The Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF) was a three day international

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

film

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

held annually in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. MIFFF was the premiere

Pacific northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

event devoted to

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

, animation,

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 ...

, horror and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

from around the globe. The

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

(SIFF) Cinema at

McCaw Hall Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (often abbreviated to McCaw Hall) is a performing arts hall in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the grounds of Seattle Center and owned by the city of Seattle, McCaw Hall's two principal tenants are the Seat ...

hosted MIFFF which resided on the campus of

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needle ...

Overview

The "Founding Fathers" of MIFFF are Eric Morgret, Isaac Alexander, Rick Tillman, Gabe de los Angeles & Dan Doody. The festival was first conceived at a gathering in June 2008, which led to the first event taking place in September 2009. The event was created to offer exposure to films that traditionally are overlooked by the mainstream festival circuit from genres including action, animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. The vision drew inspiration from other genre film festivals around the globe such as

Fantasia Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

in Montreal,

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Giant'' and ''Secondhand ...

in Austin, and the first genre film festival, the Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia. MIFFF was registered shortly thereafter as a Washington State non-profit and acts as the parent organization of the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival. The festival featured a diverse selection of cult genre cinema from around the globe – with the possibility of artists presenting the works themselves.

Current & upcoming festivals

2011

The third annual MIFFF was held September 16–18, 2011 at the SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington. The festival showcased five feature films and 49 short films from around the world.

Feature films presented

* Absentia * Boy Wonder * The Melancholy Fantastic * Midnight Son * The Selling

Short films presented

* A Penny Earned * Air * Alley Dog * Alone * Antedon * Arthur * The Astronaut on the Roof * Blind Luck * Brutal Relax * Call of Nature * Cankered & Cursed * Cosas Feas (Nasty Stuff) * Dead Friends * La Doncella Dormida (The Sleeping Maiden) * Doppelganger * Earthship * Employé du Mois (Employee of the Month) * Entanglement * Escape Of The Gingerbread Man * Fábrica de Muñecas (Dolls Factory) * Facing Rupert * Fitness Class Zombie * The Girl and the Fox * High Fashion * Idle Worship * Juan Con Miedo (Fearful John) * Junk * Junk Bonds: The Return of Junkbucket (trailer) * Lonely * Loom * Mongrel's Creed * Nullarbor * Paths of Hate * Payload * Pharos * Pinball * Rantdog's Top Ten Zombies Ever * R.O.A.C.H. * Rosa * Sharfik * O Solitário Ataque de Vorgon (Vorgon's Lonesome Raid) * Status * Suffer * Switch * Toy House * La Tragedia del Hombre Hueco (The Hollow Man's Tragedy) * Vicenta * The Waking * The Year of the Child

Awards

* Best Feature (Audience Award): Boy Wonder * Best Feature (Jury Award): Absentia * Best Animation Short (Audience & Jury Award): Nullarbor * Best Fantasy Short (Audience Award): Employe du Mois * Best Fantasy Short (Jury Award): Arthur * Best Horror Short (Audience & Jury Award): Brutal Relax * Best Sci-Fi Short (Audience Award): Mongrel's Creed * Best Sci-Fi Short (Jury Award): Status

Past festivals

2010

The second annual MIFFF was held September 17–19, 2010 at the SIFF Cinema at

, Washington. The festival showcased 4 feature films and 41 short films from around the world.

Feature films presented

Blood River Blood River ( af, Bloedrivier; zu, Ncome) is situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This river has its sources in the hills south-east of Utrecht; leaving the highlands it is joined by two important tributaries that originate in the Schurvebe ...

* Mørke Sjeler (Dark Souls) * The Presence * Srpski Film (A Serbian Film)

Short films presented

* A Complex Villainelle * The Abaddon File * Alice Jacobs Is Dead * Babylon 2084 * Billy Baxter and the Mystery of Dr. Amazo * Clemency * Cockpit: The Rule of Engagement * ConLang * The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger * DemiUrge Emesis * Dracula's Daughter vs The Space Brains * Ducked and Covered: A Survival Guide to the Post Apocalypse * Elder Sign * The Familiar * Father and Sister * Flat Love * Flowers for Norma * The Hatter's Apprentice * The Hollow Girl * Journey Quest * Kidnap * The Lift * Love Does Grow on Trees * The Macabre World of Lavender Williams * Manual Práctico del Amigo Imaginario(A Practical Guide for Imaginary Friends (abridged)) * The Necronomicon * No Escape * Noirville * One Small Step * Porque Hay Costas Que Nunca Se Olvidan (Because There Are Things We Never Forget) * Red Revenge * Rise of the Living Corpse * Scottish Ninjas * Slap Back Jack: High Five Master * ST: Phoenix * Street Angel * SuperBattle (Episode 1) * The 3rd Letter * Thy Kill Be Done * Toothnapped * Two Men, Two Cows, Two Guns

Awards

* Best Feature: The Presence * Best Action Short: Street Angel * Best Animation Short: A Complex Villainelle * Best Fantasy Short: Manual Practico del Amigo Imaginario (abreviado) * Best Horror Short: The Familiar * Best Sci-Fi Short: Babylon 2084

2009

The first MIFFF was held September 18–20, 2009 at the SIFF Cinema at

, Washington. The festival showcased 6 feature films and 33 short films from around the world.

Feature films presented

* The Ends Of The Earth *

Pig Hunt The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

* The Revenant *

Strigoi Strigoi in Romanian mythology are troubled spirits that are said to have risen from the grave. They are attributed with the abilities to transform into an animal, become invisible, and to gain vitality from the blood of their victims. Bram Sto ...

- (West Coast Premier) * TimeTravel_0 *

Until The Light Takes Us ''Until the Light Takes Us'' is an American documentary film about early Norwegian black metal by directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in 2008, a year before it was released in film theaters. Feat ...

Short films presented

* aQua ad lavandum - in brevi * The Auburn Hills Breakdown * Badewanne zum Glück (Bathtub To Happiness) * Cheerbleeders * Dead Bones * Death In Charge * The Delivery * Egg Robot Momo * Enigma * Enter the Sandbox * Fantastic Magnifico * Firemount * Foet * La Glacière Rouge(The Red Icebox) * Greenspoke * Gul(Flower) * Hart * The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon * The Kirkie * Lazarus Taxon * Mr. Gun * Milbe(Mite) * Die Schneider Krankheit(The Schneider Disease) * Skylight * Sunday * Thirsty * The Tree Man * Tropezones * The Ugly File * The Urge * Virtual Dating * Der Weltenbauer(The Builder Of Worlds) * X-Mess Detritus

Awards

* Best Feature:

* Best Sci-Fi Short: Kirkie * Best Horror Short: Death in Charge * Best Fantasy Short: Hart * Best Animation Short: Enter the Sandbox

Official Festival Posters

Other genre film festivals

* Science Fiction Fantasy Short Film Festival *

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurate ...

Screamfest Horror Film Festival Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, Ca ...

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...

European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

* Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival,

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 ...

Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

* Espoo Ciné International Film Festival *

Fantafestival The Mostra internazionale del film di fantascienza e del fantastico (English: ''International Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Show''), commonly known as Fantafestival, is a film festival devoted to science fiction, fantasy and horror film tha ...

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to fantasy/science fiction/ horror-oriented commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental proje ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

* Festival de Cine de Sitges * Leeds International Film Festival * Lund International Fantastic Film Festival * Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival * Dead by Dawn (film festival), Dead by Dawn * FrightFest (disambiguation), FrightFest * Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, Festival européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg * Horrorthon Film Festival, Dublin * International Week of Fantastic Film * NatFilm Festival, Copenhagen * Ravenna Nightmare Film Festival, Ravenna * Riga International Fantasy Film Festival, Riga * Sitges Film Festival, San Sebastián * Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival, Trieste * Utopiales - Festival International de Science-Fiction de Nantes

References

External links

*
Official MIFFF Twitter Feed

Official MIFFF Facebook

Official MIFFF Flickr Feed

SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall
{{Washington State Fandom Conventions Fantasy and horror film festivals in the United States Seattle Area conventions Festivals in Seattle Culture of Seattle Film festivals in Washington (state) Film festivals established in 2009 Science fiction film festivals