. The Saturn Awards were created in 1973 and were originally referred to as Golden Scrolls.
Trieste Science+Fiction Festival was founded in 2000 under the name of Science plus Fiction by the Research and Experimentation Centre La Cappella Underground with the ambitious purpose of re-launching the Festival Internazionale del film di fantascienza, which had been held in the northern Italian city of Trieste in the years 1963–1982.
Luz also known as Luz: The Flower of Evil or Luz, la flor del mal is a 2019 fantasy-western horror film written and directed by Juan Diego Escobar Alzate, featuring Yuri Vargas in the lead role. In October 2019, it was a contender in the Official Fantastic Competition at the SITGES Fantastic Film Festival in Spain. The film gained international recognition as it was part of numerous international film festivals, including the Glasgow Film Festival, Indiecork, Nocturna Madrid, Almería Western Film Festival, Horrible Imaginings, Fantaspoa, Insólito and Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, among others. It garnered accolades for Best Iberoamerican Film, Best Photography, Best Editing, and Best Acting at various festivals. 'Luz: The Flower of Evil' also clinched the prestigious Silver Skull Award at the Morbido Film Fest in Mexico, marking its Latin American Premiere.