The Fantaspoa Film Festival in Brazil concluded its seventeenth edition near the end of April. Hosting its second digital edition due to the global health crisis the festival was able to reach more viewers than ever, topping last year's numbers with a record-breaking 85,000 virtual attendess.
Also important, especially to the filmmakers, this year's award winners have been announced. After screening 160 films from over 40 countries the deliberations were completed. Awards were spread out evenly among all competitive titles with only a couple films taking home two awards: History of the Occult, Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man's Night and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. A runaway favorite of ours, Jumbo, won best film at the festival this year.
All the winners are in the announcement below. Congrats to everyone who won.
The seventeenth edition of Fantaspoa was again a landmark for the long-running Brazilian genre festival. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Latin America's largest genre film festival celebrated its second online edition, with free access within Brazil to all festival content. In total, 160 films from over 40 countries were exhibited, including 57 features and 103 shorts. The massive virtual event took place from April 9th through 18th on the Brazilian streaming platform, Wurlak -- and the festival proudly presented fourteen masterclasses along with 29 Q&As with filmmakers from around the globe.According to festival directors and producers João Fleck and Nicolas Tonsho, this was the finest edition of the festival they’ve presented thus far, even with the ongoing pandemic. Fantaspoa 2021 proudly received a special grant from the Brazilian government which was offered to relevant cultural events amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and, therefore, all festival content was offered free of charge in an attempt to combat social isolation through digital gatheringsIn spite of the many online events taking place simultaneously in Brazil, the festival tallied its largest audience in its seventeen-year history: with a record-breaking 85,000 virtual attendees.The winners awarded at Fantaspoa 2021 are as follows:International CompetitionJury Members were Beatriz Saldanha, Fernando Sanches, and Renné FrançaBest Actor: Numan Acar (In the Shadows)Best Actress: Najarra Townsend (The Stylist)Best Digital Special Effects: Christopher Alender and Nick Lively (The Old Ways)Best Art Direction: Alessandro Marvelli (This Game's Called Murder)Best Screenplay: Roberto de Feo, Lucio Besana and Margherita Ferri (The Nest)Best Direction: Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes)Best Film: Jumbo, d. Zoé WittockHonorable Mentions:Best Pus Bath: Cist, d. Tyler RusselBest Carnage: Benny Loves You, d. Karl HoltBest Use of Cinematography for Narrative Intention: Dancing Mary, d. SABUIbero-American CompetitionJury Members were Domício Grillo, Márcia Deretti, and Marina KerberBest Actor: Pepe Soriano (Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man's Night)Best Actress: Marilú Marini (Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man's Night)Best Screenplay: Cristian Ponce (History of the Occult)Best Direction: Rodrigo Aragão (The Cemetery of the Lost Souls)Best Feature: History of the Occult, d. Cristian PonceHonorable Mention:The Returned“For the way in which it portrays the characters and themes of the female universe in fantastic cinema, and for the aesthetic construction of its images.”Short Film CompetitionCritics’ Award Jury Members were André Kleinert, Carol Zatt, and Daniela StrackBest Brazilian Short: The Ferry, d. Nilton ResendeBest International Animated Short: Genius Loci, d. Adrien MérigeauBest International Live-Action Short: Figurant, d. Jan VejnarAnimated Feature CompetitionJury Members were Demian Rugna, Mike McCutchen, and Pedro RiveroBest Film: Frank & Zed, d. Jesse BlanchardHonorable Mention:The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks“For its complexity and masterful animation.”Audience AwardsBest Brazilian Short: AzulScuro, d. Evandro Caixeta and João GilbertoBest International Animated Short: Un Coeur D'Or, d. Simon FillotBest International Live Action Short: Moment, d. Geoffrey UlothBest Feature: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, d. Junta Yamaguchi