About the Film Festival
Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the US, specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. The festival is dedicated to championing challenging and thought-provoking cinema, celebrating new voices and new stories from around the world and supporting new filmmakers. We work with various other festivals, archives, cinematheques and individuals to spotlight lesser-known film regions, luminaries and more in an ongoing effort to expand the general knowledge and appreciation of cinema. We are committed to supporting film in its most provocative, ground-breaking and underseen forms, and giving the audience a chance to find new favorites and future genre classics.
Each year we bring together fans, guests, industry, press and others in an inclusive and fun environment for a weeklong celebration of film in all its forms through carefully curated screenings and events, both in and outside of the theaters.
In years past, Fantastic Fest has been home to world premieres of THE BLACK PHONE, JOHN WICK, FRANKENWEENIE, MACHETE KILLS, RED DAWN, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, APOCALYPTO, ZOMBIELAND, RED, SPLIT, OVERLORD, APOSTLE and THE NIGHT COMES FOR US, while the guest roster has included such talent as Edgar Wright, Julia Ducournau, Noomi Rapace, Bong Joon-Ho, Tim Burton, Nicolas Winding-Refn, Lilly and Lana Wachowski, Robert Rodriguez, Rian Johnson, Bill Murray, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Edward Norton, Ryan Reynolds, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Josh Hartnett, The RZA, Dolph Lundgren, Paul Rudd, Bill Pullman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jon Favreau, George Romero, Darren Aronofsky, Mike Judge, M. Night Shyamalan, James McAvoy, Jonah Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis, Steven Yeun, Danny McBride, Tenacious D and more.
Fantastic Fest has been hailed as one of the “25 coolest film festivals” by MovieMaker Magazine, “the wildest film festival in America” by The Guardian, “a secret weapon for the arthouse market” by Indiewire as well as “the coolest film festival in the world” by IGN.
COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
Films submitted to Fantastic Fest are eligible to compete in one of the following sections if they meet the category’s criteria. The final selection of the competitive titles will be at the Programming Committee’s sole discretion. An international Jury, composed of personalities within the film industry, will present awards for each competition.
Fantastic Fest offers the following competitive sections for Feature Films:
Official Competition
Whether from established or up-and-coming directors, films in the Official Competition present the best of the year’s selection. Priority will be given to World Premieres, North American Premieres, and US Premieres.
Horror Competition
A selection of the best independent, weirdest, and most original horror movies.
Next Wave Competition
A competition dedicated to the 1st or 2nd features from up-and-coming directors.
Feature Films in these categories compete for Best Film and Best Director; the Jury reserves the right to award special mentions.
All feature films playing at Fantastic Fest are eligible for the Audience Award. Votes are gathered via the Eventive App after each screening.
Fantastic Fest offers the following competitive sections for Short Films:
Fantastic Shorts
A catch-all “best of” selection representing the scope of diversity and creativity within short film form.
Short Fuse
A program dedicated to horror shorts, from slow burn to hardcore.
Shorts with Legs
A mix of hard to describe, experimental, cutting edge, avant-garde, amateur, and outlandish content.
Drawn and Quartered
A selection of animated shorts, displaying vision and talent in a variety of formats and styles.
Short Films in these categories compete for Best Film and
Best Director; the Jury reserves the right to award special mentions.
Fantastic Fest is an international film festival certified by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations).
Subject ：Unlimited
Video Format ：AVI HDV MPEG4 DCP MOV MPEG
Categories and fees
Feature Films
Video length ：70 - 300
The feature film category is for films that are more than 70 minutes long and are classified as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or related genre films (black comedy, crime, magic realism, action, suspense, etc).
Short Films
Video length ：25 - 25
The short film category is for films are less than 25 minutes long and are classified as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or related genre films (black comedy, crime, magic realism, action, suspense, etc). Films already available to the public online (Youtube, Vimeo etc) are not eligible.The short film category is for films are less than 25 minutes long and are classified as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or related genre films (black comedy, crime, magic realism, action, suspense, etc). Films already available to the public online (Youtube, Vimeo etc) are not eligible.
Live Event
