Night Visions is a biannual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

focusing on horror,

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 ...

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 ...

and cult

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 ...

. The festival is held twice a year in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The festival also showcases

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

and short films. The first Night Visions festival was organized in November 1997.

History

The first Night Visions festival was organized in Halloween 1997. The roots of the festival lay in Gorehound, a film

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

focusing on genre cinema, whose readership and staff were responsible for the first Night Visions Film Festival. The current festival director Mikko Aromaa is former editor-in-chief of Gorehound. The first festival was a one night event of an overnight screening of genre films showed back to back on one screen. From 2002 onwards, Night Visions film festival has been arranged twice a year, with Back to Basics in mid-April and Maximum Halloween on Halloween weekend. The Maximum Halloween event was extended from one night event to a weekend event in 2005, showing movies on three different nights. In January 2013 the film festival was awarded the Cultural Achievement Award 2012 from the City of

. The festival was credited for its bold, original and first-rate program, along with its unique atmosphere in overnight movie marathons. The judges also added that many of the films would never be seen in

without the festival. The winner was chosen by the Helsinki Board of Culture from nearly thousand nominees. The 2014 film festival set a new record in attendance when Night Visions reported 8963 total attendees in Maximum Halloween event screenings and other organized events. With 5827 admissions in the same year's Back to Basics event and the one-off Night Visions ShockPoint, a

gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

documentary special, the film festival drew a total audience of 14,790 in 2014.

Program

Back to Basics

Back to Basics is currently a four night event, climaxing in a marathon event that lasts from evening until early morning, usually screening films on two different screens. Films are played back to back with short intermissions in between. Back to Basics focuses on genre

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

s, showing older movies and underground cult films, with occasional stabs at mainstream and newer genre pieces. Back to Basics has featured movies such as

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...

, The Story of Joanna,

The Fountain ''The Fountain'' is a 2006 American epic romantic drama film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Blending elements of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction, the film consists of t ...

, The Candy Snatchers, The Last House on the Left,

Joysticks A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

Detroit 9000 ''Detroit 9000'' is a 1973 American action film directed by Arthur Marks from a screenplay by Orville H. Hampton. Originally marketed as a blaxploitation film, it had a resurgence on video 25 years later. Plot Street-smart white detective Dan ...

The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amia ...

Five Element Ninjas ''Five Elements Ninjas'' (Chinese title: 五遁忍術) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh. The film is about a Chinese martial arts school finds itself outclassed by their rivals, they hire elite ninja from Japan to de ...

, The Toxic Avenger and more.

Maximum Halloween

Maximum Halloween is organized usually as close to Halloween as possible, screening films on multiple screens and theaters. The event focuses on newer genre films and has acted as a premiere venue for many films in

. Maximum Halloween also usually screens a selection of old classics and

. The 2014 Maximum Halloween screened 45

feature length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

films and documentaries in three different theaters, along with a selection of short films during the five-day event. The event has featured films such as

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

The Descent ''The Descent'' is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside. Filming took place in the United Kingdom. Ex ...

, Reeker,

Near Dark NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a forme ...

Tokyo Gore Police is a 2008 Japanese action splatter film co-written, edited and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and starring Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer. ''Tokyo Gore Police'' was released to several film festivals in North America. It rece ...

, The Forbidden Door,

The Disappearance of Alice Creed ''The Disappearance of Alice Creed '' is a 2009 British neo-noir film written and directed by J Blakeson. It is about the kidnapping of a young woman ( Gemma Arterton) by two ex-convicts ( Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan). The film was shot on ...

, Profondo Rosso,

Shogun Assassin ''Shogun Assassin'' is a 1980 ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Robert Houston. ''Shogun Assassin'' was edited and compiled from the first two films in the ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' series, using 12 minutes of the first film, '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Sw ...

and many more along the years.

Themes and guests

Night Visions has had a varied line-up of guest film-makers and actors during its run. The guests are sometimes associated with the themes of the festival; such as Christopher Lee and the

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

theme of the 2002 festival or

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 ...

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

fame in the 2014 festival. Other special guests have included Dario Argento,

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 ...

John McNaughton John McNaughton (born January 13, 1950) is an American film and television director, originally from Chicago, Illinois, whose works encompass the horror, thriller, drama and comedy film genres. His films include '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial ...

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

and

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

among others.

Other events

In 2014 Night Visions organized an industry afternoon, in collaboration with Nordic Genre Invasion, that featured many upcoming Nordic filmmakers as well as industry veterans. The afternoon consisted of movie screenings and panel discussion.

Awards

The Night Visions Audience Award has been awarded since 2008 to promote the recognition of genre cinema in

and in other nordic countries. All movies released in the same year, or the year before, the festival is held are eligible. The winner is decided by the audience in a ballot organized at the Maximum Halloween screenings. The 2013 winner, Frank Pavich's

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

Jodorowsky's Dune ''Jodorowsky's Dune'' is a 2013 American-French documentary film directed by Frank Pavich. The film explores cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's unsuccessful attempt to adapt and film Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel ''Dune'' in ...

, was the first

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

film to win the award.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.nightvisions.info
Night Visions on Facebook

Night Visions on Twitter
Film festivals in Finland Fantasy and horror film festivals Festivals in Helsinki Film festivals established in 1997 1997 establishments in Finland Science fiction film festivals