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Fantastic Fest
Annual film festival held in Austin, Texas, US From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse.
Lisa Dreyer is festival director.[1] Annick Mahnert is head of programming.
It is often cited as the largest and most prestigious genre festival in the United States, and as one of the top 3 in the world alongside Sitges and Fantasia.[2][3][4][5]
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The festival takes place in September at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, filling eight screens for eight days and hosting many writers, directors, and actors, either well-established or unknown. The festival has become known as a launch-pad for genre films, where critical acclaim at the fest can lead to big box office returns.[6] A notable feature of this festival is the inclusion of "secret screenings". For these screenings, the audience often does not know what the film will be until seated, moments before it begins.[7] It also features many themed parties, outings, film-themed "feasts", and other events that are hallmarks of the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. In 2007, Variety publisher Charles Koones included Fantastic Fest as one of "ten festivals we love".[8] In 2008, Moviemaker named Fantastic Fest "one of the 25 film festivals worth the entry fee".[9] In 2017, Moviemaker listed Fantastic Fest in "The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World."[10]
In 2022, an online-exclusive section of programming was created: "Burnt Ends." In this new segment, Fantastic Fest wants to showcase "the weirdest, wildest, most fringe films out there."[11]
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