To talk about "Fantasy Film" is somehow redundant, because fantasy is an innate element of an important part of the cinematographic production. The expression has been successfully adopted to appoint not so much a genre –like western, melodrama or musical- but a film category that not only includes the adaptation to the screen of ancient myths or classic works of literature, but also happy finds of originals by scriptwriters and filmmakers: vampires and zombies, Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll, King Kong and Cat People, Luke Skywalker and extraterrestial creatures…

Horror is one of its more popular variants, although not the only one. Monsters and freaks are, indeed, one of the hallmarks of fantasy film, even though underneath their terrifying appearance these characters usually wind up being tragic heroes, decidedly romantic figures. And the list of master pieces is so extensive that it is really hard to find a cinema lover who doesn’t list a fantasy classic among his favorite films.

We will have all of that in the current edition of FANT. In the official section we will have the opportunity to watch the work of young filmmakers along with the latest film of George A. Romero, master of the living-dead sub-genre. Not to mention the presence of Park Chan-wook, the polemic Korean director who has earned a reputation in the film industry, and the opportunity to see the works of other directors from Denmark, France or Spain.

Just like any self-respecting festival, our FANT will have, in addition to the official section films, a bunch of activities that will undoubtedly draw the attention of cinema lovers. The Fantrobia Award, the new name of the award that has been given to a young new talent; retrospectives, this time dedicated to the legendary Val Lewton and to dig up unknown classics, such as the surprising fantasy films of classic directors that seem far from this genre such as Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman. Appearances of artists, conferences, fantasy film debates, internet short film contest at nontzeberri.com, music and even film related gastronomy are going make the festival a great event for cinema lovers throughout nine days.

FANT 14 is, in short, a great opportunity to bring back the magic of cinema through the latest fantasy films, classics retrospection, tribute to great masters… And of course, the presence of the artists in the flesh. Not to mention the activities that will simultaneously help to make Bilbao feel fantastic.