By Mark Saldana
Last year, I attended Fantastic Fest for the very first time, and had an awesome time. For film buffs living under a rock, or regular folk unaware of this movie extravaganza, Fantastic Fest is Austin’s yearly genre film festival hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. It is world renown as the largest genre festival in the United States and is known for attracting attendees consisting of fans, filmmakers, and other talent from across the globe. Past festivals have hosted world premieres of major motion pictures and has the same planned for this year. TVR just received a press release from the festival announcing its first wave of programming. Below is a copy of that release. I am definitely thrilled to cover the festival again this year, and can’t wait for all the fun and surprises the Alamo Drafthouse has to offer.
Source: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema/Fantastic Fest
THE 11TH FANTASTIC FEST SET TO WREAK HAVOC AT THE
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE WITH CANNIBAL CARNAGE, ARTFUL EXPLOITATION, AND A SMORGASBORD OF TURKISH DELIGHTS
WORLD PREMIERE OF BONE TOMAHAWK SET FOR CLOSING NIGHT WITH
KURT RUSSELL, CAST AND CREW IN ATTENDANCE
Austin, TX – Thursday, July 30, 2015 – Fantastic Fest announces the first wave programming lineup for its 11th annual celebration of exciting genre-bending films, including the World Premiere of BONE TOMAHAWK with Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox in attendance, a retrospective of Turkish Genre Cinema, and a special Mondo Gallery event and programming series curated by filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn to celebrate the release of his new book Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing, which profiles Refn’s collection of vintage exploitation-era American movie posters. “We’re very excited about this year’s mix of premieres, unique events and a retrospective theme unlike any other featuring audacious and otherworldly Turkish remakes of classic Hollywood films,” said Fantastic Fest founder Tim League.
See the full list of first wave films below and stay tuned for news on more films and events in the weeks to come. Fantastic Fest takes place September 24 – October 1 in Austin, TX at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.
S. Craig Zahler’s existential horror western BONE TOMAHAWK closes out what guarantees to be another furious week of chaos with the director and film’s ensemble cast descending on Austin. “Bringing Kurt Russell back to the Alamo is something we’ve been trying to do for a long time” said League, “And to do it with BONE TOMAHAWK, a quintessential Fantastic Fest film, means we’re in for one hell of a closer. Huge thanks to Caliber Media for making it all happen.”
Turkish genre cinema is at the heart of this year’s Fantastic Fest, inspiring both feature programming and the festival theme. This relatively unknown school of ’70s renegade filmmaking is explored in REMIX, REMAKE, RIP-OFF, which will be receiving its U.S. Premiere with director Cem Kaya in attendance. ”We are delighted to be digging deep into Turkish cinema for a journey of discovery,” said Fantastic Fest Head Programmer, Evrim Ersoy. “With its ‘filmmaking-at-any-cost’ mentality, the sheer insanity of Turkish cinema is a perfect match for Fantastic Fest.”
As part of the Turkish celebration, Fantastic Fest will be screening three seminal films, DÜNYAYI KURTARAN ADAM (aka THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD, aka TURKISH STAR WARS) , YILMAYAN ŞEYTAN (aka THE DEATHLESS DEVIL) and TARKAN VİKİNG KANI (aka TARKAN VS THE VIKINGS). The screenings will be complemented by the attendance of iconic Turkish filmmaker Çetin İnanç and moviestar Kunt Tulgar. “Due to the high cost of exhibiting American movies, Turkish filmmakers created their own versions of these classics, and with it a new universe of madcap cinema was born. I’m proud to say we’ve selected some of their wildest rides.” said Ersoy. In keeping with the Turkish spirit, this year’s poster is comprised exclusively of elements from classic Turkish movie art, of which there will be over 60 original movie posters on display at the festival.
Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing,” said filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn. “I’m excited to show the world this odyssey of rare and exclusive poster art at the festival alongside screenings of some of the films that inspired it.”
Fantastic Fest 2015 first wave film lineup below:
BONE TOMAHAWK
United States, 2015
World Premiere, 133 min
Director – S. Craig Zahler
Kurt Russell stars in this character driven and at times horrific Western about a group of men (including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins) who set out to rescue a local woman and a young deputy who’ve been kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes.
DARLING
United States, 2015
World Premiere, 78 min
Director – Mickey Keating
A young woman slowly goes crazy after taking a job as the caretaker for an ancient New York home in the new film from writer/director Mickey Keating.
THE DEATHLESS DEVIL
Turkey, 1972
Repertory Screening, 84 min
Director – Yilmaz Atadeniz
The mysterious Dr. Satan’s nefarious plans threaten the future of everyone on the planet, and the only men who can stop him are the brilliant Copperhead and his assistant Sherlock Holmes!
DER BUNKER
Germany, 2015
North American Premiere, 85 min
Director – Nikias Chryssos
A student rents a room from a family in their converted army bunker, and ends up the tutor to the child and a virtual slave to the parents.
FAREWELL UNCLE TOM
Italy, 1971
Repertory Screening, 123 min
Directors – Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi
The first movie based on historical facts about the rise and revolt of slavery in America is one of the most brilliant, misunderstood and reviled of all time.
GERMAN ANGST
Germany, 2015
US Premiere, 111 min
Directors – Jörg Buttgereit, Michal Kosakowski & Andreas Marschall
German directors Buttgereit, Kosakowski and Marschall unleash this brutal assault on the senses, a surreal three-part horror anthology touching on love and hate and everything in between.
IN SEARCH OF ULTRA SEX
France, 2015
North American Premiere, 60 min
Directors – Nicolas Charlet and Bruno Lavaine
A pandemic infects people everywhere with infinite lust, and the only ones who can save us are a group of astronauts in space, desperately looking for a solution.
THE INVITATION
United States, 2015
Special Screening, 97 min
Director – Karyn Kusama
A haunted man attends a dinner party at the house he once called home, and becomes gripped with paranoia that his ex-wife and her new husband are harboring an insidious agenda.
LIZA THE FOX FAIRY
Hungary, 2015
Regional Premiere, 98 min
Director – Károly Ujj-Mészáros
Somewhere in 1970s Budapest, nurse Liza dreams of romance. But as all her suitors die in violent and extreme ways, she begins to fear the worst: maybe she is really a fox fairy, doomed to remain alone forever!
LOVE AND PEACE
Japan, 2015
US Premiere, 117 min
Director – Sion Sono
Fantastic Fest staple Shion Sono returns once again with a deeply personal (and expectedly odd) film about a lonely businessman with dreams of punk rock stardom and his best friend, a turtle.
LOVEMILLA
Finland, 2015
North American Premiere, 97 min
Director – Teemu Nikk
LOVEMILLA is a delightful peek at life and love in Finland, filled with all the usual zombies, black holes, giant pandas and superheros you’d expect from the land that gave us Renny Harlin.
THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD
Turkey, 1982
Repertory Screening, 91 min
Director – Çetin İnanç
There has never been and will never be another film like THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD, and your only chance to discover why is at this special Fantastic Fest screening!
MY BODY HUNGERS
United States, 1967
Repertory Screening, 80 min
Director – Joseph W. Sarno
A roadhouse hostess goes undercover to investigate the murder of her sister in a little-seen sexploiter from grindhouse rebel and master of erotica Joe Sarno.
OFFICE
Korea, 2015
US Premiere, 111 min
Director – HONG Won-Chan
OFFICE is the story of Kim, the salaryman who one day brutally murders his entire family with a hammer, and Lee, the put-upon intern at his workplace. It’s dark-as-night corporate satire hiding behind a slasher veneer with scares so well timed, you’ll jump out of your seat non-stop.
REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF
Turkey/Germany, 2014
US Premiere, 96 min
Director – Cam Kaya
Welcome to Turkey. It’s home to Yesilcam, the Turkish Hollywood where, in the late ’70s, dreams were built on nothing more than a dime. Both a loving tribute to the burgeoning cinema of this young country and a trip into history, REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF brings you the most outlandish story you’ve never heard, about filmmaking so dangerous that you need a safety harness just for watching.
RUINED HEART
Phillipines-Germany, 2015
Regional Premiere, 73 min
Director – Khavn de la Cruz
Filipino iconoclast Khavn De La Cruz teams with famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle and Japanese mega star Tadanobu Asano to create a self-described “punk noir opera.”
SENSORIA
Sweden, 2015
World Premiere, 82 min
Director – Christian Hallman
Caroline Menard is a woman in her thirties who has lost everything. As she moves into a new apartment searching for a new start, she’s unaware that something ancient is waiting for her.
THE SIMILARS
Mexico, 2015
World Premiere, 89 min
Director – Isaac Ezban
On a dark and stormy night, eight strangers are stuck in a small bus station waiting for a bus to Mexico City. When strange things start happening, they find themselves trapped in a struggle for sanity and survival.
SPEED
South Korea, 2015
North American Premiere, 104 min
Director – Lee Sang-woo
Four friends navigate sex, love and life in a heart-breaking new film from Korean director Lee Sang-woo.
STAND BY FOR TAPE BACK-UP
United Kingdom, 2015
US Premiere, 65 min
Director – Ross Sutherland
Hypnotically scanning the contents of a VHS tape, this experimental essay-film eulogizes the former custodian of the analog artifact, transforming its recordings of GHOSTBUSTERS and FRESH PRINCE (among others) through rap-infused anecdotal narration, and inscribing both profound and hilarious associations to the tracking-lined images. STAND BY FOR TAPE BACK-UP will be presented as both a traditional screening as well as a live performance by creator Ross Sutherland.
TARKAN VS THE VIKINGS
Turkey, 1971
Repertory Screening, 86 min
Director – Mehmet Aslan
Based on one of the most popular comic strips in Turkey. this rip-roaring adventure sees Tarkan and his trusty wolf companion Kurt take on the despicable Viking invaders after they leave him for dead!
VICTORIA
Germany, 2015
Regional Premiere, 138 min
Director – Sebastian Schipper
Sebastian Schipper’s fourth directorial work is a single-shot tour-de-force that follows a Spanish barista through a dance club, the streets of Berlin, a coffee shop, a bank robbery and her destiny.
THE X-RATED SUPERMARKET
United States, 1972
Repertory Screening, 62 min
Director – Paul Roberts
Want to save money on your weekly sex toy budget? Look no further than the supermarket shelves in some salacious tips and reactions from suburban horny housewives.
Attend Fantastic Fest 2015
DAYTIME ONLY Badges, FAN Badges, and 2ND HALF Badges for Fantastic Fest 2015 are available for purchase here.
Members of the film industry who purchase either a FAN or SUPERFAN badge can apply for a free INDUSTRY upgrade and Fantastic Market access by filling out the formhere. Only approved industry will be considered for access to FANTASTIC MARKET. All Industry requests must submitted by no later than August 15th, 2015.
For the latest developments, visit the Fantastic Fest official sitewww.fantasticfest.comand follow us on Facebook & Twitter.