Fantastic Fest is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, focused on

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

and

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

films, the largest genre festival in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was founded in 2005 by

Tim League Tim League is an American entrepreneur and film producer based in Austin, Texas. He is the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain and the founder of Drafthouse Films, a film distribution company, where he produced '' The ABCs of Death'' a ...

Alamo Drafthouse The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the film, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

. Lisa Dreyer is festival director.

Annick Mahnert Annick Mahnert (born 13 July 1975) is a Swiss film festival curator and film producer. She is the Director of Programming at Fantastic Fest and a programmer at Sitges Film Festival and was named executive director of the Canadian genre industry pl ...

is head of programming. It is often cited as the largest and most prestigious genre festival in the

, and as one of the top 3 in the world alongside

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

and

Fantasia Fantasia may refer to: Film and television * ''Fantasia'' (1940 film), an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney ** '' Fantasia 2000'', a sequel to the 1940 film * ''Fantasia'' (2004 film), a Hong Kong comedy film * ''Fantasia'' (201 ...

History

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. 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. It also features many themed parties, outings, film-themed "feasts", and other events that are hallmarks of the original

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the film, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

. In 2007, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' publisher Charles Koones included Fantastic Fest as one of "ten festivals we love". In 2008, ''

Moviemaker ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film and film festivals. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis, and is known for the annual l ...

'' named Fantastic Fest "one of the 25 film festivals worth the entry fee". In 2017, ''Moviemaker'' listed Fantastic Fest in "The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World." 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."Burnt Ends @ Fantastic Fest 2022 https://2022.fantasticfest.com/burnt-ends

Festivals by year

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.fantasticfest.com
Fantastic Fest on IMDb
Fantasy and horror film festivals in the United States Film festivals in Austin, Texas Multigenre conventions Film festivals established in 2005 2005 establishments in Texas Science fiction film festivals

History

Festivals by year

See also

References

External links