Fantaspoa 2024: First Wave of Titles Announced For Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Screen Anarchy readers would likely be most excited about the World Premieres of CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN, a searing new documentary from the children of THE WICKER MAN director Robin Hardy; Diego Ortuño's supernatural Ecuadorian thriller RED CORN; Guile Branco's violent black comedy A HALLOWEEN FEAST, starring Lynn Lowry; Ryosuke Kanesaki's HARAKIRI SQUAD, which features a foursome of criminals in feudal Japan on a quest to defeat man-eating demons; and Radim Špacek's true crime thriller FOREST KILLER, based on the final year of Czech murder Viktor Kalivoda's life.

Fantaspoa returns to the cinemas of Porto Alegre, Brazil from April 10 to 28 - celebrating twenty years and proudly becoming the longest-running film festival in the city's history.

 

In 2024, the festival will occupy four locations: Cinemateca Capitólio, Casa de Cultura Mário Quintana, Instituto Ling, and Cine Cult Vitória, a newcomer to this edition of the event. In addition, part of the programming will be available online, geo-blocked for Brazilian viewers.

 

The poster for this year's festival was conceived by filmmaker and illustrator Elizabeth Schuch, who, starting with this edition, has been formally appointed Fantaspoa's art director. For the twentieth Fantaspoa, Elizabeth has crafted a visual identity inspired by another 2024 milestone: the centenary of Fritz Lang’s The Nibelungs.

 

The twentieth anniversary celebration of Fantaspoa promises to offer one of the most comprehensive line-ups in the festival’s history, featuring the World Premieres of over 25 feature films and an array of events that will take place outside the walls of its cinemas.

 

The festival’s opening party will take place on April 12, featuring live Lucha Libre wrestling. The closing parties will take place over the course of two nights: Fantaspoa’s traditional costume party aboard the Cisne Branco, a three-story boat on April 27, and a special concert on April 28 at Bar Opinião, a staple of Porto Alegre that holds 2,000 attendees. The concert will feature performances by Demian Rugna’s Pasco 637 and the historic reunion of beloved local Porto Alegre musical group Damn Laser Vampires.

 

The festival will host three live-scored screenings at the beautiful Instituto Ling, featuring films that are all celebrating their 100th anniversaries. Robert Wiene’s The Hands of Orlac will kick of the festivities on April 10 and, the following week, will feature Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge, Fritz Lang’s dual masterpieces that inspired this year’s festival artwork.

 

According to festival directors João Fleck and Nicolas Tonsho, “This is by far the most unique lineup we’ve ever put together. The 200+ films, comprising both shorts and features, were selected from over 1,000 entries submitted. We are proud of the fact that over 90%  of the films selected were entries submitted on FilmFreeway, and could not be happier by the sheer amount of premieres that we are able to bring to the world.”

 

Among the confirmed guests attending Fantaspoa’s 2024 edition include Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy, and Chris Nunn (Children of The Wicker Man), Boaz Yakin (Once Again [for the first time]), Lilis Soares (Mami Wata), Pablo Parés (Marisa y Gomoso), Junta Yamaguchi (River), Takeshi Kushida (My Mother’s Eyes), Alex Kahuam and Ted Raimi (Failure!), Tayo Cortés (Dome), Sebastian Perillo (Bionica), Augusto Sinay (The Horned Frog), Daniel M. Caneiro (Deviant), Diego Ortuño (Red Corn), Francisco Bouzas and Maria Laura Buslemen (Hidden City), Guile Branco (A Halloween Feast), Karl R. Hearne (The G), Neal Dhand, Neal Sampat and Sergio Uguet de Resayre (Dark My Light), Nick Gaglia (Pinkcity), Radim Špaček (Forest Killer), Edson da Conceição (Pariah), Megan Seely and Bryan Scary (Puddysticks), Devin Lawrence (The Disinvited), Carlos Ángel Luppi and Daniel Schäfer (Jeit), Miguel Azurmendi (Keratyna), Michael Pierro (Self Driver), Ryan Barton-Grimley (Listen Carefully), Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes (The Island Between the Tides), Marc Schölermann (Bark), Sophie Colon (Endless Summer Syndrome), Michael Felker (Things Will Be Different), Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky, and German Suane (Rats!), A.D. Calvo (Let the Moon be My Moon), Christopher Faust (Boyfriend Double), Petrus Cariry (Heavier Is the Sky), Mathew Freihet (Iconic), and Alec Bonk (Blind Cop 2).

 

The first 50 films being announced include fifteen World Premieres, five International Premieres, 23 Latin American Premieres, and five Brazilian Premieres. The films represent a total of 21 countries and have been showcased at such prestigious festivals as Venice, Sundance, SXSW, Independent Film Awards, Tribeca, Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Fantasporto, Tallinn Black Nights, Karlovy Vary, Calgary Film Festival, Palm Springs, Frightfest, and Fantasia.(ICONIC) (dir. Matthew Freiheit. 2024, United States, International Premiere)

 

A HALLOWEEN FEAST (dir. Guile Branco. 2024, United States, World Premiere)

 

ALL YOU NEED IS BLOOD (dir. Cooper Roberts. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

BARK (dir. Marc Schölermann. 2023, Germany, Latin American Premiere)

 

BIONICA (dir. Sebastian Perillo. 2024, Argentina, World Premiere)

 

BLIND COP 2 (dir. Alec Bonk. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

BOYFRIEND DOUBLE (dir. Christopher Faust. 2024, Brazil, World Premiere)

 

BRUTAL HEAT (dir. Albert Hospodarsky. 2023, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latin

American Premiere)

 

 

CAT CALL (dir. Rozália Szeleczki. 2023, Hungary, Latin American Premiere)

 

CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN (dirs. Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy, and Chris Nunn. 2024, United Kingdom, World Premiere)

 

DARK MY LIGHT (dir. Neal Dhand. 2024, United States, World Premiere)

 

DEVIANT (dir. Daniel M. Caneiro. 2024, Spain, World Premiere)

 

DOME (dir. Tayo Cortés. 2023, Colombia, Brazilian Premiere)

 

ENDLESS SUMMER SYNDROME (dir. Kaveh Daneshmand. 2023, Czech Republic, France, Latin American Premiere)

 

FACELESS AFTER DARK (dir. Raymond Wood. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

FAILURE! (dir. Alex Kahuam. 2023, Mexico, United States, Brazilian Premiere)

 

FOREST KILLER (dir. Radim Špaček. 2024, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, World Premiere)

 

HARAKIRI SQUAD (dir. Ryosuke Kanesaki. 2024, Japan, World Premiere)

 

 

HAUNTED ULSTER LIVE (dir. Dominic O'Neill. 2023, United Kingdom, Latin American Premiere)

 

HEAVIER IS THE SKY (dir. Petrus Cariry. 2023, Brazil, Regional Premiere)

 

HIDDEN CITY (dir. Francisco Bouzas. 2024, Argentina, Latin American Premiere)

 

JEIT (dirs. Carlos Ángel Luppi and Daniel Schäfer. 2024, Argentina, Germany, World Premiere)

 

KERATYNA (dir. Miguel Azurmendi. 2023, Spain, Brazilian Premiere)

 

LET THE MOON BE MY MOON (dir. A.D. Calvo. 2024, United States, World Premiere)

 

LISTEN CAREFULLY (dir. Ryan Barton-Grimley. 2024, United States, World Premiere)

 

MAMI WATA (dir. C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi. 2023, Nigeria, France, United Kingdom, Regional Premiere)

 

MARISA Y GOMOSO (dir. Pablo Parés. 2023, Argentina, International Premiere)

 

 

MASTERGAME (dir. Barnabás Tóth. 2023, Hungary, Latin American Premiere)

 

MOTION PICTURE: CHOKE (dir. Gen Nagao. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)

 

MUSHROOMS (dir. Paweł Borowski. 2023, Poland, Latin American Premiere)

 

MY MOTHER'S EYES (dir. Takeshi Kushida. 2023, Japan, Brazilian Premiere)

 

 

ONCE AGAIN (FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME) (dir. Boaz Yakin. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL (dir. Ellie Foumbi. 2022, France, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

PARIAH (dir. Edson da Conceicao. 2024, Netherlands, Latin American Premiere)

 

PETROL (dir. Alena Lodkina. 2022, Australia, Latin American Premiere)

 

PINKCITY: A PSYCHEDELIC MEDITATION (dir. Nick Gaglia. 2024, United States, India, World Premiere)

 

PUDDYSTICKS (dir. Megan Seely. 2024, United States, International Premiere)

 

 

QUEEN OF BONES (dir. Robert Budreau. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

RATS! (dir. Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky. United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

RED CORN (dir. Diego Ortuño. 2024, Ecuador, World Premiere)

 

RIVER (dir. Junta Yamaguchi. 2023, Japan, Latin American Premiere)

 

SELF DRIVER (dir. Michael Pierro. 2024, Canada, World Premiere)

 

 

SOMEWHERE QUIET (dir. Olivia West Lloyd. 2023, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

SUPPRESSED (dir. Tomas Masin. 2024, Czech Republic, Latin American Premiere)

 

THE DISINVITED (dir. Devin Lawrence. 2024, United States, World Premiere)

 

THE G (dir. Karl R. Hearne. 2023, Canada, Latin American Premiere)

 

THE HORNED FROG (dir. Augusto Sinay. 2023, Argentina)

 

THE ISLAND BETWEEN TIDES (dir. Austin Andrews, Andrew Holmes. 2024, United States, Latin American Premiere)

 

THE SLIT MOUTHED WOMAN RISES (dir. Yu Nakamoto. 2024, Japan, International Premiere)

 

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT (dir. Michael Felker. 2024, United States, International Premiere)

 

WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN (dir. Kim Albright. 2023, Canada, Latin American Premiere)