Fantasporto, Oporto International. The film festival kicked off Friday in the Portuguese city of Porto — a city famous for its elegant Roman cathedral, a library that inspired the “Harry Potter” film series, and booze — with an eclectic mix of titles with a focus on fantasy films.
Embodying the broad tastes of the festival presidents, film critics Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and Mario Dorminski, Canadian director Denis Arcand’s satirical film “The Testament” opened the 44th edition of the event at the Batalha Centro de Cinema, and the Chinese fantasy epic “Creation of the Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms”. “, directed by Warshan, closes it.
Although Pacheco Pereira and Dorminski, who compete with Brussels International Airport. Fantastic Film Festival and Europe’s Sitges fantasy film festival know they can’t please everyone in Porto with their selections. “What really matters to us is whether the audience applauds the films or not,” says Dorminski. “This is not a job for us. Pleasure.”
One of their achievements, says Pacheco Pereira, is that they have a “good eye for talent,” having selected the debut films of David Lynch, James Cameron, David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson, Lars von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Denis Villeneuve and Danny Boyle. Among many others. She adds that the directors of seven Oscar-winning films for Best Picture have screened their first films at Fantasporto.
Among the titles to pay attention to, says Pacheco Pereira diverse“Complex Shapes” with Italian director Fabio Dorta, who will present the film in Porto. The first feature, a fantasy horror film about a man who sells his body so a mysterious entity can possess it, received a special mention at the Turin Film Festival. “It’s very strange but very good,” says Pacheco Pereira.
Pacheco Pereira also recommends The Last Ashes, Loic Tanson’s first feature film, which she likens to Game of Thrones. It was Luxembourg’s entry for the Academy Award.
Another of Pacheco Pereira’s recommendations is the revenge story “Goliath” by Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov, which premiered in Venice and is then being screened in Porto as part of a retrospective of Kazakh films.
Among the world premieres at Fantasporto is La Sombra del Tiburon, with Spanish director Gonzalo López Gallego and lead actress Catalina Cabrera in attendance. The film follows Alma, who discovers that her home has become her enemy.
The other world premiere is the horror film “The Floor Plan,” about a YouTuber who specializes in the occult. Director Junichi Ishikawa is present at the festival. It’s one of 11 Japanese films in Fantasporto, including the supernatural horror-thriller “The Forbidden Play,” directed by Hideo Nakata, best known for the horror film “Ring.” Asian filmmakers “have the idea that Fantasporto is the festival that opens the doors for films entering Europe,” says Dorminski.
Another world premiere is Ate de Jong’s love story “Heartstrings,” where the worlds of reality TV and country music intersect. Joining the Dutch director and writer in Porto are actors Sam Varga, Maggie Koerner, Carly Johnson, and producer and co-writer Steven Gaydos. diverseExecutive Vice President of Global Content.
Among other filmmakers, Pacheco Pereira points to Canadian director Jesse Thomas Cook as having “potential.” Pacheco Pereira describes the horror science fiction film “The Hyperborean”, which actress Marcia Alderson is accompanying at the festival, as containing a “very strange and interesting story.” It is the director’s third film that has been optioned for Fantasporto.
Noteworthy short films include “Alicia” by Spain’s Toni Morales, a previous award winner at the festival, the French animation “Stabat Mater” by Hadrian Maton and Colin Theles, and “Elegy” by Belgian Jérémy Adonis.
Another highlight of the festival is the Hungarian retrospective, in particular the love story Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time by Lili Horvat, which won the festival’s Directors’ Week Award in 2021.