Fantastic Fest celebrates its 10th Anniversary with 80 exciting films, including 22 World Premieres, 43 North American & U.S. Premiere screenings, and 38 short films.
Austin, TX -- Fantastic Fest has announced this year's Fantastic Fest Award winners, led by Studio Ghibli’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which received the festival’s audience award.
Running September 18-25 in Austin, Texas, Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world.
This year, Fantastic Fest celebrated its 10th Anniversary with its biggest year yet with 80 exciting films including 22 World Premieres, 43 North American & U.S. Premiere screenings, and 38 short films. Festivities included opening night screenings of Kevin Smith’s Tusk and the world premiere of ABCs OF DEATH 2: 26 devilishly diabolical tales with multiple directors, including Alejandro Brugués, Robert Boocheck, Lancelot Imasuen, E.L. Katz, Jerome Sable, Jen and Sylvia Soska, Jim Hosking, Larry Fessenden, Chris Nash, Steven Kostanski and Julian Barrett.
Special guests of the festival included Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who was in attendance to moderate the red carpet World premiere of David Yarovesky’s The Hive, and Edgar Wright serving on the Next Wave film jury.
The full list of winners is shown below:
AUDIENCE AWARD (Presented by Maxwell Locke & Ritter)
THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA (director Isao Takahata)
"NEXT WAVE" SPOTLIGHT COMPETITION PRESENTED BY DELL PRECISION
Best Picture: IT FOLLOWS (director David Robert Mitchell)
Best Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky (THE TRIBE)
Best Screenplay: David Robert Mitchell (IT FOLLOWS)
Best Actor: Lou Taylor Pucci (SPRING)
Best Actress: Amy Everson (FELT)
FANTASTIC FEATURES
Best Picture: ALLELUIA (director Fabrice Du Welz)
Best Director: Fabrice Du Welz (ALLELUIA)
Best Screenplay: Tetsuya Nakashima, Maiko Tedano and Nobuhiro Monma (THE WORLD OF KANAKO)
Best Actor: Laurent Lucas (ALLELUIA)
Best Actress: Lola Dueñas (ALLELUIA)
HORROR FEATURES
Best Picture: THE BABADOOK (directed Jennifer Kent)
Best Screenplay: Jennifer Kent (THE BABADOOK)
Best Director: Martín De Salvo (DARKNESS BY DAY)
Best Actor: Noah Wiseman (THE BABADOOK)
Best Actress: Essie Davis (THE BABADOOK)
GUTBUSTER COMEDY FEATURES
Best Picture: DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD (director by Tommy Wirkola)
Best Director: Hans Petter Moland (IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE)
Best Screenplay: Vegar Hoel, Stig Frode Henriksen and Tommy Wirkola (DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD)
Best Actor: Pål Sverre Hagen (IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE)
Best Actress: Sylvia Hoeks (BROS BEFORE HOS)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Best Picture: KUNG FU ELLIOT (director Jaret Belliveau)
Best Director: Tim Grabham, Jasper Sharp (THE CREEPING GARDEN)
SHORT FUSE: HORROR SHORTS
Winner: THE STOMACH directed by Ben Steiner
Runner-up: INVADERS directed by Jason Kupfer
FANTASTIC SHORTS
Winner: THE VOICE THIEF directed by Adan Jodorowsky
Runner-up: MY FATHER IS A BIRD (director Boaz Debby) and SOLITUDO (director Alice Lowe)
DRAWN AND QUARTERED: ANIMATED SHORTS
Winner: THE CHAPERONE (director Fraser Munden)
Runner-up: DAY 40 (director Sol Friedman)
FANTASTIC ARCADE
Best in Show: BANANA CHALICE (developed by Kyle Reimergartin)
Gold Prize: HAVANA VAMPIRE TERRITORY (director Carlos Lechuga) and THE TURNED (director Andrés Rosende)
Silver Prize: FIERCE (director Francisco Lorite)
Bronze Prize: HURT (director Pablo Proenza)
Special Jury Mention for "Keeping the Spirit of the 80's Alive": THE SHADOWDWELLERS (producer Erick Salomon)
Jury Award for Work in Progress, and Chemistry Award: FRONDOSO EDEN DEL CORAZON (director Juan Manuel Fodde)
Morbido/Latam Consultation Award: EAT ME (director David Michán)
Invited to Ventana Sur in Buenos Aires for Blood Window / Beyond the Window Coproduction Meetings: HAVANA VAMPIRE TERRITORY (director Carlos Lechuga) and THE SHORE (director Juan Felipe Orozco)
Invited to Ventana Sur in Buenos Aires for Blood Window / Bloody Work in Progress: SCHERZO DIABOLICO (director Adrián García Bogliano)
KING OF SHAKEYFACE
Andrew Todd
A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to legendary film critic Leonard Maltin by Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League and his longtime friend Louis Black, co-founder of the Austin Chronicle and SXSW.
The audience awards are presented by accounting firm Maxwell Locke & Ritter who provided the certified tabulation of ballots this year and are the exclusive accounting sponsor of Fantastic Fest. Dell Precision is the presenter of the prestigious "Next Wave" Award, which honors emerging filmmakers. The winners of the "Next Wave" feature awards are presented with a new Dell Precision mobile workstation.
Source: Fantastic Fest
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
