Fantastic Fest

[caption id="attachment_31209" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] OVERLORD[/caption] Fantastic Fest returns for its 14th year with more offbeat and brilliant cinema and revealed the first waves of films featured at the upcoming festival.  Fantastic Fest will present the World Premiere of the bone-chilling World War II horror-thriller OVERLORD, produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, with director Julius Avery and stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbaek, John Magaro and Mathilde Ollivier in attendance. This exhilarating, nerve-shredding ride tells the story of American paratroopers dropped into occupied France on the eve of D-Day who discover a secret Nazi lab carrying out terrifying and bizarre supernatural experiments. Fantastic Fest alumni return to the festival in a dual threat that promises to shock, awe and conquer audiences. First up APOSTLE sees Gareth Evans’ (THE RAID) take on the folk horror genre with Dan Stevens as a mysterious man infiltrating a sinister cult headed by Michael Sheen to rescue his sister with eye-gouging results. Then, Timo Tjahjanto pits Joe Taslim against Iko Uwais (THE RAID) in THE NIGHT COMES FOR US, an action thriller where the body count breaks new records in bone-crunching fights, venomous violence and dynamic destruction! Fantastic Fest’s mission to bring the best of genre continues to flourish with a worldwide group of films headed to Austin for a celebration unlike any other. Leading the pack is returning comedic genius Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER) with his unexpected tale of a police interrogation during a murder investigation over the course of one night in the North American Premiere of KEEP AN EYE OUT. Director Alejandro Fadel’s cerebral Cannes shocker MURDER ME, MONSTER will also have its North American Premiere at the festival. Sensational shot-on-16mm psychotropic horror LUZ will be in Austin for its U.S. Premiere, and the thrilling Swedish independent blockbuster THE UNTHINKABLE will blast the audience with its European take on a nation-under-siege big-budget spectacle at its World Premiere. Other Fantastic Fest highlights include a focus on global female genre filmmakers who are blasting through the silver screen with distinctive and brilliant features. From Ukraine, Marysia Nikitiuk explores the clash between old world values and young love in a visually charged fusion of genres in WHEN THE TREES FALL. Spain’s Sonia Escolano turns up the tension in her mesmerising treatise on religion, faith and belief in HOUSE OF SWEAT AND TEARS. Isabella Eklof brings her Sundance critical hit HOLIDAY to the fest all the way from Denmark. And finally, alumna Amanda Kramer makes an unforgettable mark with her distinctive debut LADYWORLD, a post-apocalyptic, daring probe into the darkest reaches of the teenage female mind. Fantastic Fest turns its eye to South Korea and explores the Korean Quota Quickies, a period in the 1970s which saw filmmaking flourish despite stifling ideological censorship thanks to a quota system which required a strict number of local productions be made for each of the foreign films imported.  Although most of these were rushed productions, clever directors used the system to their advantage to sneak strange and daring content past producers, directors and censors. Fantastic Fest is going to present two very rarely seen films from the period: BANGREUMYEON from director Kim Ki-Young, one of Park Chan-Wook’s directing idols, and QUIT YOUR LIFE from director Park Nou-Sik, who provided the literal roadmap for all Korean revenge movies to come.“To be able to highlight a period of Korean cinema that is largely unknown in North America is a brilliant opportunity to not only re-discover what shaped the modern Korean cinema we all know and love, but also a great way to tap into the sheer electric creative force running through the films as shaped by the strict authoritarian environment they were created in,” says FF Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. The festival will also bring the best of modern Korean cinema to the festival including Lee Chang-dong’s critical Cannes hit BURNING. AGFA (the American Genre Film Archive) triumphantly returns to the festival with a trio of restorations all receiving the World Premiere treatment. ‘80s shot-on-video epic BLOOD LAKE is restored from the 1” master tapes and arrives alongside a double bill of I WAS A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER and MARY JANE’S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE, celebrating the punk riot grrrl feminist cinema of Sarah Jacobson, both in brand new 2K preservations. Plus the highly-anticipated World Premiere of MANIAC, restored lovingly from the once-thought-lost 16mm negatives into 4K; with director William Lusting in attendance! A bizarre trio of animation from across the world arrives at the festival to showcase the most daring, dangerous and unique styles. From Japan and the demented mind of Ujicha comes VIOLENCE VOYAGER, a stop-motion cornucopia of mesmerising madness. From Chile, directing duo Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s breathtaking WOLF HOUSE, featuring perhaps the most inherently sinister and chilling story in any film this year. And finally, from Czech Republic and building on the great Czech puppet animation tradition arrives Aurel Klimt’s delightfully untrue but entertaining story of the first dog in space, LAIKA.

Fantastic Fest 2018 FIRST WAVE FILM LINEUP

APOSTLE United Kingdom, 2018 World Premiere, 129 min Director – Gareth Evans The year is 1905. Thomas Richardson travels to a remote island to rescue his sister after she’s kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult demanding a ransom for her safe return. It soon becomes clear that the cult will regret the day it baited this man, as he digs deeper and deeper into the secrets and lies upon which the commune is built. BAN GEUM-RYEON South Korea, 1981 Regional Premiere, 90 min Director – Kim Ki-young From Park Chan-wook’s idol comes a twisted tale of lecherous lords and murderous mistresses. Presented outside of Korea for only the second time, Kim Ki-young’s masterpiece BAN GEUM-RYEON is a lush smorgasbord from Korea’s most demented cinematic mind. AGFA and BLEEDING SKULL PRESENT: BLOOD LAKE USA, 1987 World Premiere of New Preservation, 82 min Director – Tim Boggs The finest vacation from hell ever captured on VHS, rescued from the original 1” master tapes! BURNING South Korea, 2018 Texas Premiere, 148 min Director – Lee Chang-dong Lee Chang-dong’s latest triumph weighs the delicate balance between creation and destruction as a writer runs into an old classmate who gets him caught up in a mystery bigger than both of them. CAM USA, 2018 US Premiere, 94 min Director – Daniel Goldhaber In Attendance – Writer/Producer Isa Mazzei Alice is a camgirl with principles. She doesn’t do public shows, she doesn’t tell her fans she loves them, and she doesn’t fake her orgasms. But when a mysterious lookalike takes over her channel, the rules no longer apply. DOG France, 2017 US Premiere, 87 min Director – Samuel Benchetrit A dark fable about loneliness, perfectly illustrated by Jacques Blanchot’s loss of humanity and slow transformation into a dog. Director Samuel Benchetrit shares a subtle commentary on our current world, and its social, interpersonal, and political issues. AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN USA, 2018 Texas Premiere, 108 min Director – Jim Hosking Fantastic Fest alumni director Jim Hosking (THE GREASY STRANGLER; RENEGADES) is back with a second feature as absurd, crazy, and funny as his first. Follow Lulu Danger’s very own revolution in a Lynch-meets-Waters run-down version of America. THE GUILTY Denmark, 2018 Austin Premiere, 85 min Director – Gustav Möller A horrific crime; an emergency responder struggling to stay off the edge; a kidnapping victim calling in for help. This is all we’re going to tell you about first-time feature filmmaker Gustav Möller’s unmissable and gripping debut thriller. HOLIDAY Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, 2018 Texas Premiere, 93 min Director – Isabella Eklöf The sun-drenched dream of the eponymous summer vacation has its dark side revealed in Isabella Eklöf’s powerful debut feature HOLIDAY, an unforgettable exploration of the fraught, brutal experience of young womanhood. HOUSE OF SWEAT AND TEARS Spain, 2018 World Premiere, 104 min Director – Sonia Escolano In Attendance – Director Sonia Escolano “She,” the leader of a violent cult, rules her flock with an iron fist to ensure they never stray from the path. But a series of events and a mysterious outsider threaten the pattern of their reality in this electrifying exploration of faith and belief. AGFA PRESENTS: I WAS A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER USA, 1993 World Premiere of New Restoration, 27 min Director – Sarah Jacobson Sarah Jacobson’s punk-spirited DIY films combine B-movie aesthetics and riot grrrl feminism in brand new 2K preservations. KEEP AN EYE OUT France, 2018 North American Premiere, 73 min Director – Quentin Dupieux An absurd all-night interrogation set in a camp ‘70s police station, Quentin Dupieux’s latest opus, KEEP AN EYE OUT, is a celebration of his own brand of quirky, offbeat humor, performed by France’s most refreshing comedic talents. LADYWORLD USA, 2018 US Premiere, 93 min Director – Amanda Kramer In Attendance – Director Amanda Kramer and Actor/Co-Editor/Production Designer Noel David Taylor In Amanda Kramer’s daring low-budget debut LADYWORLD, a birthday party quickly devolves into chaos when a mysterious earthquake traps eight teenage girls alone in a house, challenging their friendships, identities, and eventually their grip on reality. LAIKA Czech Republic, 2017 Regional Premiere, 88 min Director – Aurel Klimt In Attendance – Director Aurel Klimt This is the story of Laïka the space dog who, unlike in real life, did not die aboard Sputnik 2 in 1957. In this bizarre and charming stop-motion musical, Laïka crashes on a peculiar planet where she meets new friends. LUZ Germany, 2018 US Premiere, 70 min Director – Tilman Singer In Attendance – Director Tilman Singer Luz enters a police station at night to report an assault. As the interrogation progresses, it becomes clear a demonic entity wants to possess her in this audacious, psychotropic horror film shot on 16mm. MADAM YANKELOVA’S FINE LITERATURE CLUB Israel, 2018 International Premiere, 90 min Director – Guilhad Emilio Schenker Desperate, aging, Sophie only needs to seduce one more handsome victim — excuse me, date — to become a worry-free Lordess in MADAM YANKELOVA’S FINE LITERATURE CLUB, Israeli director Guilhad Emilio Schenker’s delightfully twisted debut feature. MANIAC USA, 1980 World Premiere of New 4K Restoration, 88 min Director – William Lustig In Attendance – Director William Lustig The 4K restoration of grindhouse auteur Bill Lustig’s 1980 slasher landmark features splatter SFX artist Tom Savini’s gnarliest work, as well as one of horror’s finest, sweatiest performances from legendary character actor/co-writer Joe Spinell. AGFA PRESENTS: MARY JANE’S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE USA, 1997 World Premiere of New Restoration, 98 min Director – Sarah Jacobson Sarah Jacobson’s punk-spirited DIY films combine B-movie aesthetics and riot grrrl feminism in brand new 2K preservations. MURDER ME, MONSTER Argentina, France, Chile, 2018 North American Premiere, 109 min Director – Alejandro Fadel Visual horror masterpiece MURDER ME, MONSTER lures you into the fascinating and opaque underworld of serial murder, supernatural obsession, metaphysical hallucinations, forbidden love — and one nightmarishly gross monster. THE NIGHT COMES FOR US Indonesia, 2018 World Premiere, 121 min Director – Timo Tjahjanto A former triad enforcer must protect a young girl while trying to escape his former gang, setting off a violent battle on the streets of Jakarta. THE NIGHT SHIFTER Brazil, 2018 US Premiere, 110 min Director – Dennison Ramalho An attendant at a busy morgue who can also converse with the dead puts his loved ones in peril using his forbidden knowledge for vengeance in Dennison Ramalho’s (NINJAS; ABCS OF DEATH 2) twisted and gleefully icky feature debut. ONE CUT OF THE DEAD Japan, 2018 Texas Premiere, 96 min Director – Shinichiro Ueda A filmmaker sets out to shoot a zombie film in an abandoned factory, but something is lurking on the outside. Is it a zombie apocalypse or just another shoot gone wrong? OPEN 24 HOURS USA, Serbia, 2018 North American Premiere, 100 min Director – Padraig Reynolds In Attendance – Director Padraig Reynolds A young woman who had previously set her serial killer boyfriend on fire is now seeking normalcy by getting a job working the overnight shift at a 24-hour convenience store, where things are most definitely not going to be normal. OVERLORD USA, 2018 World Premiere, TBD min Director – Julius Avery In Attendance – Director Julius Avery and cast including Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbaek, John Magaro, and Mathilde Ollivier In the upcoming WWII horror-thriller OVERLORD, a group of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France on the eve of D-Day. As they struggle to carry out their seemingly impossible mission, they discover a secret Nazi lab carrying out terrifying and bizarre supernatural experiments. PIERCING USA, 2018 Texas Premiere, 81 min Director – Nicolas Pesce From the twisted mind of Nicolas Pesce (THE EYES OF MY MOTHER) comes a provocative two-hander chamberpiece — a tense battle of wits and desire between prostitute and trick, predator and prey. QUIT YOUR LIFE South Korea, 1971 North American Premiere, 82 min Director – Park Nou-sik Presented in English for the first time, actor-director Park Nou-sik balances the scales of justice as he stalks around Korea with his noose of judgment in the relentless revenge drama QUIT YOUR LIFE. SCHOOL’S OUT France, 2018 North American Premiere, 103 min Director – Sébastien Marnier In this dread-soaked cerebral thriller, a handsome young substitute teacher gets in over his head when taking on a class of gifted students after their former teacher’s dramatic in-class suicide. TERRIFIED Argentina, 2017 US Premiere, 87 min Director – Demián Rugna In Attendance – Director Demián Rugna Strange things are going on in a Buenos Aires neighborhood. Demián Rugna’s constantly surprising and truly spine-chilling horror film has one goal: to scare the shit out of everyone. THE UNTHINKABLE Sweden, 2018 World Premiere, 129 min Director – Crazy Pictures Something unthinkable is happening in Sweden. It starts with a few isolated incidents but suddenly, it’s all over the country. There are some who were prepared and others who weren’t. Ready or not, things will go out with a bang! VIOLENCE VOYAGER Japan, 2018 Regional Premiere, 83 min Director – Ujicha En route to visit a friend in another village, two kids go looking for a fabled shortcut through the mountain. Instead, they stumble upon an amusement park called Violence Voyager, and that’s when everything goes to shit. WHEN THE TREES FALL Ukraine, Poland, Macedonia, 2018 North American Premiere, 88 min Director – Marysia Nikitiuk In Attendance – Director Marysia Nikitiuk Scar and Larysa are desperately in love and suffocating under the tradition and archaic demands of their Ukrainian village. When the frustrations of each finally detonate, their world and the lives of those surrounding them are tragically shattered. THE WOLF HOUSE Chile, 2018 North American Premiere, 73 min Directors – Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña In Attendance – Director Cristóbal León An animated tale, supposedly restored from the archives of a German colony by the Chilean government, THE WOLF HOUSE is the unsettling story of Maria, punished with a hundred nights alone in a cabin in the woods.

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