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 Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Netherlands. The festival was created in 1991 as the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, with a focus mainly on

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

and horror films, before changing its name in 2009.

History

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). It showed a wide array of international genre films, not just horror but also sci-fi, fantasy, martial arts and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

. 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. 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.

Description

Imagine takes place at the end of October, at LAB11 and de Filmhallen, both in the western part of Amsterdam. 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 organized by the Foundation AFFF for no profit and receives subsidies from the Film Fund and the City of Amsterdam. Prizes awarded at the festival include: *Lifetime / Career Achievement Award * Silver Scream Award * Méliès (Silver and Gold) * The Black Tulip Award * Imagine Time Capsule * VR Award

Prizewinners

Lifetime/Career Achievement Award

The Lifetime/Career Achievement Award has been awarded to the following people: * 2014 - Alejandro Jodorowsky (Career Achievement Award) * 2013 -

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academ ...

* 2012 -

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

* 2011 - Rutger Hauer * 2010 - Dick Maas * 2008 - Tim Burton (Career Achievement Award) * 2007 - Terry Gilliam (Career Achievement Award) * 2006 - Roger Corman * 2005 - Ray Harryhausen * 2005 - Paul Naschy * 2004 - not awarded * 2003 -

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featur ...

* 2002 -

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

* 2001 - Dario Argento * 2000 - Wes Craven

Silver Scream Award

The Silver Scream Award is voted for by the audience of the festival.

Méliès Awards

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 the best long and one for the best short film fantastic. The winners then join the Méliès d'Or Award ceremony. Amsterdam Méliès winners: Amsterdam Méliès-winners:

Black Tulip Award

In 2006 set jury prize, the Black Tulip Award, in 2006 was awarded in three categories, but then only in the category of Best Feature:

Imagine Time Capsule

This prize was awarded for online entries between 2010 and 2015:

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.imaginefilmfestival.nl/en/ Film festivals in the Netherlands