Fantastic Fest 2014 takes place September 18-25th in Austin, Texas at the newly reopened Alamo South Lamar and Highball.
Fantastic Fest is going all out with celebratory events and special programming, including: Fantastic Debates will pack a serious punch this year. Fantastic Fest’s long-running showcase of verbal/physical combat is being amped up by a call to battle from Matt Mason Chief Content Officer for BitTorrent, Inc. Mason is placing an open call to all fighters to tackle the debate of whether BitTorrent.com is a valuable tool for creative artists or a playground for theft. In addition to the torrent debate, there will be a full undercard settling a range of topics with right hooks and sharp tongues alike.
Check out Matt Mason’s pre-fight video HERE and if you would like to fight Matt in the Debates, you can submit your challenge to fantasticfest.com/fight for more info.
See below for the second lineup of programming at this year’s festival.
THE ABSENT ONE Denmark, 2014World Premiere, 119 min Director – Mikkel Nørgaard Police investigators dig into the facts of a twenty year old double homicide in a desperate race to find a likely witness before the killers have the chance to silence her forever.
AS SEEN BY THE REST (ULIDAVARU KANDANTE) India, 2014North American Premiere Director – Rakshit Shetty Mystery abounds in this fractured gangster story from Karnataka, India. Shades of SCARFACE, PULP FICTION and RASHOMON color Rakshit Shetty’s entrancing story of good, evil and something else… BLINDNorway, 2014Texas Premiere, 96 minDirector – Eskil VogtThis debut gem from Eskil Vogt follows Ingrid who, having recently lost her sight, exists only in her apartment with her thoughts as a means of escape…
THE CREEPING GARDEN United Kingdom, 2014 US Premiere, 81 min Directors – Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp The slime mould: a form of microbial life with behavior somewhere between plant and animal and capable of primitive intelligence. Unusual? Yes, and just wait until you meet the people who study them …
DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD (DØD SNØ 2) Norway-Icelans, 2014 Texas Premiere, 100 min Director – Tommy Wirkola Lone survivor Martin must enlist help from America to battle Colonel Herzog and his horde in this wild sequel to the original Norwegian Nazi zombie film.
DWARVES KINGDOM United States, 2014 World Premiere, 80 min Director – Matthew Salton Some have called The Kingdom of Little People the most offensive theme park in the world. DWARVES KINGDOM takes us inside to meet its performer residents.
THE EDITOR Canada, 2014 US Premiere, 102 min Director – Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy A one-handed film editor finds himself the prime suspect after a series of violent murders start happening around him in this knowing tribute to giallo from the crazy minds at Astron-6!
ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS Australia, 2014 US Premiere, 107 min Director – Mark Hartley Mark Hartley brings his singular documentary style to the story of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, the trailblazers behind exploitation powerhouse studio Cannon Films.
FELT United States, 2014 World Premiere, 79 min Director – Jason Banker A young artist loses herself in an unpredictable alter ego while attempting to cope with past trauma in this gripping sophomore effort from the creator of TOAD ROAD.
FORCE MAJEURE (TURIST) Sweden, 2014 US Premiere, 118 min Director – Ruben Östlund An upper middle-class family’s fragile existence is torn apart when a near tragedy occurs during a ski vacation and the two parents are forced confront the reality of each other’s reactions.
FREE FALL Hungary, 2014 North American Premiere, 89 min Director – GYÖRGY PÁLFI The director of TAXIDERMIA returns with seven stories of the mundanely bizarre.
I AM HERE Denmark, 2014 World Premiere, 97 min Director – Anders Morgenthaler A powerful business executive wanders down a dark path in order to have the child she desperately needs in this shocking piece from the director of 2007’s unusual animation PRINCESS.
I AM TRASH (NANEUN SSEURAEGIDA) South Korea, 2014 World Premiere, 97 min Director – Lee SANG-WOO Three emotionally damaged brothers must deal with the aftermath of their father
IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE Norway, 2014 Texas Premiere, 115 min Director – Hans Petter Moland The director and star of A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN team up once again and the result is a brutal and darkly funny tale of snow, giant machinery and revenge.
JOHN WICK United States, 2014 Gala Screening, 96 min Directors – David Leitch and Chad Stahelski An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, JOHN WICK (Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the “assassin genre”. JOHN WICK opens nationwide on October 24, 2014.
MAN FROM RENO (RINO KARA KITA OTOKO) Japan-United States, 2014 Austin Premiere, 111 min Director – Dave Boyle A Japanese crime novelist in San Francisco tries to unravel a real life murder mystery in this acclaimed neo-noir featuring Takashi Miike regular Kazuki Kitamura.
NECROPHOBIA 3D Argentina, 2014 North American Premiere, 75 min Director – Daniel De la Vega A mentally fragile man must conquer his fear of death in order to stave off a killer’s advances.
NIGHTCRAWLER United States, 2014 US Premiere, 117 min Director – Dan Gilroy NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Nightcrawler opens nationwide on October 31st.
OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (KUIME) Japan, 2014 US Premiere, 90 min Director – Takashi Miike This adaptation of a classic ghost story is a powerful return to horror for Takashi Miike.
PURGATORY Spain, 2014 World Premiere, 83 min Director – Pau Teixidor A woman must survive the night after she welcomes a neighbor’s child into her home.
REALITI New Zealand, 2014 North American Premiere, 95 min Director – Jonathon KingA time-warping drug leaves a young media exec caught up in a criminal case while questioning the very nature of existence and reality.
REDEEMER Chile, 2014 World Premiere, 88 min Director – Ernesto Díaz Espinosa In order to atone for his past sins, he’ll not only kick your ass, he’ll impale your face and shred you to bits. Marko Zaror is the Redeemer!
SPRING US, 2014 US Premiere, 105 min Directors – Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead After the death of his mother and a bar altercation that could mean jail time, Evan leaves California for Italy, where he falls for a mysterious young woman.
THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA Japan, 2014 US Premiere, 137 min Director – Isao Takahata A breathtakingly animated tale of a woman, the men who want to control her, and the moon. The latest from Studio Ghibli.
TOKYO TRIBE Japan, 2014 US Premiere, 116 min Director – Sion Sono Festival favorite Sion Sono returns with an exercise in brash, colorful chaos pitting street gangs against one another in a bold hip hop musical.
THE TREATMENT Belgium, 2014 US Premiere, 127 min Director – Hans Herbots A police inspector with a dark past leads an increasingly personal manhunt when a nine-year-old child goes missing.
WHISPERS BEHIND THE WALL Germany, 2013 North American , 90 min Director – Grzegorz Muskala A naive young man falls for his beautiful-and very dangerous-landlord in this depraved voyeuristic thriller. Look for more film & event programming announcements for Fantastic Fest in the weeks ahead.
